Powrie Castle is a ruined 16th-century castle located in the north of Dundee,

Scotland Scotland (, ) is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. Covering the northern third of the island of Great Britain, mainland Scotland has a Anglo-Scottish border, border with England to the southeast ...

. It was designated as a

scheduled monument In the United Kingdom, a scheduled monument is a nationally important archaeological site or historic building, given protection against unauthorised change. The various pieces of legislation that legally protect heritage assets from damage and d ...

in 1971. The early 17th-century north range of the castle is now a separate

fortified house A fortified house or fortified mansion is a type of building which developed in Europe during the Middle Ages, generally with significant fortifications added. United States In the United States, historically a fortified house was often calle ...

and has been converted into a private residence. It itself is a

Category A listed This is a list of Category A listed buildings in Scotland, which are among the listed buildings of the United Kingdom. For a fuller list, see the pages linked on List of listed buildings in Scotland. Key The organization of the lists in th ...

building.

History

Originally known as Wester Powrie, the estate was purchased by Thomas Fothringham in 1412 who built a castle of which nothing is known. That structure was destroyed by the Scrymgeours in 1492 and the current castle, built of pink and buff sandstone rubble, probably replaced it in the 16th century. It may have been damaged as part of the

Rough Wooing The Rough Wooing (December 1543 – March 1551), also known as the Eight Years' War, was part of the Anglo-Scottish Wars of the 16th century. Following its break with the Roman Catholic Church, England attacked Scotland, partly to break the ...

; if so it was repaired. It was after this incident that the castle was enlarged with east and north domestic ranges. Little survives of the east range, although it was known as "Lady Kinneard's quarters" or "the ladies quarter". The north range was built in 1604 by the Thomas Fothringham who married Barbara Scott in 1593. With the disappearance of the east range and the western boundary wall, the castle now appears as two separate buildings forming a courtyard. The family appears to have remained in the main building until at least 1684. A

National Trust for Scotland The National Trust for Scotland for Places of Historic Interest or Natural Beauty, commonly known as the National Trust for Scotland ( gd, Urras Nàiseanta na h-Alba), is a Scottish conservation organisation. It is the largest membership organi ...

competition was later held to design a plan to restore the north range. This was won by Gillian Strickland who was awarded ownership of the castle as a result. It was adapted as a private residence in 1978–1981 by architect D. C. Leslie.

Description

The final layout of the main castle was as a two- storey rectangular Z-plan structure with round towers at the north east and south west corners. The western part of the building has collapsed. The north wing was built in a more

renaissance The Renaissance ( , ) , from , with the same meanings. is a period in European history The history of Europe is traditionally divided into four time periods: prehistoric Europe (prior to about 800 BC), classical antiquity (800 BC to AD ...

style with a vaulted ground floor and a small round tower at the north west corner.

References

Bibliography

* *

External links

Pictures of Scotland - features two photos of Powrie castle
{{coord, 56, 29, 58, N, 2, 56, 29, W, region:GB, display=title Castles in Dundee Category A listed buildings in Dundee Listed castles in Scotland Buildings and structures completed in the 16th century 16th-century establishments in Scotland