Kildrummy 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...
near Kildrummy
Kildrummy
Kildrummy is a hamlet in Aberdeenshire, Scotland near the River Don, 7 miles west of Alford. Its church was built in 1805. Nearby Kildrummy Castle has a long history dating back to at least the 14th century. The hamlet's primary school closed in 2003....
, in Aberdeenshire
Aberdeenshire
Aberdeenshire is one of the 32 unitary council areas in Scotland and a lieutenancy area.The present day Aberdeenshire council area does not include the City of Aberdeen, now a separate council area, from which its name derives. Together, the modern council area and the city formed historic...
, 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...
, United Kingdom
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
. Though ruined, it is one of the most extensive castles of 13th century date to survive in eastern 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...
, and was the seat of the Earls of Mar.
The castle was likely built in the mid-13th century under Gilbert de Moravia
Gilbert de Moravia
Gilbert de Moravia , later known as Saint Gilbert of Dornoch, was the most famous Bishop of Caithness and founder of Dornoch Cathedral....
. It has been posited that siting of Kildrummy Castle was influenced by the location of the Grampian
Grampian
Grampian was a local government region of Scotland from 1975 to 1996. It is now divided into the unitary council areas of:*Moray*Aberdeenshire*City of AberdeenThe region had five districts:*Aberdeen*Banff and Buchan...
Mounth
Mounth
The Mounth is the range of hills on the southern edge of Strathdee in northeast Scotland. It was usually referred to with the article, i.e. "the Mounth". The name is a corruption of the Scottish Gaelic monadh which in turn is akin to the Welsh mynydd, and may be of Pictish origin...
trackway
Trackway
A trackway is an ancient route of travel for people or animals. In biology, a trackway can be a set of impressions in the soft earth, usually a set of footprints, left by an animal. A fossil trackway is the fossilized imprint of a trackway. Trackways have been found all over the world...
crossings, particularly the Elsick Mounth
Elsick Mounth
The Elsick Mounth is an ancient trackway crossing the Grampian Mountains in the vicinity of Netherley, Scotland. This trackway was one of the few means of traversing the Grampian Mounth area in prehistoric and medieval times. The highest pass of the route is attained within the Durris Forest...
and Cryne Corse Mounth. Kildrummy Castle underwent siege
Siege
A siege is a military blockade of a city or fortress with the intent of conquering by attrition or assault. The term derives from sedere, Latin for "to sit". Generally speaking, siege warfare is a form of constant, low intensity conflict characterized by one party holding a strong, static...
numerous times in its history, first in defence of the family of Robert the Bruce in August-September 1306 (leading to the executions of Nigel Bruce and many other Scots), and again in 1335 by David of Strathbogie. On this occasion Christina Bruce
Christina Bruce
Christina Bruce the second daughter of Robert de Brus, jure uxoris Earl of Carrick and Marjorie of Carrick, and an older sister of King Robert the Bruce....
held off the attackers until her husband Sir Andrew Moray
Andrew Moray
Andrew Moray , also known as Andrew de Moray, Andrew of Moray, or Andrew Murray, was a prominent military leader of patriotic forces during the Scottish Wars of Independence. He led the rising in northern Scotland in the summer of 1297 against the occupation by King Edward I of England,...
came to her rescue. In the reign of David II
David II of Scotland
David II was King of Scots from 7 June 1329 until his death.-Early life:...
, Walter Maule
Walter Maule
Walter Maule was the son and heir of Sir Henry Maule, Baron of Panmure and Benvie and Margaret, daughter of Sir William Hay of Locherworth. He was warden of Kildrummy Castle in the reign of David II....
of Panmure was warden of Kildrummy Castle.
In 1374 the castle's heiress Isobel was seized and married by Alexander Stewart
Alexander Stewart
Alexander Stewart may refer to:* Alexander Stewart, 4th High Steward of Scotland , Scottish magnate* Alexander Stewart , Scottish prelate, Bishop of Ross...
, who then laid claim to Kildrummy and the title of Earl of Mar. In 1435 it was taken over by James I
James I of Scotland
James I, King of Scots , was the son of Robert III and Annabella Drummond. He was probably born in late July 1394 in Dunfermline as youngest of three sons...
, becoming a royal castle until being granted to Lord Elphinstone
Lord Elphinstone
Lord Elphinstone, of Elphinstone in the County of Stirling, is a title in the Peerage of Scotland. It was created in 1510 for Alexander Elphinstone who was killed at the Battle of Flodden three years later. He was succeeded by his son, the second Lord, killed at the Battle of Pinkie Cleugh in 1547....
in 1507.
The castle passed from the Clan Elphinstone
Clan Elphinstone
Clan Elphinstone is a Lowland Scottish clan-Origins of the Name:The Clan Elphinstone is believed to have originated from Airth in Stirlingshire. The surname Elphinstone derives from the territory of Elphinstone in the parish of Tranent, East Lothian. The original name is thought to have been 'de...
to the Clan Erskine
Clan Erskine
-Origins of the Name:The surname Erskine is derived from the name of Erskine, an area to the south of the River Clyde and ten miles to the west of Glasgow...
before being abandoned in 1716 following the failure of the Jacobite rebellion.
Kildrummy Castle is "shield-shaped" in plan with a number of independent tower
Tower
A tower is a tall structure, usually taller than it is wide, often by a significant margin. Towers are distinguished from masts by their lack of guy-wires....
s. The flat side of the castle overlooks a steep ravine
Ravine
A ravine is a landform narrower than a canyon and is often the product of streamcutting erosion. Ravines are typically classified as larger in scale than gullies, although smaller than valleys. A ravine is generally a fluvial slope landform of relatively steep sides, on the order of twenty to...
; moreover, on the opposite side of the castle the walls come to a point, which was once defended by a massive twin-towered gatehouse. The castle also had a keep, called the Snow Tower, taller than the other towers, built in the French style, as at Bothwell Castle
Bothwell Castle
Bothwell Castle is a large medieval castle sited on a high, steep bank, above a bend in the River Clyde, in South Lanarkshire, Scotland. It is located between Uddingston and Bothwell, about south-east of Glasgow. Construction of the castle was begun in the 13th century by the ancestors of Clan...
. Extensive 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...
protected the castle, including a dry moat
Moat
A moat is a deep, broad ditch, either dry or filled with water, that surrounds a castle, other building or town, historically to provide it with a preliminary line of defence. In some places moats evolved into more extensive water defences, including natural or artificial lakes, dams and sluices...
and the ravine. Most of the castle foundations are now visible, along with most of its lower-storey walls. Archaeological excavations in 1925 uncovered decorative stone flooring and evidence of battles.
Today, the castle property is owned by 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:...
. A hotel (the Kildrummy Castle Hotel) has been built on the old estate, overlooking the ruins.