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

Dundee Dundee (; ; or , ) is the List of towns and cities in Scotland by population, fourth-largest city in Scotland. The mid-year population estimate for the locality was . It lies within the eastern central Lowlands on the north bank of the Firt ...

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 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, visu ...

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. During the earlier Roman Empire, Roman period it was common for wealthy landowner ...

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

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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 the English Reformation, the break with the Catholic Church, England attacked Scotland ...

; 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 () is a Scottish Building preservation and conservation trusts in the UK, conservation organisation. It is the largest membership organisation in Scotland and describes itself as "the charity that cares for, sha ...

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 A storey (English in the Commonwealth of Nations, Commonwealth English) or story (American English), is any level part of a building with a floor that could be used by people (for living, work, storage, recreation, etc.). Plurals for the wor ...

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 ( , ) is a Periodization, period of history and a European cultural movement covering the 15th and 16th centuries. It marked the transition from the Middle Ages to modernity and was characterized by an effort to revive and sur ...

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

References

Bibliography

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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