Knockhall Castle is a historic Scottish castle near to Newburgh, Aberdeenshire. It was built by Lord Sinclair of Newburgh in 1565. It was purchased by Clan Udny, who moved into the castle in 1634. The building was damaged in 1639 when taken by the Earl Marischal for the Covenanters, but was later returned to Udny hands. The Clan remained in the castle until 1734, when an accidental fire gutted the building and the Clan moved back to their other property, Udny Castle. Jamie Fleeman, the Laird of Udny's fool, is credited with saving the life of the family in the fire. The castle remains a ruin to this day and are designated a scheduled monument.

Knockhall Castle

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Udny Castle is a tower house in the parish of Udny, southwest of the village of Pitmedden and northeast of the hamlet of Udny Green, Aberdeenshire, in the northeast of Scotland. The area is generally flat but the castle is sited on the highest ground and can be seen for a considerable distance. Its exact construction date is unknown, but its foundations probably date from the late 14th or early 15th century. Additional storeys were added and a later extension, described as a "modern mansion", was incorporated but subsequently demolished. It is a Category A listed building.

Sited on the highest area in a generally flat terrain, the castle can be seen from a considerable distance. The exact construction date is not known but it was probably initially constructed by the Udny family in the 14th or 15th century. The property is first recorded when it is shown on a charter for David II instigated by Ronald of Uldney.

MacGibbon and Ross suggested a construction date of the turn of the 16–17th centuries but the indentation of the upper floors and thickness of the foundation walls suggest a much earlier date. The main construction work of the keep is believed to have spanned over 100 years and been undertaken by three consecutive lairds; it is reported to have "ruined them all".

The Udny family also owned Knockhall Castle and lived there until 1734 when Knockhall was destroyed by fire; they then returned to Udny. Jamie Fleeman, the Laird's fool, was responsible for saving the family papers from being destroyed in the fire.

The castle was abandoned sometime around 1775 then repair work was undertaken in 1801.

Colonel John Robert Fullerton Udny inherited the estate in 1802. He had been an army officer since 1797 but retired after his marriage to Emily Fitzhugh in 1812. Thereafter he only visited the estate occasionally as his main residence was in London. The couple had one son, John Augustus Udny, but he died a bachelor in 1859. The Colonel's wife died in 1846 after which he had an affair with Ann Allat whom he married on 2 January 1854. However, the couple had a son, John Henry Udny, born out of wedlock on 9 May 1853. A legal case was heard by the House of Lords as to whether John Henry was entitled to inherit the estate as his parents had been unmarried when he was born. The legal arguments describe how the Colonel had wished to do restoration work on the castle but could not afford to do so "owing chiefly to his connection with the turf".

The Colonel died in 1861. The House of Lords had decided in favour of John Henry and he inherited the estate as "though illegitimate at his birth, [he] was legitimated by the subsequent marriage of his parents".

In 1887, it is recorded as owned by John Hay Udny and had been in the family's ownership for several centuries.

Bartizans were included when an extra storey was added in the 17th century.

A mansion house in the baronial style was added in 1874–75 to the design of architect James Maitland Wardrop (of the Wardrop and Anderson company) but was subsequently demolished during the 1960s. Wardrop's son, Hew, was also an architect and undertook some of the decorative work at the castle. He died suddenly of appendicitis while working at the castle on 4 November 1887.

In 1964, restoration work was begun on the original tower house and the mansion house was demolished. Historic Scotland listed the castle as a Category A listed building in April 1971.

Architecture
The castle walls are 8 feet (2.4 m) thick and it has an attic keep measuring 35 feet (11 m) by 43 feet (13 m). The building exterior is harled and it is five storeys high. Its angle turrets are embellished with corbels, some more decorative than others.

Features include an arched entrance and a vaulted basement. The hall extends the full width of the castle and is sited on the first floor accessed by a turnpike stairway. The measurements of the hall are given as being 27 feet (8.2 m) by 21 feet (6.4 m) with a height of 20 feet (6.1 m) to the vault's top. The hall ceiling was given a Jacobean styling during the Victorian era. Some plasterwork added when Wardrop's design work was included remains in the vaulted hall. The fireplace from the castle was removed and is sited in Maryculter House, Kincardineshire.

Udny Castle

Tolquhon Castle (pronounced: "toh-hon", and sometimes spelt 'Tolquhoun') is located in Aberdeenshire, north-east Scotland. It lies about 1.5 miles (2.4 km) north-west of Pitmedden, and 2 miles (3.2 km) south of Tarves. The castle was built by William Forbes, 7th Laird of Tolquhon, between 1584 and 1589 as an extension to the earlier tower house known as Preston's Tower. Although ruined, the castle has been described as "the most characteristic château of the Scots Renaissance". It is in the care of Historic Scotland and is open to the public.

Preston's Tower was constructed in the early 15th century, either by Sir Henry Preston or by his son-in-law Sir William Forbes, who inherited part of the Preston lands in 1420, following Sir Henry's death. His descendant William Forbes, 7th Laird of Tolquhon (died 1596), began work on a new castle in 1584, retaining the Preston Tower but adding new, more comfortable accommodation. He also improved the gardens and parkland around the house. King James VI was entertained at Tolquhon in 1589. The new buildings were arranged around a courtyard, and included an elaborate gatehouse, and a first-floor gallery. An inscription on the gatehouse records that "AL THIS WARKE EXCEP THE AULD TOWR WAS BEGUN BE WILLIAM FORBES 15 APRIL 1584 AND ENDIT BE HIM 20 OCTOBER 1589". The home of a "Renaissance man", Tolquhon was designed for show rather than defence, and was the work of the mason-architect Thomas Leper or Leiper. Leper's distinctive triple shot-holes flank the main entrance, and are also found at nearby Arnage Castle and Dean Castle in Ayrshire. Also unusual is the stone tilework in the main hall.

After William Forbes' death his descendants continued to occupy Tolquhon until 1718, when they were forced to move out due to debts incurred by the failure of the Darien scheme. The castle subsequently decayed and is now a ruin. It is in the guardianship of Historic Scotland and is open to the public. Tolquhon is also a scheduled monument.

Description
The main entrance is on the north range of the castle, with the Preston Tower forming the north-east corner. The gallery occupies the first floor of the west range, while the main hall is in the south range, accessed via a stair from the courtyard. A prison was located within the south-east tower. To the north of the main quadrangle is the walled outer courtyard, with the remains of a doocot.

Tolquhon Castle

Slains Castle, also known as New Slains Castle to distinguish it from nearby Old Slains Castle, is a ruined castle in Aberdeenshire, Scotland. It overlooks the North Sea from its cliff-top site 1 kilometre (0.62 mi) east of Cruden Bay. The core of the castle is a 16th-century tower house, built by the 9th Earl of Erroll. Significant reconstruction of the castle has been carried out a number of times, lastly in 1837 when it was rebuilt as a Scots Baronial mansion. At one time it had three extensive gardens, but is now a roofless ruin. Plans to restore the castle have been on hold since 2009. It is a Historic Environment Scotland Category B listed building.

The Clan Hay were a powerful family in the area for generations, having possessed the lands of Slains since the 14th century. In 1453 Sir William Hay, the clan chief, was made Earl of Erroll by King James II. At this time the local seat of power was Old Slains Castle, near Collieston some 8 kilometres (5.0 mi) to the south-west. Francis Hay, 9th Earl of Erroll, succeeded in 1585, and converted to Roman Catholicism. He conspired with other Catholic nobles, including the Earl of Huntly, with whom he joined in a brief rebellion in 1589. Erroll was also a signatory of the "Spanish Blanks", documents signed by members of the Catholic nobility of Scotland, and otherwise left to be filled in with the terms of Spanish aid. Erroll was declared a traitor in 1594, and Old Slains Castle was destroyed in October on the orders of King James VI.

After a period abroad Erroll returned to Scotland, and abjured Roman Catholicism in 1597, subsequently returning to royal favour. He abandoned Old Slains and built a courtyard and square tower on the present site. Originally named Bowness, it later became known as New Slains. The wings around the courtyard were extended in 1664 by addition of a gallery or corridor, and in 1707 the entrance front was renewed.

In 1820 William Hay, 18th Earl of Erroll, married Lady Elizabeth FitzClarence, the illegitimate daughter of King William IV and Dorothea Jordan. In the 1830s the 18th Earl commissioned the Aberdeen architect John Smith to remodel the castle. This resulted in a virtual rebuilding of Slains in a Scots Baronial style, including granite facings, in 1836–1837. Gardens were laid out in the late 1890s by the landscape architect T. H. Mawson. In 1895 the author Bram Stoker visited the area, staying at a cottage near Cruden Bay, and he may have been a guest at Slains. The castle is commonly cited as an inspiration for Stoker's 1897 novel Dracula.

In 1913 the 20th Earl of Erroll sold New Slains, ending more than 300 years of occupation by the family. It was purchased by Sir John Ellerman, the wealthy but secretive owner of the Ellerman Lines shipping company, who leased it out. In 1925 the roof was removed to avoid taxes, and the building has deteriorated since. It is now a roofless shell, with most of the outer and inner walls standing to full height. In 2004 it was reported that the Slains Partnership was preparing plans for restoration of the building and conversion into 35 holiday apartments. In August 2007 the scheme was granted outline planning permission by Aberdeenshire Council, but the plans were put on hold in 2009 due to the economic downturn.

Architecture
New Slains castle is a Historic Environment Scotland Category B listed building. At first inspection the ruin appears to be a blend of several different architectural styles and periods, due to diverse masonry including older mortared granite, 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 cliffs; an abyss to the west that functions as a deep impassable moat; and a ruined rampart that would have been the main entrance on the south. The ruins include reasonably well preserved elements of three- and four-storey 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 firepits and masonry indented storage spaces. The internal doorways are primarily of well-preserved wooden lintel construction, with numerous examples of mortared sandstone 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.