Inverallochy Castle is a ruined courtyard castle, near the village of

Inverallochy The villages of Inverallochy (Scottish Gaelic: ''Inbhir Aileachaidh'') and Cairnbulg (from the Gaelic ''càrn builg'' meaning 'gap cairn') lie some east of Fraserburgh, in North East Scotland. It formerly consisted of the three fishing villages ...

in the

Buchan Buchan is a coastal district in the north-east of Scotland, bounded by the Ythan and Deveron rivers. It was one of the original provinces of the Kingdom of Alba. It is now one of the six committee areas of Aberdeenshire. Etymology The ge ...

area of North-East Scotland, dating to 1504. It lies south of

Cairnbulg Castle Cairnbulg Castle is a z-plan castle situated in Cairnbulg, Aberdeenshire, Scotland. It was described by W. Douglas Simpson as one of the nine castles of the Knuckle, referring to the rocky headland of north-east Aberdeenshire. It stands by the R ...

, near

Fraserburgh Fraserburgh (; ), locally known as the Broch, is a town in Aberdeenshire (unitary), Aberdeenshire, Scotland, with a population recorded in the United Kingdom Census 2011, 2011 Census as 13,100. It lies in Buchan in the northeastern corner of th ...

, and formerly stood beside the now-drained Loch of Inverallochy. It was described by W. Douglas Simpson as one of the

nine castles of the Knuckle The nine castles of the Knuckle are a group of ancient castles found in Aberdeenshire in the Buchan area of Scotland. The term was used by historian William Douglas Simpson, who described the promontory between the Moray Firth and the North Sea as ...

, referring to the rocky headland of North-East Aberdeenshire.

Description

The remains of buildings are arranged around three sides of a courtyard, with a curtain wall across the south side. A tower in the north-east corner remains largely to its full height, while the remaining curtain wall stands up to 10 m high. The internal walls have largely collapsed. Evidence of a larger outer courtyard measuring approximately square to the north and east remains. The ruins are protected 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, visu ...

. The castle appears to have all been built at once, and architectural evidence suggests an early 16th-century date. It may have been the work of Sir William Comyn (or Cumyng) of Inverallochy, who was

Lord Lyon The Right Honourable the Lord Lyon King of Arms, the head of Lyon Court, is the most junior of the Great Officers of State in Scotland and is the Scottish official with responsibility for regulating heraldry in that country, issuing new gran ...

in 1512–1519.

Inscribed stone

Until the latter half of the 18th century, there was a stone inserted above the entrance, bearing the sculptured arms of the Comyns, with an inscription "recording that the estate around it was obtained by Jordan Comyn for building the

abbey of Deer Deer Abbey was a Cistercian monastery in Buchan, Scotland. It was founded by 1219 under the patronage William Comyn, jure uxoris Earl of Buchan, who is also buried there. History There was an earlier community of Scottish monks or priests, n ...

".''Ordnance Gazetteer of Scotland: A Graphic and Accurate Description of Every Place in Scotland''
Frances Hindes Groome (1901), p. 852

References

External links

A series of photos of Inverallochy Castle on Flickr Inverallochy Castle Virtual Tour
Castles in Aberdeenshire 1504 establishments in Scotland Ruined castles in Aberdeenshire Scheduled monuments in Aberdeenshire Clan Comyn Banff and Buchan {{Scotland-castle-stub