Slains Castle
Encyclopedia
- Slains redirects here; note that the term can also be used to refer to the general area surrounding the castle
New Slains Castle is a ruined castle
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 Cruden Bay
Cruden Bay
Cruden Bay is a small village in Scotland, on the north coast of the Bay of Cruden in Aberdeenshire, 26 miles north of Aberdeen.Just south of Slains Castle, Cruden Bay was the site of a battle between Danes and Scots under King Malcolm II in 1012...
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...
, overlooking the North Sea
North Sea
In the southwest, beyond the Straits of Dover, the North Sea becomes the English Channel connecting to the Atlantic Ocean. In the east, it connects to the Baltic Sea via the Skagerrak and Kattegat, narrow straits that separate Denmark from Norway and Sweden respectively...
.
The remains stand perched atop tall, sea-facing cliffs, constructed around an existing tower house
Tower house
A tower house is a particular type of stone structure, built for defensive purposes as well as habitation.-History:Tower houses began to appear in the Middle Ages, especially in mountain or limited access areas, in order to command and defend strategic points with reduced forces...
built in 1597 by the 9th Earl of Erroll
Francis Hay, 9th Earl of Erroll
Francis Hay, 9th Earl of Erroll , Scottish nobleman, was the son of Andrew, 8th earl, and of Lady Jean Hay, daughter of William, 6th earl...
. Significant reconstruction of the castle has been carried out a number of times, lastly in 1837. It was altered in 1664 when a corridor was inserted within the courtyard and again in 1836 it was rebuilt and faced with granite. At one time it had three extensive gardens.
History
Earl of Erroll
The Earl of Erroll is an ancient title in the Peerage of Scotland. It was created in 1453 for Sir William Hay.The subsidiary titles held by the Earl of Erroll are Lord Hay and Lord Slains , both in the Peerage of Scotland. The Earls of Erroll also hold the hereditary office of Lord High Constable...
, chiefs of Clan Hay
Clan Hay
Clan Hay is a Scottish clan that has played an important part in the history and politics of Scotland. Members of the clan are to be found in most parts of Scotland and in many other parts of the world. However, the North East of Scotland, i.e...
, were a powerful family in the area for generations. The family prospered after William Hay, 18th Earl of Erroll
William Hay, 18th Earl of Erroll
William George Hay, 18th Earl of Erroll KT, GCH, PC , styled Lord Hay between 1815 and 1819, was a Scottish peer and politician.-Background and education:...
, married the daughter of King William IV. Francis Hay, 9th Earl of Erroll
Francis Hay, 9th Earl of Erroll
Francis Hay, 9th Earl of Erroll , Scottish nobleman, was the son of Andrew, 8th earl, and of Lady Jean Hay, daughter of William, 6th earl...
, built New Slains Castle after James VI had destroyed his castle, known as Slains Castle
Old Slains Castle
Old Slains Castle is a ruined castle near Collieston in Aberdeenshire, Scotland.- History :The 13th-century castle was originally the property of the Comyn Earls of Buchan...
near Collieston
Collieston
Collieston is a small former fishing village on the North Sea coast in Aberdeenshire, Scotland. The village lies just north of the Sands of Forvie Special Protection Area, between Cruden Bay and Newburgh.-History:...
, after the Hays participated in the rebellion of 1594. But, over time, misfortunes befell the Hays - and in 1916, the castle and contents were put up for sale.
The castle was then sold in 1916 and fell into disrepair in the first quarter of the 20th century, after more than 300 years of occupation by the Errolls. The castle was bought by Sir John Ellerman of the shipping line. He in turn gave it up in 1925 and its roof was removed to avoid paying taxes. That led to the inevitable ruin seen today.
Once a major stronghold and occupying a large area, it consisted of a massive 15th century keep, a fragment of which survives, and a courtyard defended by ditches. The castle was originally a property of the Comyns but passed to the Hay Earls of Erroll early in the 14th century.
In the late 19th century, the 19th Earl of Erroll entertained many celebrities at the castle. Some believe it was Bram Stoker
Bram Stoker
Abraham "Bram" Stoker was an Irish novelist and short story writer, best known today for his 1897 Gothic novel Dracula...
's inspiration for the castle of Count Dracula
Dracula
Dracula is an 1897 novel by Irish author Bram Stoker.Famous for introducing the character of the vampire Count Dracula, the novel tells the story of Dracula's attempt to relocate from Transylvania to England, and the battle between Dracula and a small group of men and women led by Professor...
. In 1948, the Earl of Erroll accorded the title Slains Pursuivant
Slains Pursuivant
Slains Pursuivant of Arms is a private officer of arms appointed by the Chief of the Name and Arms of Hay – presently the Earl of Erroll, Lord High Constable of Scotland. It is believed that the Hay family had an officer of arms since the time that the office of Lord High Constable was forfeited by...
to his newly revived private officer of arms
Private Officer of Arms
A private officer of arms is one of those heralds and pursuivants appointed by great noble houses to handle all heraldic and genealogical questions.-History:...
and appointed Michael Maclagan
Michael Maclagan
Michael Maclagan, CVO, FSA, FRHistS was a British historian, antiquary and herald. He was Fellow and Tutor in Modern History at Trinity College, Oxford for more than forty years, and a long-serving officer of arms.-Career:Maclagan was educated at Winchester College and Christ Church, Oxford...
to the position. The current holder of the office, Peter Drummond-Murray of Mastrick
Peter Drummond-Murray of Mastrick
William Edward Peter Louis Drummond-Murray of Mastrick is the Slains Pursuivant of Arms to the Chief of the Name and Arms of Hay — the Earl of Erroll, Lord High Constable of Scotland. Drummond-Murray of Mastrick is a retired banker and an authority on heraldry who continues to publish on that...
, is a retired banker and an authority on heraldry.
Bram Stoker was staying in a local hotel in Cruden Bay when he heard of Slains Castle - which he saw as 'the castle of the dead'. It may have helped to inspire his writing of the novel, Dracula.
The ruin of the 13th century Old Slains Castle
Old Slains Castle
Old Slains Castle is a ruined castle near Collieston in Aberdeenshire, Scotland.- History :The 13th-century castle was originally the property of the Comyn Earls of Buchan...
lie about 6 miles to the Southwest. The older castle, also a family seat of the Errolls, was blown up by James VI
James I of England
James VI and I was King of Scots as James VI from 24 July 1567 and King of England and Ireland as James I from the union of the English and Scottish crowns on 24 March 1603...
as a punishment for their part in the 1597 plot by the Earl of Huntly
Marquess of Huntly
Marquess of Huntly is a title in the Peerage of Scotland created on 17 April 1599 for George Gordon, 6th Earl of Huntly. It is the oldest existing marquessate in Scotland, and the second-oldest in the British Isles, only the English marquessate of Winchester being older...
against him.
Architecture
Masonry
Masonry is the building of structures from individual units laid in and bound together by mortar; the term masonry can also refer to the units themselves. The common materials of masonry construction are brick, stone, marble, granite, travertine, limestone; concrete block, glass block, stucco, and...
including older mortar
Mortar (masonry)
Mortar is a workable paste used to bind construction blocks together and fill the gaps between them. The blocks may be stone, brick, cinder blocks, etc. Mortar becomes hard when it sets, resulting in a rigid aggregate structure. Modern mortars are typically made from a mixture of sand, a binder...
ed granite
Granite
Granite is a common and widely occurring type of intrusive, felsic, igneous rock. Granite usually has a medium- to coarse-grained texture. Occasionally some individual crystals are larger than the groundmass, in which case the texture is known as porphyritic. A granitic rock with a porphyritic...
, mortared medieval red brick, mortared sandstone and newer well faced granite. In fact most of the architecture seems to derive from a rather cohesive interval 1597 to 1664, which construction is the most expansive and includes the mortared rough granite and medieval brick. The 1836 work adds smoother granite facing that contrasts with the older construction style.
The defensive works of the castle include use of the North Sea
North Sea
In the southwest, beyond the Straits of Dover, the North Sea becomes the English Channel connecting to the Atlantic Ocean. In the east, it connects to the Baltic Sea via the Skagerrak and Kattegat, narrow straits that separate Denmark from Norway and Sweden respectively...
cliffs, an abyss to the west that functions as a deep impassable 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 a ruined rampart
Defensive wall
A defensive wall is a fortification used to protect a city or settlement from potential aggressors. In ancient to modern times, they were used to enclose settlements...
that would have been the main entrance on the south. The ruins include reasonably well preserved elements of three and four story structural elements and a basement course over some of the range, especially at the eastern side. There are well preserved basement kitchen works with numerous firepit
Firebox (architecture)
A firebox or firepit is the part of the fireplace where fuel is combusted, in distinction to the hearth, chimney, mantel, overdoor and flue elements of the total fireplace system. The firebox normally sits on a masonry base at the floor level of the room...
s and masonry indented storage spaces.
The internal doorways are primarily of well preserved wooden lintel construction, with numerous examples of mortared sandstone
Sandstone
Sandstone is a sedimentary rock composed mainly of sand-sized minerals or rock grains.Most sandstone is composed of quartz and/or feldspar because these are the most common minerals in the Earth's crust. Like sand, sandstone may be any colour, but the most common colours are tan, brown, yellow,...
arch
Arch
An arch is a structure that spans a space and supports a load. Arches appeared as early as the 2nd millennium BC in Mesopotamian brick architecture and their systematic use started with the Ancient Romans who were the first to apply the technique to a wide range of structures.-Technical aspects:The...
ways and medieval brickwork archways. The interior of the ground level is a maze of passageways and smaller rooms, reflecting a high state of occupancy in 17th century times.