Cairnbulg Castle is a z-plan castle situated in Cairnbulg,

Aberdeenshire Aberdeenshire (; ) is one of the 32 Subdivisions of Scotland#council areas of Scotland, council areas of Scotland. It takes its name from the Shires of Scotland, historic county of Aberdeenshire (historic), Aberdeenshire, which had substantial ...

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 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. It stands by the River Philorth and was originally known as Philorth Castle (or Philorth House). The 17th-century Philorth Castle, an L-plan house consisting of a sizeable

crow-step A stepped gable, crow-stepped gable, or corbie step is a stairstep type of design at the top of the triangular gable-end of a building. The top of the parapet wall projects above the roofline and the top of the brick or stone wall is stacked in ...

ped block, was demolished after a fire in 1915.

History

The castle was built in the early 14th century but destroyed in the winter of 1308–1309 in the

Wars of Independence Wars of national liberation, also called wars of independence or wars of liberation, are conflicts fought by nations to gain independence. The term is used in conjunction with wars against foreign powers (or at least those perceived as foreign) ...

. After being owned by the Comyns up until 1375, it was subsequently granted to the Earls of Ross. It was rebuilt in 1380 after the daughter of the 5th Earl married Sir Alexander Fraser of Cowie. In 1545, a second, round, tower, a courtyard and outbuildings were added to the original main square tower. In 1613, after nearly

bankrupt Bankruptcy is a legal process through which people or other entities who cannot repay debts to creditors may seek relief from some or all of their debts. In most jurisdictions, bankruptcy is imposed by a court order, often initiated by the de ...

ing themselves, the Frasers of Philorth sold the castle, which — after passing through several other families of the Fraser clan, including the Frasers of Durris — ended up in 1775 with

George Gordon, 3rd Earl of Aberdeen George Gordon, 3rd Earl of Aberdeen (19 June 1722 – 13 August 1801), styled Lord Haddo until 1745, was a Scottish peer. He sat in the House of Lords as a Scottish representative peer from 1747 to 1761, and from 1774 to 1790. He was against Will ...

, who removed anything of value. It lay abandoned by 1799. In 1896, the two towers were restored and its central building rebuilt by

Jenkins & Marr Jenkins may refer to: People * Jenkins (name), history of the surname * List of people with surname Jenkins * The Jenkins, country music group Places United States * Jenkins, Illinois *Jenkins, Kentucky *Jenkins, Minnesota *Jenkins, Missouri * ...

for Sir John Duthie, a barrister. In the late Victorian period the castle, by now almost a ruin after a 1915 fire, was purchased and restored by the wealthy Duthie family of Aberdeen. In 1934, it returned to the Fraser family after being bought by Lord Saltoun, a direct descendant of the 8th Laird.

Flora Fraser, 21st Lady Saltoun Flora Marjorie Fraser, 21st Lady Saltoun (18 October 1930 – 3 September 2024), was a Scottish noblewoman and Crossbench peer. Until her retirement on 12 December 2014, she was the only holder of a lordship of Parliament with a seat in the Hou ...

, and her husband, Captain

Alexander Ramsay of Mar Alexander Arthur Alfonso David Maule Ramsay of Mar, DL (21 December 1919 – 20 December 2000) was the only child of Princess Patricia of Connaught, who renounced her royal title and style when she married then-Captain the Hon. Alexander Rams ...

, who was one of

Queen Victoria Victoria (Alexandrina Victoria; 24 May 1819 – 22 January 1901) was Queen of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland from 20 June 1837 until Death and state funeral of Queen Victoria, her death in January 1901. Her reign of 63 year ...

's great-grandchildren, lived there for a while. Their daughter, Katharine Fraser, Mistrss of Saltoun (now 22nd Lady Saltoun), took possession of the castle in 1997. During the Second World War, the castle was used as the

Officers' Mess The mess (also called a mess deck aboard ships) is a designated area where military personnel socialize, eat and (in some cases) live. The term is also used to indicate the groups of military personnel who belong to separate messes, such as the o ...

for nearby

RAF Fraserburgh Royal Air Force Fraserburgh, or more simply RAF Fraserburgh, is a former Royal Air Force satellite station located in Aberdeenshire, Scotland, south east of Fraserburgh and north west of Peterhead. History The following units were based at F ...

Philorth Bridge Halt railway station Philorth Bridge Halt railway station, not to be confused with Philorth railway station on the old Formartine and Buchan Railway, was a request stop on the Fraserburgh and St Combs Light Railway, Aberdeenshire. It was opened in 1903 as Philorth ...

once stood nearby on the old Fraserburgh and St Combs Light Railway. Cairnbulg Castle is open to the public only by appointment.

References

External links

Official Website of Lady Saltoun
Castles in Aberdeenshire Category A listed buildings in Aberdeenshire Listed castles in Scotland Banff and Buchan {{Scotland-castle-stub