Site Summary


Craigievar, 1610, I (John) Bell, re-roofed 1826, J Smith. The consummation of Scottish châteaux: perfect both in mass and detail. The ascent of its creamy, battered walls in a plain, stepped L-plan to an assemblage of corbel-table, corbie-steps, turrets and flats is utterly satisfying. In 1610 'Danzig Willie', William Forbes, who found wealth in the Baltic trade, bought the partially completed chateau from the Mortimers and, with the help of one of the Bells, master masons, completed it in the spirit of the Scots Renaissance. The perfection continues internally, with a great hall whose groined vault (medieval in inspiration) is plastered with a profusion of relief work and pendants of high fashion, similar to the designs in Glamis, Angus, and Muchalls, Kincardine. Baltic connections seen in Memel pine panelling in withdrawing room (Queen Margaret theme on ceiling). Long gallery on fifth floor and stair to balustraded flat, set high and exhilarating over all. A rare fragment of barmkin wall survives.

Taken from "Aberdeenshire: Donside and Strathbogie - An Illustrated Architectural Guide", by Ian Shepherd, 2006. Published by the Rutland Press




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Craigievar Castle rises up to seven storeys in height and is distinguished by its elaborate upper storeys, which feature a continuous band of corbelling with conical-roofed turrets.

In 1610 the Mortimer family began the construction of Craigievar Castle. The building was incomplete when purchased in about 1625 by William Forbes, a merchant who had made his fortune trading in the Baltic.

Information from RCAHMS (SC) 26 June 2007

An image of this site has been nominated as one of Scotland's favourite archive images. For more information about the project visit www.treasuredplaces.org.uk

Archaeology Notes
NJ50NE 6.00 56678 09486

NJ50NE 6.01 56616 09543 Mains of Craigievar
NJ50NE 6.02 c. 566 095 coach house
NJ50NE 6.03 5661 0958 kennels
NJ50NE 6.04 5605 0946 dovecot

(NJ 5667 0948) Craigievar Castle (NR)
OS 1:10,000 map, 1979.

Craigievar Castle, fu lly described, illustrated and planned by the National Trust.
W D Simpson nd.

Craigievar Castle, as described in the National Trust pamphlet.
Visited by OS (AA) 26 September 1968.

A 1:20 scale plan and elevations were drawn of the barmkin wall at Craigievar Castle. Originals are with the National Trust for Scotland, copies in Grampian Regional Council SMR.
M K Greig 1988; I A G Shepherd 1986.

Excavations at Craigievar Castle revealed most of the lowest course of the 16th century E barmk in wall and a part of the S wall. Two stone drains of the same period were also uncovered. No evidence remained of any internal structures apart from a few postholes. Finds included 16th to 19th century pottery and glass fragments, pieces of clay pipes, t wo circular stone gaming pieces and four coins. The coins were: an English silver sixpence of Elizabeth I, dated 157? (1573-1577); a Scottish Billon hardhead (2d) of James VI, dated 1588; a Scottish copper penny of James VI, dated 1614 or 1623; a Scottish copper Turner (2d) of Charles II, dated 1663.
Sponsor: National Trust for Scotland.
M K Greig 1990b.

Begun by Mortimer and completed 1626 by William Forbes, timber merchant. A stepped L-plan tower-house of seven storeys with elaborate treatment of up per parts, 2-storey angle turrets, a re-entrant tower, balustraded flat roofs on towers and ogee-capped stair-turrets; it is harled and the W wall of the barmkin remains. Vaulted ground floor, 1st floor vaulted with fine plaster surface decoration (simila r to Glamis and Muchalls) and original screens in passage. Re-roofed in 1826 when repairs executed by John Smith of Aberdeen included altering and raising towers and a new entrance door (subsequently restored).
Excvavation has revealed the basal course of the barmkin wall; all excavation records and small finds will be deposited with the NTS after publication.
(GRC/AAS ground and air photographs listed).
Information from Aberdeenshire Archaeological Service, June 1997.
NMRS, MS/712/19.

NJ 5660 0952. A w atching brief was required during the installation of a water main to Craigievar Castle and the estate buildings. The work uncovered modern pottery and glass around the Mains Cottages, and a linear, charcoal-lined, ditch-like feature 4m E of the old coach building. The pipeline did not pass close by the castle and so no disturbance occurred in that area.
Sponsor: National Trust for Scotland
D Hind 1998.

NJ 566 094 The strengthening of the lightning protection at the castle involved the hand excavation, in April 2002, of two trenches c 70cm square by c 60cm deep. These revealed rubble, possibly from the destroyed barmkin wall, overlain by a 19th-century midden.
Between May and June 2002, a trench dug alongside the W wall of the castle, in order to test drainage problems, revealed the shallow nature of the castle foundations at this point.
Archive to be deposited in the NMRS.
Sponsor: NTS
J C Murray 2002
Architecture Notes
NMRS REFERENCE:

OWNER: National Trust for Scotland.

EXTERNAL REFERENCE

Scotland's Magazine, Feb. 1958 - article and photographs

Edinburgh Tatler, December 1969 - article and photographs

Non-Guardianship Sites Plan Collection, DC23241.
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References
Billings, R W (1845-52 )
The baronial and ecclesiastical antiquities of Scotland,
4v, Edinburgh,
Bogdan and Bryce, N and I B D (1991 )
'Castles, manors and 'town houses' survey',
Discovery Excav Scot, 1991, 29,
Bowler, D (2003 b)
'Craigievar Castle (Leochel-Cushnie; Lumphanan parishes), designed landscape survey',
Discovery Excav Scot, 4, 2003,
Castles of Aberdeenshire (1887 )
Castles of Aberdeenshire: historical and descriptive notes,
Aberdeen,
Christison, D (1888 b)
'Additional notices of yetts, or grated iron doors, of Scottish castles and towers',
Proc Soc Antiq Scot, 22, 1887-8, 303-4,
Country Life (1906 )
'Craigievar Castle',
Country Life, 19, 474, (3 February 1906), 162-9,
Cruden, S (1960 a)
'The Scottish Castle',
Edinburgh, 173-4,
Ellington, M (1985 )
Craigievar Castle,
Edinburgh,
Fenwick, H (1969 b)
'Craigievar',
The Edinburgh Tatler, 1969, December,
Forman, S (1967 )
Scottish country houses and castles,
Glasgow, 126-8,
Forman, S (1952 c)
'Craigievar: a castle of Aberdeenshire',
Scot Fld, 100, 591, 1952, March, 28-9,
Forman, S (1966 b)
'Craigievar Castle',
Scot Fld, 113, 759, 1966, March, 49-51,
Giles, J (1936 )
'Drawings of Aberdeenshire castles',
Aberdeen,
Gow, I (1996 a)
Draft Craigievar guidebook,
Typescript,
Gow, I (1999 )
Craigievar castle,
Edinburgh,
Greig, M K (1990 b)
'Craigievar Castle (Leochel-Cushnie parish): barmkin wall',
Discovery Excav Scot, 1990, 18,
Greig, M K (1993 i)
'Excavations at Craigievar Castle, Aberdeenshire',
Proc Soc Antiq Scot, 123, 1993, 381-93,
Greig, M K (1988 )
'Craigievar Castle (Leochel-Cushnie parish): barmkin wall',
Discovery Excav Scot, 1988, 14,
Hay, Sir A L (1849 )
The castellated architecture of Aberdeenshire,
'Aberdeen: Printed by William Bennett', Aberdeen; Edinburgh; London,
Heritage Scotland (1984 )

Heritage Scot, 1, 5, 1984,
Hind, D (1998 c)
'Cragievar castle (Loechal-Cushnie parish), watching brief',
Discovery Excav Scot, 1998, 9,
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. 2, 103-8,
Murray, J C (2002 )
'Craigievar Castle, Aberdeenshire (Leochel-Cushnie parish), excavation; evaluation',
Discovery Excav Scot, 3, 2002, 10,
NSA (1845 )
The new statistical account of Scotland by the ministers of the respective parishes under the superintendence of a committee of the society for the benefit of the sons and daughters of the clergy,
15v, Edinburgh, vol. 12 (Aberdeen), 1107, 1109, 1123,
National Trust for Scotland (1993? )
Craigievar Castle: management plan 1993-1998,
Edinburgh,
OSA (1791-9 )
The statistical account of Scotland, drawn up from the communications of the ministers of the different parishes,
Sinclair, J (Sir), Edinburgh, vol. 6, 220,
Pattullo, N (1967 )
'Castles, houses and gardens of Scotland',
1, Edinburgh, 88-92,
Prentice, R (1976 )
The National Trust for Scotland guide,
London, 58-61,
RIAS Quarterly (1925 )
'Craigievar Castle',
1925, Summer 1925, 57,
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, 32, no.64/1,
Shepherd, I A G (1986 a)
Exploring Scotland's heritage: Grampian,
Exploring Scotland's heritage series, Edinburgh, 76-8, No. 20,
Shepherd, I [A G] (1994 a)
Gordon: an illustrated architectural guide,
[Edinburgh], 90,
Shepherd, I A G (2006 )
Aberdeenshire, Donside and Strathbogie: an illustrated architectural guide,
Charles McKean, [Edinburgh], 90, 95,
Simpson, W D (1966 a)
Craigievar Castle, the rock of Mar: an illustrated account,
Edinburgh,
Simpson, W D ([198-?] )
Craigievar Castle, the Rock of Mar: an illustrated account,
[s.l.],
Tranter, N (1962-70 )
'The fortified house in Scotland',
Edinburgh, Vol. 4, 36-7,


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CRAIGIEVAR CASTLE, ABERDEENSHIRE.

Delightfully situated amidst old woods in the quiet glen of the Leochel Burn, about half way between Lumphanan and Alford, this castle is one of the best preserved and characteristic examples of the mansion-house of the Fourth Period. It was begun to be built by the Mortimers in the beginning of the seventeenth century, but the estate having been purchased in 1610 by William Forbes (a cadet of Corse), who had enriched himself by trading, the house was finished by him in 1626. The castle now belongs to his descendant, Sir William Forbes, the eighth Baronet.

It stands on a hill-side, and was formerly surrounded by a wall, with round towers at the angles, enclosing a courtyard which contained the stables and other offices. One of these towers and a portion of the wall still survive.

This castle, in all its features, is a striking exemplification of almost all the peculiarities above referred to as being characteristic of Scotch Domestic Architecture at the beginning of the seventeenth century. It retains most of the traditional elements, but they are subjected to considerable modifications.


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Thus, the house is built on the old L plan (Fig. 570), but on the north and east sides the original simple form is departed from by the wall being partly jutted out (probably to afford the means of defence with firearms), while on the upper floors turrets are introduced in the angles of these projections and at the north-west corner, in such a manner as almost entirely to obliterate the idea of the original plan (Figs. 571 and 572). These turrets and the gables are corbelled out with ornamental mouldings, and are carried tip above the roof with the profusion of picturesque pinnacles and points which mark the period, and distinguish it from the simple style of the preceding century.

The arrangement of the interior is very much after the old model. The ground floor is vaulted, and contains the usual kitchen and cellars, the wine-cellar having a private stair from the hall.

A square tower is introduced in the re-entering angle of the wing, as in the older castles, but here it does not serve the purpose of a stairease tower as in the early examples.

The ground floor of the tower forms an entrance lobby, and the principal stair to the first floor is not circular, according to the old system, but straight and wide, as in the later castles and houses. It starts from the entrance lobby, and goes right across the building.

The landing gives access to the hall on one side, and to a withdrawing-room on the other, off which there is a private room, which occupies the first floor of the entrance tower, while a newel stair (of peculiar construction) on the opposite side of the building leads in a corbelled turret to the upper floors (see enlarged Plan of Hall, Fig. 570).

The hall is well worthy of attention, as it is almost the only one in Scotland which retains the original arrangements undisturbed. We here see the " screens " so often referred to still in existence and in use. They are formed by a panelled oak screen about 6 feet high, which cuts off a space about 3 feet wide at the entrance end of the hall, with a door to the hall in the centre, and a small pantry at the end of the screen opposite the entrance. From behind the entrance door the small stair to the wine-cellar descends. Over each end of the screen, and partly in the thickness of the wall. are small galleries, no doubt intended for musicians, lighted with little oval windows. The hall is vaulted with the old barrel vault, but with this innovation, that the central portion is groined, and the whole adorned with plaster panelling. There is the ancient form of large fireplace, ornamented with carved work, and having the Royal arms in the panel above. All these features are distinctly seen in the plan, and in one of Billings' plates.

The upper floors are divided into numerous bedrooms, entered by the two newel staircases at the north-east and south-west corners of the hall. These rooms are for the most part panelled on the walls with wood, and have ceilings finished with panelled plaster-work, some specimens of which are also given by Billings.

The elevations show the usual contrast between the plain lower stories and the elaborately corbelled and pinnacled upper stories.

There is no question here as to the date of the lower part of the building, such as has been thrown out by Billings with regard to Castle Fraser, Crathes, and other mansions, where a similar contrast occurs between the plain walls of the lower stories and the elaborate decoration of the upper portions of the building. The date of the erection is known, and the innovations on the traditional form of the plan fully confirm it.

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The style of the corbelling, the classic balusters forming the parapets, and the O.G. shape of the turret roofs, are clear indications of the late (late of the building. The eaves of the roof are here not only raised to the top of the parapet, as is usual at this date, but are actually carried tip in some places two stories above the corbel course on which the parapet would have rested in earlier castles, and imitation gargoyles in the form of small cannons are placed as ornaments at this corbel course, where they are obviously useless, from there being two stories above them.

The great development of the angle turrets is also a very marked feature of this design. They are two stories in height, and of great size, showing a strong tendency to swallow tip the gables, that in the southwest view being reduced to little more than a chimmney-stack. The top story of the north front exhibits a peculiar instance of compromise between the turret and the gable termination. The small gables are almost entirely absorbed by the turrets, but manage to preserve a quasi-gabled form on the top, where the turrets are finished with a carved course of crow-steps.

From every point of view this is one of the most interesting and characteristic examples of the period.