Ballindalloch Castle, known as the "pearl of the north", is a Scottish

castle A castle is a type of fortification, fortified structure built during the Middle Ages predominantly by the nobility or royalty and by Military order (monastic society), military orders. Scholars usually consider a ''castle'' to be the private ...

located in

Ballindalloch Ballindalloch () is a small village on the River Spey in Scotland. It is known for its Scotch whisky, whisky distilleries and for Ballindalloch Castle. In Ballindalloch itself, there are two distilleries, Cragganmore distillery and Ballindalloc ...

Banffshire Banffshire (; ; ) is a historic county in Scotland. The county town is Banff, although the largest settlement is Buckie to the west. The historic county ceased to be used for local government purposes in 1975. Since 1996 the area has been spli ...

Scotland Scotland is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It contains nearly one-third of the United Kingdom's land area, consisting of the northern part of the island of Great Britain and more than 790 adjac ...

. It has been the family home of Macpherson-Grants since 1546.

History

The first tower of the ''Z plan'' castle was built in 1546. In 1590 the widow of the Grant of Ballindalloch married John Gordon, son Thomas Gordon of

Cluny Cluny () is a commune in the eastern French department of Saône-et-Loire, in the region of Bourgogne-Franche-Comté. It is northwest of Mâcon. The town grew up around the Benedictine Abbey of Cluny, founded by Duke William I of Aquitaine in ...

. John Grant, former Tutor of Ballindaloch, the administrator of the estate, killed one of John Grant's servants. This started a feud between the

Earl of Huntly Marquess of Huntly is a title in the Peerage of Scotland that was created on 17 April 1599 for George Gordon, 6th Earl of Huntly. It is the oldest existing marquessate in Scotland, and the second-oldest in the British Isles; only the English ma ...

and the

Earl of Moray The title Earl of Moray, or Mormaer of Moray (pronounced "Murry"), was originally held by the rulers of the Province of Moray, which existed from the 10th century with varying degrees of independence from the Kingdom of Alba to the south. Until ...

. The Earl of Huntly went to Ballindalloch in November 1590 to arrest the Tutor. The Chief of Grant, John Grant of Freuchie promised to deliver the Tutor and his accomplices, accused of murder and other crimes, to

Huntly Castle Huntly Castle is a ruined castle north of Huntly, Scotland, Huntly in Aberdeenshire, Scotland, where the rivers River Deveron, Deveron and River Bogie, Bogie meet. It was the ancestral home of the chief of Clan Gordon, Earl of Huntly. There hav ...

. However, Freuchie joined with the Tutor's men and the

, and came to

Darnaway Castle Darnaway Castle, also known as Tarnaway Castle, is located in Darnaway Forest, southwest of Forres in Moray, Scotland. This was Comyn land, given to Thomas Randolph along with the Earldom of Moray by King Robert I. The castle has remained t ...

, and there shot

pistols A pistol is a type of handgun, characterised by a barrel with an integral chamber. The word "pistol" derives from the Middle French ''pistolet'' (), meaning a small gun or knife, and first appeared in the English language when early handguns ...

at Huntly's officers and

cannon A cannon is a large-caliber gun classified as a type of artillery, which usually launches a projectile using explosive chemical propellant. Gunpowder ("black powder") was the primary propellant before the invention of smokeless powder during th ...

from the castle, and killed John Gordon, brother of the Laird of Cluny. After it was plundered and burned by James Graham, the first

Marquess of Montrose A marquess (; ) is a nobleman of high hereditary rank in various European peerages and in those of some of their former colonies. The German-language equivalent is Markgraf (margrave). A woman with the rank of a marquess or the wife (or widow ...

, it was restored in 1645. Extensions were added in 1770 by General James Grant of the American Wars of Independence (whose

ghost In folklore, a ghost is the soul or Spirit (supernatural entity), spirit of a dead Human, person or non-human animal that is believed by some people to be able to appear to the living. In ghostlore, descriptions of ghosts vary widely, from a ...

is said to haunt the castle) and in 1850 by the architect

Thomas MacKenzie Sir Thomas Mackenzie (10 March 1853 – 4 February 1930) was a Scottish-born New Zealand politician and explorer who briefly served as the 18th prime minister of New Zealand in 1912, and later served as New Zealand High Commissioner in L ...

. Further extensions carried out in 1878 were mostly demolished during modernisation enacted in 1965. It has been continuously occupied by Russell and Macpherson-Grant families throughout its existence. The castle houses an important collection of 17th century

Spanish Spanish might refer to: * Items from or related to Spain: **Spaniards are a nation and ethnic group indigenous to Spain **Spanish language, spoken in Spain and many countries in the Americas **Spanish cuisine **Spanish history **Spanish culture ...

paintings. The castle grounds contain a 20th-century

rock garden A rock garden, also known as a rockery and formerly as a rockwork, is a garden, or more often a part of a garden, with a landscaping framework of rocks, stones, and gravel, with planting appropriate to this setting. Usually these are small ...

and a 17th-century

dovecote A dovecote or dovecot , doocot (Scots Language, Scots) or columbarium is a structure intended to house Domestic pigeon, pigeons or doves. Dovecotes may be free-standing structures in a variety of shapes, or built into the end of a house or b ...

. The rivers Spey and Avon flow through the grounds, offering excellent

fishing Fishing is the activity of trying to catch fish. Fish are often caught as wildlife from the natural environment (Freshwater ecosystem, freshwater or Marine ecosystem, marine), but may also be caught from Fish stocking, stocked Body of water, ...

. The famous

Aberdeen Angus The Aberdeen Angus, sometimes simply Angus, is a Scotland, Scottish List of cattle breeds, breed of small beef cattle. It derives from cattle native to the Scottish counties, counties of Aberdeenshire (historic), Aberdeen, Banffshire, Banff, ...

cattle herd resides in the castle estate. Today, the castle is still occupied by the Macpherson-Grant family. It is open to

tourists Tourism is travel for pleasure, and the Commerce, commercial activity of providing and supporting such travel. World Tourism Organization, UN Tourism defines tourism more generally, in terms which go "beyond the common perception of tourism as ...

during the summer months and a number of workshops on its grounds are in active use.

Traditions

It is said that the original intention was to build at a better site defensively, but when building commenced whatever was built in the day was thrown down at night. Eventually the laird, annoyed by the problem, heard a mysterious voice saying "Build in the cow haughs, and you will meet with no interruptions." He did so, and there was no further problem with the building.

Whisky

With the assistance of a £1.2 million grant from the

Scottish Government The Scottish Government (, ) is the executive arm of the devolved government of Scotland. It was formed in 1999 as the Scottish Executive following the 1997 referendum on Scottish devolution, and is headquartered at St Andrew's House in ...

, the owners of the castle set up the Ballindalloch distillery on the estate farm. The distillery commenced production in September 2014.

Ghostlore

The

dining room A dining room is a room for consuming food. In modern times it is usually next to the kitchen for convenience in serving, though in medieval times it was often on an entirely different floor level. Historically the dining room is furnished with ...

of Ballindalloch has associated

ghostlore Ghostlore is an intricate web of Tradition, traditional beliefs and folklore surrounding ghosts and List of reportedly haunted locations, hauntings. Ghostlore has ingrained itself in the cultural fabric of societies worldwide. Defined by narrative ...

and is said to be haunted by a

known as ''The Green Lady.'' The green lady is a reoccurring character in Scottish ghostlore stories about castles.

References

External links

The Ballindalloch Castle web siteBallindalloch sculptorBallindalloch Castle on Burgenwelt.org
(German) {{Authority control Castles in Moray Category A listed buildings in Moray Listed castles in Scotland Historic house museums in Moray Gardens in Moray Country houses in Moray Tower houses in Scotland Strath Avon Clan Grant