Pitsligo Castle is a ruined

castle A castle is a type of fortified structure built during the Middle Ages predominantly by the nobility or royalty and by military orders. Scholars debate the scope of the word ''castle'', but usually consider it to be the private fortified r ...

half a mile east of

Rosehearty Rosehearty ( gd, Ros Abhartaich) is a settlement on the Moray Firth coast, four miles west of the town Fraserburgh, in the historical county of Aberdeenshire in Scotland. The burgh has a population of approximately 1,300 with about 25 per cent of ...

Aberdeenshire Aberdeenshire ( sco, Aiberdeenshire; gd, Siorrachd Obar Dheathain) is one of the 32 council areas of Scotland. It takes its name from the County of Aberdeen which has substantially different boundaries. The Aberdeenshire Council area incl ...

Scotland Scotland (, ) is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Covering the northern third of the island of Great Britain, mainland Scotland has a border with England to the southeast and is otherwise surrounded by the Atlantic Ocean to th ...

. Modified in the 1570s by the Forbes of Druminnor, 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 is listed by

Historic Environment Scotland Historic Environment Scotland (HES) ( gd, Àrainneachd Eachdraidheil Alba) is an executive non-departmental public body responsible for investigating, caring for and promoting Scotland's historic environment. HES was formed in 2015 from the me ...

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 ...

History

It originated as a

keep A keep (from the Middle English ''kype'') is a type of fortified tower built within castles during the Middle Ages by European nobility. Scholars have debated the scope of the word ''keep'', but usually consider it to refer to large towers in ...

, dating to 1424. There is an arched gateway in the west wall of the outer court, with the date 1656 and the arms of the Forbeses and Erskines. In the inner court, the date is shown as 1663. At the north-east angle of the courtyard, there is a tall flanking drum tower, with walls thick, built by the

Frasers of Philorth The Frasers of Philorth are a Scottish lowland family, originally from the Anjou region of France. Castle Fraser, their family seat, is in Sauchen, Aberdeenshire, Scotland. Since the time of Alexander Fraser, 11th Lord Saltoun, the heads of the ...

. The main tower had three vaulted stories, but almost all above the lowest has disappeared. There is a stair tower at the north-east corner which is better preserved. There are several

armorial A roll of arms (or armorial) is a collection of coats of arms, usually consisting of rows of painted pictures of shields, each shield accompanied by the name of the person bearing the arms. The oldest extant armorials date to the mid-13th centur ...

plaques dotted around the castle, including the Pitsligo Arms of 1665 and, over the courtyard doorway, the Royal Arms dated 1577 and 1603. The castle was looted and destroyed by the

Flemish Flemish (''Vlaams'') is a Low Franconian dialect cluster of the Dutch language. It is sometimes referred to as Flemish Dutch (), Belgian Dutch ( ), or Southern Dutch (). Flemish is native to Flanders, a historical region in northern Belgium ...

troops of

William Lascelles William Saunders Sebright Lascelles PC (29 October 1798 – 2 July 1851) was a British Whig politician. He served as Comptroller of the Household from 1847 to 1851. Background Lascelles was the third son of Henry Lascelles, 2nd Earl of Hare ...

in 1845. Its roof was removed by the Gardens of Troup thereafter. As of

Charles McKean Charles McKean FRSE FRSA FRHistS FRIBA (16 July 1946 – 29 September 2013) was a Scottish historian A historian is a person who studies and writes about the past and is regarded as an authority on it. Historians are concerned with the ...

's visit around 1990, "a fine walled garden" was to the north and a walled enclosure to the west. Around the same time, the castle was consolidated by Douglas Forrest architects, for

Malcolm Forbes Malcolm Stevenson Forbes (August 19, 1919 – February 24, 1990) was an American entrepreneur most prominently known as the publisher of ''Forbes'' magazine, founded by his father B. C. Forbes. He was known as an avid promoter of capitalis ...

References

{{reflist

External links

Engraving of Pitsligo castle
by James Fittler in the digitised copy o
Scotia Depicta, or the antiquities, castles, public buildings, noblemen and gentlemen's seats, cities, towns and picturesque scenery of Scotland
1804 at

National Library of Scotland The National Library of Scotland (NLS) ( gd, Leabharlann Nàiseanta na h-Alba, sco, Naitional Leebrar o Scotland) is the legal deposit library of Scotland and is one of the country's National Collections. As one of the largest libraries in th ...

Pitsligo Castle Virtual Tour
Ruined castles in Aberdeenshire Scheduled Ancient Monuments in Aberdeenshire

History

See also

References

External links