of fortified house that combined the functions of a tower house and a barmkyn. They were usually two-storey houses with the ground floor acting as a byre into which animals could be driven, while the living space on the upper floor could only be reached by a removable ladder. Most are within of the border and were built around the turn of the sixteenth century. Renaissance palaces An extensive building and rebuilding of royal palaces probably began under James III (r. 1460–88) and accelerated under James IV, reaching its peak under James V (r. 1513–42). They used exceptional one-off revenues, such as the forfeiture of key lands, to establish their power across their kingdom in various ways including constructing grander castles by extending and modifying existing fortifications. These works have been seen as directly reflecting the influence of Renaissance styles. Linlithgow was first constructed under James I, under the direction of master of work John de Waltoun and was referred to as a palace, apparently the first use of this term in the country, from 1429. This was extended under James III and began to correspond to a fashionable quadrangular, corner-towered Italian signorial palace of a palatium ad moden castri (a castle-style palace), combining classical symmetry with neo-chivalric imagery and using harling to give them a clean, Italian appearance. There is evidence of Italian masons working for James IV, in whose reign Linlithgow was completed and other palaces were rebuilt with Italianate proportions. According to architectural historian John Dunbar, the results were the "earliest examples of coherent Renaissance design in Britain". The shift in architectural focus reflected changing political alliances, as James V had formed a close alliance with France during his reign. He encountered the French version of Renaissance building while visiting for his marriage to Madeleine of Valois in 1536 and his second marriage to Mary of Guise may have resulted in longer term connections and influences. Work from his reign largely disregarded the insular style adopted in England under Henry VIII and adopted forms that were recognisably European, beginning with the extensive work at Linlithgow. This was followed by re-buildings at Holyrood, Falkland, Stirling and Edinburgh, described by Roger Maison as "some of the finest examples of Renaissance architecture in Britain". Much of this castle rebuilding was planned and financed by James Hamilton of Finnart (c. 1495–1540), in addition to his work at Blackness Castle, Rothesay Castle,