Palace of Monimail

One tower remains standing in the grounds of Melville House near the village of Monimail, 4 kilometres (2.5 mi) north of Ladybank.

Monimail Palace was situated at the junction of the main roads between St. Andrews, Perth and Stirling, overlooking the Howe of Fife.

Around 1319 William Lamberton (Bishop of St. Andrews 1298–1328) constructed a manor house of some quality at Monimail "in the period of stability that followed Bannockburn".

However, recent research suggests that the building is in fact the work of his uncle, and predecessor as Archbishop of St Andrews, James Beaton (1473–1539).

Archbishop John Hamilton (1512–1571), spent several weeks at Monimail in 1552 receiving medical treatments, for an unspecified condition, overseen by the Italian physician Jerome Cardan.

[5] In the 1820s the Melvilles built walled gardens, changing the ground levels around the site of the palace and resulting in most of the remains being buried.