Tillycairn Castle is an

L-plan castle An L-plan castle is a castle or tower house in the shape of an L, typically built from the 13th to the 17th century. This design is found quite frequently in Scotland, but is also seen in England, Ireland, Romania, Sardinia, and other location ...

, dating from the 16th century, standing on high ground around south-east of Cluny in

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 ...

.Maurice Lindsay (1986) ''The Castles of Scotland''. Constable. p. 449

History

The castle was probably strengthened by Matthew Lumsden in 1542 following the depredations of

Clan Strachan Clan Strachan is a Scottish clan originating from the barony (now village) of Strachan, in Aberdeenshire. As of 31 July 2024, the Clan Strachan Family Convention concluded with unanimous consent to recognise Charles Robert Lund (Rob) Strachan, ...

of Lynturk in the course of the quarrel between

Clan Gordon Clan Gordon is a Scottish Highlands, Highland Scottish clan, historically one of the most powerful Scottish clans. The Gordon lands once spanned a large territory across the Highlands. Presently, Gordon is seated at Aboyne Castle, Aberdeenshire ...

and

Clan Forbes Clan Forbes is a Highland Scottish clan from Aberdeenshire, Scotland. History Origins The name Forbes is most probably a location name assumed from the lands of Forbes in Aberdeenshire, in possession of this family reputedly since the time ...

. In 1672, when the last of the Lumsden line died, the castle went to Thomas Burnett of Sauchen. Thereafter it had Forbes connections until it passed to the Gordons in the early 18th century. The castle became ruinous by 1722, but has been restored for David Lumsden, who acquired it from the Cluny estate in 1973, by the

architect An architect is a person who plans, designs, and oversees the construction of buildings. To practice architecture means to provide services in connection with the design of buildings and the space within the site surrounding the buildings that h ...

Ian Begg Ian Forbes Begg (12 February 1911 – 18 March 1989) was an Anglican prelate who served in the Scottish Episcopal Church as the Bishop of Aberdeen and Orkney from 1973 to 1976. Biography He was born on 12 February 1911, the son of the Revere ...

in 1980-84.

Structure

The four-storey castle is small, with thick walls which are constructed in the lower courses of large boulders. It has rounded corners, and all save one of the gables have angle turrets. There is a semicircular stair tower in the re-entrant angle, with an ashlar cap house. The main entrance is beside the stair tower. There was once a

parapet A parapet is a barrier that is an upward extension of a wall at the edge of a roof, terrace, balcony, walkway or other structure. The word comes ultimately from the Italian ''parapetto'' (''parare'' 'to cover/defend' and ''petto'' 'chest/brea ...

on the west side of the wing. There is

corbel In architecture, a corbel is a structural piece of stone, wood or metal keyed into and projecting from a wall to carry a wikt:superincumbent, bearing weight, a type of bracket (architecture), bracket. A corbel is a solid piece of material in t ...

ling at the top. The wing is five storeys high. Internally, the basement has three

vaulted In architecture, a vault (French ''voûte'', from Italian ''volta'') is a self-supporting arched form, usually of stone or brick, serving to cover a space with a ceiling or roof. As in building an arch, a temporary support is needed while ring ...

rooms, including the kitchen, which has a wide arched fireplace. The hall takes up the whole of the first floor. This has a fine fireplace, and a store sink and drain. Above the fireplace is a so-called “Laird's Lug”, a secret listening chamber allowing the Laird to overhear conversations in the Great Hall. The bedrooms were on the higher floors. It is a category A listed building.

References

{{coord , 57.1924, N, 2.5562, W, display=title Castles in Aberdeenshire Category A listed buildings in Aberdeenshire Listed castles in Scotland