cellars. A long corridor connected the lower rooms. A smaller staircase gave servants direct access to the floor above without needing to use the main staircase. A quarry nearby had been flooded and used a private dock on the river with what was thought to be a 19th-century jetty, though it is now the site of a garden. The surrounding wall would have enclosed ancillary buildings, but not much has survived beyond the ruin of a small round tower in the south-east corner, which also featured a gun port. History The first reliable record of the Elcho was in 1429, when Sir David Wemyss of Clan Wemyss and Hugh Fraser made an agreement at "Elthok". Blind Harry's 1480s poem about William Wallace over 150 years earlier, The Wallace, refers to "Elchoch", but it is not thought by Historic Environment Scotland to be a reliable source. In 1468 James III of Scotland confirmed that ownership of the east Elcho lands went to Sir David's son, John Wemyss, as recorded in The Register of the Great Seal. There is a reference in 1501 to "place of Elchok", and in 1541 to "capitale messuagium de Elquhoch". Sir John Wemyss assisted the nearby Elcho Nunnery in west Elcho some time after 1547 by providing barley and funding. Areas of land were leased to Wemyss and by 1560 eventually all the lands of Elcho were in Wemyss family hands. The current castle was built on the site of an older structure about 1560. The main seat of Clan Wemyss was Wemyss Castle in Fife with Elcho castle being more of a country retreat. Sir John died in 1571 and his son David took possession of the castle. Sir David was involved in the wedding planning of James VI and I and Anne of Denmark in 1589. In 1628 a descendant of Sir John, also called John became the first Lord Wemyss of Elcho in 1628, and then Earl of Wemyss, Lord Elcho and Methil in 1633 by Charles I, and decorative plasterwork was added to the hall of the castle in celebration. The letters "E I W" are carved outside near the door, thought to stand for "Earl James Wemyss". Sir John died in 1649, the same year Charles was executed. His only son, David Wemyss, 2nd Earl of Wemyss, become the subsequent Lord Elcho, though lived at Wemyss Castle. He died in 1697 without