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AJR

Nov 8 2007, 08:58 AM

From The List, 8th November 2007

Highland castle to reopen after conservation work

A 15th century Highland castle has reopened to the public after a three year conservation programme. Auchindoun Castle in Moray was closed in the 1960s due to falling masonry, but the Historic Scotland project means it is now safe to explore.

The castle was built for John Earl of Mar, but he was imprisoned by his brother, King James III, and died in Edinburgh.

Mike Pendery, Historic Scotland district architect, said: ‘We are absolutely delighted that this important part of Scotland’s heritage is officially open to the public once again. Our stone masons have done a fantastic job in making Auchindoun safe for visitors.’

The property will be unstaffed and free to enter.

From The Herald, 8th November 2007

15th-century castle reopens to the public

A Highland castle with a bloody past reopened to the public yesterday after a three-year programme of safety and conservation work by Historic Scotland.

The 15th-century Auchindoun Castle near Dufftown in Moray was built for John, Earl of Mar, but he was imprisoned by his own brother, King James III, in 1479, and died in Craigmillar Castle south of Edinburgh. Auchindoun Castle passed to Thomas Cochrane, one of the king's favourites, who himself came to an unpleasant end when he was hanged from Lauder Bridge in 1482 by jealous noblemen.

The castle later became a stronghold of the Gordons, but it was sacked and burned by the Mackintoshes in 1591. It was repaired, but was abandoned by the 18th century when its stone started being used for local building projects.

The site was closed in the 1960s due to the danger from falling masonry. But the reopening means people are now able to explore the castle once again. Like most Historic Scotland properties it will be unstaffed and is free to enter.

Mike Pendery, Historic Scotland district architect, said: "We are absolutely delighted that this important part of Scotland's heritage is officially open to the public once again. Our stone masons have done a fantastic job in making Auchindoun safe for visitors."

AJR

Nov 8 2007, 09:00 AM

A couple of modern pictures of the castle.

Gordon

Nov 9 2007, 07:40 AM

QUOTE

imprisoned by his brother, King James III, and died in Edinburgh

Now there's a tale!
James was a bit of a weak King, dominated by social climbers and wannabees.
John Earl of Mar, and Alexander of Albany were the king's brothers, and were with most of the nobility very vocal in objecting to the influence of these upstarts.
Albany was imprisoned in Edinburgh, and escaped into exile, whilst Mar was imprisoned in Cragmillar. On the pretext that Mar was ill, he was to be bled...by opening his veins they held him in a bath of warm water until he died. Publicly the King's followers were able to say that a well intentioned medicinal activity had gone wrong, but the backlash was unexpexted. In order to pass the buck, a few well chosen individuals were tried and executed for witchcraft, having been found to have supernaturally caused the bleeding to be fatal.
The king got his come-uppance. Having agreed to meet his obligations to the nobility at a conference at Blackness Castle, he went back to his old ways, ignored them and listened to his accumulated 'wormtongues', forcing the nobles to rebel. They faced him down at the Battle of Sauchieburn, defeated him, and after his flight from the field, he was found murdered at a mill a few miles away. His son James 4th came to the throne, and was arguably one of Scotland's greatest monarchs, until his misplaced sense of chivalry led to the slaughter of himself and most of the nobility at Flodden.

Gordon

Jan 17 2008, 11:39 AM

From Canmore

QUOTE

Archaeology Notes
NJ33NW 1 3488 3745.

(NJ 3488 3745) Auchindown Castle (NR)
(in ruins). Fosse (NR).
(Undated) OS map.

A 15th century L-plan tower, attributed to James Cochrane, Earl of Mar, or Thomas Cochran, favourite of James III. It stands inside a prehistoric hill-fort. All the authorities use the spelling 'Auchindoun'.
D MacGibbon and D Ross 1887; W D Simpson 1929; S Cruden 1960.

Auchindoun Castle, as described and planned by Cruden (S Cruden 1960), Simpson (W D Simpson 1929) and MacGibbon and Ross (D MacGibbon and T Ross 1887), scheduled for restoration, is situated within a bivallate Iron Age fort. The inner rampart of the fort, formed by ditch and outer bank, is mutilated by approach ramps to the castle on the W side, and by quarrying on the S side. The outer defences are formed by natural rocky slopes in the E and ditch and outer bank to the N and S; the rampart is destroyed by cultivation in the W.
Re-surveyed at 1/2500.
Visited by OS (N K B) 24 January.
D MacGibbon and D Ross 1887; W D Simpson 1929; S Cruden 1960.

A clearance excavation was carried out in 1984 prior to further masonry consolidation. The most significant discovery was that of a barrel-vaulted stone-lined chamber, 2m long by 1.7m wide by 1.7m deep, cut into the bedrock beneath the floor of the main cellar.
J Wordsworth 1991.

(Location cited as NJ 3488 3745 and classified as Site of Regional Significance. Public monument with regular hours and entry fee). 15th century L-plan tower within a possible bivallate fort, although there is some disagreement whether this is an Iron Age fort or an earlier medieval castle; the inner rampart (formed by ditch and outer bank) is mutilated by approach-ramps to the castle on the W side and by quarrying on the E while the outer defences are formed by a natural rocky slope to the E with a ditch and outer bank to the N and S.
The castle is said to have been built by Thomas Cochrane (architect and favourite of James III from whom he received the earldom of Mar in 1479). Clearance [by Wordsworth] of the ground and first floor levels of the main tower revealed a vaulted chamber set below ground level. Gothic ribbed vault to hall; ground floor has elliptic barrel vaults; remains of enclosed courtyard wall.
Present castle built c. 1479; the Gordons received the lands in 1535.
[Air photographic imagery listed].
NMRS, MS/712/35, visited 6 June 1984.

Architecture Notes
EXTERNAL REFERENCE:

National Library
Nattes Drawings, Vol. 3, Nos. 15-16 & 20. - 4 drawings.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
References
Bogdan and Bryce, N and I B D (1991 )
'Castles, manors and 'town houses' survey',
Discovery Excav Scot, 1991, 37,
Coventry, M (2001 )
The castles of Scotland
Musselburgh, 63-64, 3rd
Cruden, S (1960 a)
'The Scottish Castle',
Edinburgh, 122,
Fawcett, R (2002 )
Scottish medieval churches: architecture and furnishings,
Stroud, 224,
MacGibbon and Ross, D and T (1887-92 )
The castellated and domestic architecture of Scotland from the twelfth to the eighteenth centuries,
5v, Edinburgh, Vol. 1, 314-7,
Scottish Castle Survey (1988 )
'A directory of the owners and occupiers of the castles, manors and 'town houses' {c.1050-c.1707} of Scotland: Grampian Region',
Aberdeen, 61, no.134/1,
Simpson, W D (1929 a)
'The early castles of Mar. (First paper)',
Proc Soc Antiq Scot, 63, 1928-9, 127, footnote,
Wordsworth, J (1984 d)
'Auchindoun Castle (Morlach p) Vaulted chamber, coin',
Discovery Excav Scot, 1984, 12,
Wordsworth, J (1991 aa)
'Excavation at Auchindoun Castle, Moray District, in 1984',
Proc Soc Antiq Scot, 120, 1990,

Gordon

Jan 17 2008, 11:49 AM

From MacGibbon & Ross

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