Auchindoun Castle
Encyclopedia
Castle
A castle is a type of fortified structure built in Europe and the Middle East during the Middle Ages by European nobility. Scholars debate the scope of the word castle, but usually consider it to be the private fortified residence of a lord or noble...
located in Auchindoun
Auchindoun, Scotland
Auchindoun is a rural hamlet in Moray, Scotland.It is located some 2.5 miles east of Dufftown, which describes itself as "The Malt Whisky Capital". The hamlet is mainly on the eastern bank of the River Fiddich.-External links:* *...
near Dufftown
Dufftown
Dufftown is a burgh in Banffshire, Scotland.The town was originally named Mortlach in the Middle Ages, until the 19th century when the Earl of Fife built the town as a housing for soldiers returning home from war...
in the Moray
Moray
Moray is one of the 32 council areas of Scotland. It lies in the north-east of the country, with coastline on the Moray Firth, and borders the council areas of Aberdeenshire and Highland.- History :...
region of Scotland
Scotland
Scotland is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Occupying the northern third of the island of Great Britain, it shares a border with England to the south and is bounded by the North Sea to the east, the Atlantic Ocean to the north and west, and the North Channel and Irish Sea to the...
.
While there is evidence of prehistoric, probably Pictish
Picts
The Picts were a group of Late Iron Age and Early Mediaeval people living in what is now eastern and northern Scotland. There is an association with the distribution of brochs, place names beginning 'Pit-', for instance Pitlochry, and Pictish stones. They are recorded from before the Roman conquest...
earthworks
Earthworks (engineering)
Earthworks are engineering works created through the moving or processing of quantities of soil or unformed rock.- Civil engineering use :Typical earthworks include roads, railway beds, causeways, dams, levees, canals, and berms...
in the grounds of the castle, the remains most visible today are of the castle constructed in the mid 15th century by Thomas Cochran
Clan Cochrane
Clan Cochrane is a Lowland Scottish clan.-Origins:Traditionally the original ancestor of the Clan Cochrane in Scotland was a Scandinavian Viking who settled in what is now known as Renfrewshire. It is evident that the name is of territorial origin and that the Cochranes took the name of the lands...
(later to become an Earl of Mar
Earl of Mar
The Mormaer or Earl of Mar is a title that has been created seven times, all in the Peerage of Scotland. The first creation of the earldom was originally the provincial ruler of the province of Mar in north-eastern Scotland...
(1458-79). It was passed to the Clan Ogilvy
Clan Ogilvy
-Origins of the clan:The Ogilvys are one of the most distinguished families in Scotland and take their name from Gillebride the second son of Gille Chriosd, Celtic Earl of Angus...
in 1489 and from them to the Clan Gordon
Clan Gordon
Clan Gordon, also known as the House of Gordon, is a Scottish clan. The chief of the clan was the powerful Earl of Huntly, now also Marquess of Huntly.-Origins:...
in 1535.
An extension is known to have been added in the 16th century by the Gordons before the Ogilvys reclaimed it in 1594, it having been destroyed by the Clan MacKintosh
Clan MacKintosh
Clan Mackintosh is a Scottish clan from Inverness with strong Jacobite ties. The Mackintoshes were also chiefs of the Chattan Confederation.-Origins:...
in 1592 in retaliation for the 6th Earl George Gordon, 1st Marquess of Huntly
George Gordon, 1st Marquess of Huntly
George Gordon, 1st Marquess of Huntly was a Scottish nobleman who took a leading role in the political and military life of Scotland in the late 16th century and around the time of the Union of the Crowns.-Biography:...
's killing of The Bonnie Earl Of Moray, their ally. Following the Restoration of Charles II
Charles II of England
Charles II was monarch of the three kingdoms of England, Scotland, and Ireland.Charles II's father, King Charles I, was executed at Whitehall on 30 January 1649, at the climax of the English Civil War...
, the castle was again awarded to the Marquis of Huntly.
The castle was derelict by 1725. Stones taken from the castle have been used in local farm buildings and nearby Balvenie Castle
Balvenie Castle
Balvenie Castle is a ruined castle near Dufftown in the Moray region of Scotland.Originally known as Mortlach, it was built in the 12th century by a branch of the powerful Comyn family and extended and altered in the 15th and 16th centuries.The castle fell out of use in the early 14th century when...
.
While standing, the castle had a large central tower and high curtain wall
Curtain wall (fortification)
A curtain wall is a defensive wall between two bastions of a castle or fortress.In earlier designs of castle the curtain walls were often built to a considerable height and were fronted by a ditch or moat to make assault difficult....
. Supporting buildings including a stable
Stable
A stable is a building in which livestock, especially horses, are kept. It most commonly means a building that is divided into separate stalls for individual animals...
, brewery
Brewery
A brewery is a dedicated building for the making of beer, though beer can be made at home, and has been for much of beer's history. A company which makes beer is called either a brewery or a brewing company....
and bakery
Bakery
A bakery is an establishment which produces and sells flour-based food baked in an oven such as bread, cakes, pastries and pies. Some retail bakeries are also cafés, serving coffee and tea to customers who wish to consume the baked goods on the premises.-See also:*Baker*Cake...
stood inside the wall. A second round tower guarded the northwest corner of the compound. Cellars and possibly dungeon
Dungeon
A dungeon is a room or cell in which prisoners are held, especially underground. Dungeons are generally associated with medieval castles, though their association with torture probably belongs more to the Renaissance period...
s were dug directly into the bedrock beneath the tower. Today much of the curtain wall and some of the outbuildings remain, but the central tower itself is very dilapidated.
The ruins of the castle are in the care of Historic Scotland
Historic Scotland
Historic Scotland is an executive agency of the Scottish Government, responsible for historic monuments in Scotland.-Role:As its website states:...
, but were for many years in too dangerous a condition to be open to the public. On the completion of consolidation works, Auchindoun was re-opned for public viewing in November 2007.
The sacking of Auchindoun by the Clan MacKintosh
Clan MacKintosh
Clan Mackintosh is a Scottish clan from Inverness with strong Jacobite ties. The Mackintoshes were also chiefs of the Chattan Confederation.-Origins:...
inspired a traditional song, "The Burning of Auchindoun" (lyrics courtesy of the Digital Tradition Folk Music Database), Child Ballad 183, "Willie MacIntosh":
As A cam in by Fiddichside, on a May mornin
A spied Willie MacIntosh an oor before the dawnin
Tarn again, tarn again, tarn again, A'se bid ye
If ye barn Auchindoun, Huntly he will heid ye
Heid me or hang me, that shall never fear me
A'll burn Auchindoun tho' the life leave me
As A cam in bi Fiddichside on a may mornin
Auchindoun was in a bleeze, an hour before the dawning
Crawing, crawing, for a' your crouse crawin
Ye burnt yer crop an tint your wings an oor before the dawnin
In popular culture
In the on-line MMORPGMMORPG
Massively multiplayer online role-playing game is a genre of role-playing video games in which a very large number of players interact with one another within a virtual game world....
World of Warcraft
World of Warcraft
World of Warcraft is a massively multiplayer online role-playing game by Blizzard Entertainment. It is the fourth released game set in the fantasy Warcraft universe, which was first introduced by Warcraft: Orcs & Humans in 1994...
, Auchindoun is a mausoleum, a "city of the dead", a former holy site where the dead were laid to rest, placed in the ground.