The West Lothian lands of Winchburgh, or Wynchelburgh, were granted to Philip de Setoun by King William in one of the original Charters granted to the Seton family in 1169.  It is one of the oldest Scottish Charters to exist, now held by the Earl of Eglinton and Winton.  The contruction of Niddry Castle as we know it was begun on the hereditary lands of Winchburgh, in the late 15th century by George, 5th Lord Seton, a great favourite of his King.  The 5th Lord was held in high esteem by James IV, but he was not able to oversee the completion of the Castle, falling with his sovereign on the fatal field of Flodden in 1513. He left a widow, eldest daughter of the first Earl of Both-well, who survived him for a period of nearly half a century. It was to his wife and son, the 6th Lord Seton, who oversaw the completion of the Castle in the early 16th century.

Niddry came to the forefront in history in the mid-16th century when George, 7th Lord Seton came to the rescue of Queen Mary Stuart.  Lord Seton was Provost of both Edinburgh and Elgin, and held the office of Grand Master of Queen Mary’s household, and was concerned in not a few of the most momentous events in her history. The night after the murder of Rizzio, when Mary fled from Holyrood, her first halting-place was Seton House, where Lord Seton was in readiness at the head of two hundred horsemen to escort his sovereign to the strong castle of Dunbar. A few days after the murder of Darnley, Mary repaired to Seton House, where she was entertained by its owner in person, and spent her time in hunting and shooting.

On the Queen’s escape from Douglas imprisonment at Lochleven, Lord Seton was waiting in the vicinity of the lake with fifty of his retainers and 200 lances, and attended her in her rapid flight to his castle of Niddry, on his Winchburgh estate in West Lothian, where she first drew bridle. Having crossed the Forth at Queensferry, it is here at Niddry Castle that on the 2nd of May 1568, she gave instructions for the raising of her adherents and then rapidly moved on to Cadzow Castle in Lanarkshire, pausing at Craignethan Castle along the way.  He fought on her side and was taken prisoner at the battle of Lang-side, in 1568, which ruined her cause in Scotland.  Sadly, on 13th May her army was defeated at Langside by the better-led army of her half-brother, the Earl of Moray. Fleeing southwards and staying at the house of a friend each consecutive night, Mary arrived at Dundrennan Abbey on 15th May, on the shores of the Solway Firth. From there, she sailed to England, never to set foot in Scotland again.

Later at Niddry, Lord Seton celebrated the marriage of his daughter Margaret to Claud Hamilton in 1574, the famed Politician and Commendator of Paisley Abbey, the fourth son of James Hamilton (1516-75), 2nd Earl of Arran and 1st Duke Châtelherault and younger brother of the 3rd Earl of Arran.  Hamilton was created the 1st Baron Paisley in 1587, and their son became the 1st Earl of Abercorn.

Niddry Castle is situated in a quiet and open location, right opposite the more modern village of Winchburgh and flanked by a golf course. The former castle village which was situated beside, is infortunately long gone.  The Reid Family, Hereditary Keepers of Niddry Castle, and it's grounds gardeners, left after the castle was sold to the Hope's and later settled in Ulster, Northern Ireland, and intermarried with the descendants of the Seton's of Meldrum who had also settled there after the beginning of the Jacobite troubles.

Niddry is now privately owned and not open to the public but one can get a good view by walking all around the building.