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The Castle of Rattray was a medieval
Scottish Scottish usually refers to something of, from, or related to Scotland, including: *Scottish Gaelic, a Celtic Goidelic language of the Indo-European language family native to Scotland *Scottish English *Scottish national identity, the Scottish ide ...
castle, with multiple variations on its structure over approximately six centuries. Originally built as a ''"late 12th- or early 13th century defensive
motte A motte-and-bailey castle is a European fortification with a wooden or stone keep situated on a raised area of ground called a motte, accompanied by a walled courtyard, or bailey, surrounded by a protective ditch and palisade. Relatively eas ...
"'' it provided protection for Starny Keppie Harbour and Rattray village. Sometime between 1214 and 1233 it was upgraded by
William Comyn, jure uxoris Earl of Buchan William Comyn was Lord of Badenoch and Earl of Buchan. He was one of the seven children of Richard Comyn, Justiciar of Lothian, and Hextilda of Tynedale. He was born in Scotland, in Altyre, Moray in 1163 and died in Buchan in 1233 where he is ...
before being destroyed in the 1308 Harrying of Buchan. After Comyn's timber castle was burned down, it was replaced by a stronger stone castle which was engulfed during a 1720 sand storm along with nearby Rattray village. After the storm, the castle was not dug out and remains covered to this day. The castle 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 a ...
, referring to the rocky headland of north-east Aberdeenshire.


Location

The castle was sited on Castlehill, on the south bank of the now-closed estuary flowing into Strathbeg Bay- the north bank was protected by the opposite
Lonmay Castle The remains of the Castle of Lonmay are found near Netherton of Lonmay, to the north of Loch Strathbeg in Buchan, Scotland. The remains are not located in the modern village of Lonmay which is approximately 6 km to the south-west. It was des ...
. Specifically the castle was ''"beside an inlet which led from the sea into a sheltered harbour"'' on ''"the harbour side"'' of Rattray village. The later stone castle is known to have had a ''"harbour-side entrance".'' Originally situated on ''"a rock near the sea"'',Bruce (2005); ''quoted as book source a
World66.com "Rattray Head Travel Guide"
article on Rattray.''
Castlehill is today about 1 mile inland as shifting sands have significantly altered the shape of the coast. Located to the south of Loch Strathbeg it can be seen as a grassy ''"circular mound"'' which is ''"oval & natural with its top slightly dished".'' A 1791 book states it has a ''"summit"...'' f''"half a Scots acre"'' (approx. 0.25
hectare The hectare (; SI symbol: ha) is a non-SI metric unit of area equal to a square with 100- metre sides (1 hm2), or 10,000 m2, and is primarily used in the measurement of land. There are 100 hectares in one square kilometre. An acre is ...
) and ''"rises 38 feet"...'' (11.6 metres) ''"above a small plain on the"...'' north-east ''"but is only 12 or 14 feet"...'' (3.7 or 4.3 metres) ''"above the higher ground"''Sinclair (1791), p.419 to the south-west.


c. AD 1100 to c. AD 1200

The first construction of Castlehill was a small late middle age, 12th century ''"timber castle or
Motte A motte-and-bailey castle is a European fortification with a wooden or stone keep situated on a raised area of ground called a motte, accompanied by a walled courtyard, or bailey, surrounded by a protective ditch and palisade. Relatively eas ...
"'' built to protect the estuary.


Comyn period (c. AD 1200 - AD 1308)

In the 13th century, the Castle of Rattray was ''"the principal seat of the Cummings"...'' lt. spelling of Comyn''"Earls of Buchan"'' who arrived at the start of that century. Between 1214 when he inherited the Earldom of Buchan and his own death in 1233,
William Comyn, jure uxoris Earl of Buchan William Comyn was Lord of Badenoch and Earl of Buchan. He was one of the seven children of Richard Comyn, Justiciar of Lothian, and Hextilda of Tynedale. He was born in Scotland, in Altyre, Moray in 1163 and died in Buchan in 1233 where he is ...
built upon the motte but it is unclear whether he upgraded the existing buildings or built an entirely new castle. He is known to have completed a ''"manor house"''Murray (1993) with ''"a fine timber-framed hall"'' (the castle) which was accompanied by the private St Mary's Chapel which he constructed ''"a quarter of a mile"'' (0.4 kilometres) south, in Rattray village itself. In the mid-1270s, it is reported that "a castle-strengthening programme at"... "Rattray" took place. Comyn's castle survived until the Harrying of Buchan in the summer of 1308, when all the Comyn lands were bloodily burned to the ground after
John Comyn, Earl of Buchan John Comyn, 3rd Earl of Buchan (circa 1260 – 1308) was a chief opponent of Robert the Bruce in the civil war that paralleled the War of Scottish Independence. He should not be confused with the better known John III Comyn, Lord of Badenoch, ...
was beaten at the Battle of Barra. The timber Rattray Castle was almost certainly attacked by
Robert the Bruce Robert I (11 July 1274 – 7 June 1329), popularly known as Robert the Bruce (Scottish Gaelic: ''Raibeart an Bruis''), was King of Scots from 1306 to his death in 1329. One of the most renowned warriors of his generation, Robert eventuall ...
or his younger brother
Edward Edward is an English given name. It is derived from the Anglo-Saxon name ''Ēadweard'', composed of the elements '' ēad'' "wealth, fortune; prosperous" and '' weard'' "guardian, protector”. History The name Edward was very popular in Anglo-Sa ...
after which the "castle fell into ruins" if not burned to the ground.


AD 1308 - AD 1720

Following the harrying, the site of Rattray's timber castle was rebuilt with a ''"stone-built hall".'' This stone incarnation provided protection for Starnie Keppie Harbour and the village of Rattray, as the previous incarnations did. The Earldom of Buchan and hence the castle was inherited and divided after the harrying between John Comyn's two nieces.
Henry de Beaumont Henry de Beaumont (before 1280 – 10 March 1340), ''jure uxoris'' 4th Earl of Buchan and ''suo jure'' 1st Baron Beaumont, was a key figure in the Anglo-Scots wars of the thirteenth and fourteenth centuries, known as the Wars of Scottish Inde ...
, the husband of one niece; Alice Comyn, claimed the title under her name but was disinherited from the lands in 1314. A 1324 charter from
Robert the Bruce Robert I (11 July 1274 – 7 June 1329), popularly known as Robert the Bruce (Scottish Gaelic: ''Raibeart an Bruis''), was King of Scots from 1306 to his death in 1329. One of the most renowned warriors of his generation, Robert eventuall ...
then gives the ''"lordship of Rattray''" to Sir Archibald Douglas. The lands again change hands in 1382 when Alexander Stewart was given the Earldom by his father
Robert II of Scotland Robert II (2 March 1316 – 19 April 1390) was King of Scots from 1371 to his death in 1390. The son of Walter Stewart, 6th High Steward of Scotland, and Marjorie, daughter of King Robert the Bruce, he was the first monarch of the House of Ste ...
.
Mary, Queen of Scots Mary, Queen of Scots (8 December 1542 – 8 February 1587), also known as Mary Stuart or Mary I of Scotland, was Queen of Scotland from 14 December 1542 until her forced abdication in 1567. The only surviving legitimate child of James V of S ...
, declared Rattray a
Royal Burgh A royal burgh () was a type of Scottish burgh which had been founded by, or subsequently granted, a royal charter. Although abolished by law in 1975, the term is still used by many former royal burghs. Most royal burghs were either created by ...
in 1563 "to put an end to the disputes about superiority over it between William Keith, 4th Earl Marischal and George Hay, 7th Earl of Erroll". The importance of the Burgh is questionable due to the fact "it does not appear to have long enjoyed that privilege not being ranked in the roll of boroughs for many ages" and as it was "said to have had all tire privileges of a royal borough except sending members to parliament" In later years Rattray was run by a feudal system of superiors who maintained the land for
the Crown The Crown is the state in all its aspects within the jurisprudence of the Commonwealth realms and their subdivisions (such as the Crown Dependencies, overseas territories, provinces, or states). Legally ill-defined, the term has differen ...
, some of whom are known due to charters that they granted. ''"David Rivis"... "superior of the lands of Rattray"''Sinclair (1791), p.420 (footnotes) granted a charter in 1617; ''"William Watson of Haddo,
bailie A bailie or baillie is a civic officer in the local government of Scotland. The position arose in the burghs, where bailies formerly held a post similar to that of an alderman or magistrate (see bailiff). Baillies appointed the high constables ...
of the burgh of Rattray, superior"''
f Rattray F, or f, is the sixth letter in the Latin alphabet, used in the modern English alphabet, the alphabets of other western European languages and others worldwide. Its name in English is ''ef'' (pronounced ), and the plural is ''efs''. Hist ...
granted a charter in 1675 and ''" Charles"..'' ay, 13th''"Earl of Erroll, superior of the lands of Rattray"'' granted a charter in 1711. The destruction of the stone castle and the nearby village of Rattray, is said by ''"a tradition"'' to have happened during the great storm of 1720 which cut off Strathbeg Bay. It is believed that the castle was ''"blown over with sand one Sunday evening while the"'' inhabitants, ''"a godless crew"''. ''"were engaged in playing cards"''. ''"on the
Sabbath In Abrahamic religions, the Sabbath () or Shabbat (from Hebrew ) is a day set aside for rest and worship. According to the Book of Exodus, the Sabbath is a day of rest on the seventh day, commanded by God to be kept as a holy day of rest, as G ...
,'' hen''they were buried alive."'' Another story says that the site was ''"buried because of the plague."'' However there is no date or record of which plague and it is a very unlikely account.


AD 1720(approx) - 1988

Today there is not much to be seen at the site as the remains have ''"for a long period''
een Een ːnis a village in the Netherlands. It is part of the Noordenveld municipality in Drenthe. History Een is an ''esdorp'' which developed in the middle ages on the higher grounds. The communal pasture is triangular. The village developed dur ...
''covered with a deep soil, and now- the swords of the warlike house beaten literally into ploughshares"''. In c. 1730, a dig at the south-east ''"side of the Castle Hill"... "found a great number of stones, supposed to belong to the kitchen of the castle, as"... "workmen found very large hearthstones covered with ashes."'' Items recovered include; ''"a quantity of regularly-laid stones were removed c. 1734 and some silver coins"'' as well as two kilns stands found in 1829 (today held in Marischal Museum, Aberdeen). In 1740 ''"a man who drove his spade through the panel of a door was immediately suffocated"'' having got caught in the sand and at an unknown date, a ''"well-made causeway was discovered at the foot of the mound under which the Castle is said to be buried."''


1985-1989 Excavations

Thorough excavations at Castlehill in 1985-1989 revealed the remains of the stone castle and traces of the previous timber one. Traces of the stone castle revealed a ''"perimeter wall".. and "two mural buildings".'' It also ascertained that the later stone castle was approximately ''"20m by 6.5 m"'' and ''"divided into three parts, a central room, and two smaller end rooms".'' It likely supported more than one storey, due to the ''"indication of a possible forestair"...'' and ''"the wall thickness."'' The results of this excavation can be found in the Journal article (available free from the link in the journal citation below) ''"Excavations at Rattray, Aberdeenshire. A Scottish deserted burgh"'' by ''"Murray & Murray"'' and forms the most complete modern and peer-reviewed academic account of the Castle of Rattray available to historians and archaeologists today.


1989 - present

Aberdeen City Council today holds various artefacts from Rattray and the Castlehill site and has previously held a temporary display of artefacts at
James Dun's House James Dun's House is located in Aberdeen, Scotland. It is located at Schoolhill and was a popular museum and gallery with changing exhibitions, but in 2001 was converted into a hairdresser and cafe. It was built in 1769 and was owned by James Dun ...
in Aberdeen.


References


Notes


Books

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Journals

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External links

*Artists impressions of the site from the Scran database of
12th to 13th-centuries13th century14th century
{{DEFAULTSORT:Rattray, Castle Of Buildings and structures completed in 1308 History of Aberdeenshire Castles in Aberdeenshire Former castles in Scotland Clan Comyn