a male heir and his titles passed to Margaret Wemyss, 3rd Countess of Wemyss. She was succeeded by her son, David Wemyss, 4th Earl of Wemyss. Following the death of David, his son James Wemyss, 5th Earl of Wemyss became the next earl. James' eldest son, David Wemyss, was heavily involved with the Jacobite rising of 1745 and escaped to France and lost his titles. The castle was sold in 1749 by James to his second son, Francis Wemyss-Charteris, who had also taken his maternal grandfather's name. The castle was not involved in any military action, but was nearly burned in 1773 when it was being used as a grain store during a famine. Grain was being stored for export to fetch higher prices, and soldiers had to prevent a riot. The grain was subsequently sold on the open market in Perth. After this incident the castle was abandoned. An engraving of Elcho castle was done by James Fittler in 1804. It is part of Scotia Depicta, which is now held at National Library of Scotland. The castle was re-roofed in 1830 by Francis Douglas, 8th Earl of Wemyss in order to preserve it. Few other modifications were done to the castle itself since it was first built. In around 1830 a single-storey cottage with attic was built, thought to have been constructed from material from the courtyard wall. It also has a log column porch. 20th and 21st century The property is still owned by the family of the original builders, the Wemyss family, though it has not been inhabited for some 200 years. It has nevertheless been kept in good repair – one of the earliest examples in Scotland of a building being preserved purely for its historical interest. It is managed by Historic Environment Scotland as a scheduled monument since 30 April 1920 in recognition of its national importance and guardianship of it was given to the state in 1929 by Hugo Charteris, 11th Earl of Wemyss. A 16th-century 'beehive' doo'cot (Scots for dovecote) survives nearby. The dovecote became a Category A listed building in October 1971, whilst the early 19th century custodian's house became Category C. Approximately 90 fruit trees, primarily apple and pear, were planted in the orchard adjoining the castle in 1999. In 2001 the ceremony of sasine was carried out, in which David Charteris, 12th Earl of Wemyss passed ownership of the castle