Cluny Castle was originally built c
Cluny Castle was originally built c.1604 as a Z-plan castle replacing either a house or small peel tower. Sited in the parish of Cluny, it is south of Monymusk and north of Sauchen in Aberdeenshire, north-east Scotland. Owned by three separate branches of Gordon families over the centuries, it was used to shelter Jacobite rebels in the mid-18th century. Extensive additions were made in 1820 to the design of architect John Smith when it was in the ownership of Colonel John Gordon. Two wings of the castle and the adjoining private chapel were destroyed by fire in 1926, but the damage was restored.
It is a Category A listed building and has been used as a film setting. The grounds are included on the Inventory of Gardens and Designed Landscapes in Scotland.
As of 2016 it remains privately owned by the Baron of Cluny who has employed craftsmen to complete extensive renovations. It is not open to the public but corporate events are hosted there and weddings are held in the chapel.
History
On an unknown date prior to 1325 King Robert the Bruce granted the lands of Cluny (Gaelic meaning meadow or "meadows interspersed with rising grounds") to his sister Mary's husband, Alexander Fraser. The lands passed down through the family, via Adam Gordon of Huntly and the Earls of Huntly, to John Gordon, a younger son of the 3rd Earl. His son Sir Thomas Gordon (d. 1607) built the castle to replace an earlier house or peel tower. The lands were inherited by his son, Alexander Gordon, who became the fourth laird of Cluny. By 1636 the cost of building the castle combined with other financial difficulties caused ownership of the lands to be transferred. The castle had various owners, probably creditors, until 1680, when it became the property of Robert Gordon, of the Gordonstoun branch of the family. It remained in the hands of this family until the mid-18th century.
The Gordons of Cluny were implicated in the Jacobite Rising of 1745, and had also incurred debts. This resulted in the castle passing to a third branch of the Gordon family around 1753, although the exact date is unknown. The new proprietor John Gordon (1695–1769) was of obscure origins. He was an Edinburgh merchant as well as a factor to Cosmo Gordon, 3rd Duke of Gordon. John Gordon's son was also named Cosmo Gordon (1736–1800) and he inherited the estate on his father's death in 1769. He was a politician and co-founder of the Royal Society of Edinburgh. He did some work at the castle, although records give no indication of what was involved. Plans for a re-design were commissioned from Robert Adam in 1790 and from his business partner and younger brother James in 1793, though this work was never carried out. Pre-deceased by his wife, Mary Baillie, Cosmo Gordon died without issue in 1800 and was succeeded by his brother Charles, described by architectural historian H. Gordon Slade as "eccentric and excessively penurious". When Charles died on 8 May 1814, various bequests were made to his children; his eldest son John, later an army colonel and a member of Parliament, inherited Cluny and the remainder of the properties plus £30,000. No money had been spent on the estate during the years it was owned by Charles Gordon.
It was under the ownership of Colonel Gordon that extensive additions were made to the castle, commencing around 1820. He had previously inherited the estates of his uncle, a merchant in West India, and the Colonel continued to extend his fortune, purchasing additional lands including North and South Uist, Benbecula and Barra. The Colonel died in 1858; a description included in his obituaries was "the richest commoner in the northern part of the kingdom." In The Times dated 23 July 1858, his assets were estimated at between £2–3 million and it stated he was "without doubt the richest commoner in Scotland." He was unmarried but had four illegitimate children; all bar his eldest son John (c.1820–1878) pre-deceased him. Despite a series of litigations lasting 20 years, in 1858 the estates were inherited by his natural son John, who became an Aberdeenshire Militia captain from 29 March 1852. The captain continued the castle renovations and improved the general policies[b] by additions of artificial lakes and woodland.
Captain Gordon also died without issue in 1878. Emily Pringle, his second wife, married Sir Reginald Cathcart becoming Lady Cathcart. The estates were overseen by a trust set up by Colonel Gordon (the Cluny Trust). In September 1926 a fire started near the kitchen causing extensive damage to two wings of the castle and destroying the private chapel. After Lady Cathcart's death in 1932, the estate passed to Captain Gordon's cousin, Charles Arthur Linzee. He adopted the name Linzee Gordon to comply with a stipulation made by Colonel Gordon in a codicil added to his will on 21 June 1852. In an earlier legal document dated 5 October 1835 the Colonel had declared that he wished his illegitimate children to inherit but he did not intend to get married to facilitate it. The codicil ensured the family name was continued by mandating that any heirs to the estates "shall be bound and obliged constantly to bear, use and retain the surname of 'Gordon' and arms and designation of 'Gordon of Cluny' in all time after their succession to, or obtaining possession of, my said lands and estates, as their proper surname, arms and designation."
Historic Scotland listed the castle as a Category A listed building in April 1971.
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