Algie's Castle (253 Hurstmere Road)

When 70-year-old Captain John Alexander Algie returned from a trip to his ancestral Scotland in 1924, he brought back a new wife, Penelope, and a passion for all things Scottish. Having decided to spend the rest of his years on the Shore, he consulted with architect W. H. Jaime and, together with stonemason Frank Savidan, began building the castle of his dreams.

Merskworth Castle, as he called it, is a two-storey baronial home. A tower with 70 centimetre-thick locally quarried basalt walls and crenellations overhangs the sea at the back. Reminders of Scotland can be seen everywhere in the house, inside and out. Stained glass crests with the family motto, ‘gang warily,’ are woven into the windows. The initials of J and P are carved above the entrance along with the completion date of the castle, 1926. Captain Algie’s prize acquisition of amoral bearings from Scotland are also proudly displayed. Merkesworth Castle is still owned by the Algie family.

Continue walking along Hurstmere Road.