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

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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

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

Fyvie Castle is a castle in the village of Fyvie, near Turriff in Aberdeenshire, Scotland.

The earliest parts of Fyvie Castle date from the 13th century – some sources claim it was built in 1211 by William the Lion. Fyvie was the site of an open-air court held by Robert the Bruce, and Charles I lived there as a child. Following the Battle of Otterburn in 1390, it ceased to be a royal stronghold and instead fell into the possession of five successive families – Preston, Meldrum, Seton, Gordon and Leith – each of whom added a new tower to the castle. The oldest of these, the Preston tower (located on the far right as one faces the main facade of Fyvie), dates to between 1390 and 1433. The impressive Seton tower forms the entrance, and was erected in 1599 by Alexander Seton; Seton also commissioned the great processional staircase several years later. The Gordon tower followed in 1778 , and the Leith in 1890.

Inside, the castle stronghold features a great wheel stair, a display of original arms and armour, and a collection of portraits.

Manus O'Cahan and Montrose fought a successful minor battle against the Covenant Army at Fyvie Castle on October 28, 1644. The battlefield is currently under research to be inventoried and protected by Historic Scotland under the Scottish Historical Environment Policy of 2009. Following Victorian trends, the grounds and adjoining Loch Fyvie were landscaped in the 19th century. The Scottish industrialist Alexander Leith (later Baron Leith of Fyvie) bought the castle in 1885. It was sold to the National Trust for Scotland in 1984 by his descendants.

To the East there is a walled garden which is currently a garden of Scottish Cultivated Fruits. There is evidence for two other walled gardens closer to the castle itself to its West and South. The one to the west appears on an estate plan of 1768.

Hauntings
The castle (like many places in Scotland) is said to be haunted.A story is told that in 1920 during renovation work the skeleton of a woman was discovered behind a bedroom wall. On the day the remains were laid to rest in Fyvie cemetery, the castle residents started to be plagued by strange noises and unexplained happenings. Fearing he had offended the dead woman, the Laird of the castle had the skeleton exhumed and replaced behind the bedroom wall, at which point the haunting ceased. It is said that there is a secret room in the south-west corner of the castle that must remain sealed, lest anyone entering meet with disaster. It is unclear if this is the same room in which the skeleton was found. There is also an indelible blood stain, two ghosts and two curses associated with this place.

One of the curses has been attributed to the prophetic laird, Thomas the Rhymer. The curse is said to have been part of the mysterious three weeping stones. Only one weeping stone is known to exist and is kept at the castle. The other two have never been found.

Fyvie Castle

Castle Fraser is the most elaborate Z-plan castle in Scotland and one of the grandest 'Castles of Mar'. It is located near Kemnay in the Aberdeenshire region of Scotland. The castle stands in over 300 acres (1.2 km2) of landscaped grounds, woodland and farmland which includes a walled kitchen garden of the 19th century. There is archaeological evidence of an older square tower dating from around 1400 or 1500 within the current construction.

Construction
Originally known as Muchall-in-Mar, construction of the elaborate, five-storey Z-plan castle was begun in 1575 by the 6th Laird of Fraser, Michael Fraser, on the basis of an earlier tower, and was completed in 1636. A panel on the northern side of the castle is signed "I Bel", believed to be the mark of the master mason John Bell of Midmar, the castle is a joint creation over several decades with another master mason of this period, Thomas Leiper.

Castle Fraser is contemporary with other nearby castles: Craigievar Castle, Crathes Castle and Midmar Castle which are also believed to have been designed by the Bell family of master masons.

The castle was modernised in a classical style in the late 18th century, with a new entrance inserted in the south side and sash windows throughout. This work was supervised by Elyza Fraser, the lady laird, assisted by Mary Bristow. Elyza was also responsible for the landscaping of the grounds, sweeping away the remains of the original formal gardens and orchards, and for the construction of the impressive octagonal stable block.

The interiors of the building were entirely reconstructed again between 1820 and 1850, by Charles Fraser, using the architects John Smith and William Burn. The Library is a fine example of John Smith's regency style with Tudor detailing. Many of William Burn's more extravagant gothic designs for the most important rooms were not carried out, although a gothic style pipe organ was installed (now removed to Kemnay Church).

External works during this period included the construction of the twin gatehouses (still extant), and a grand domed stair and access corridors with loggias in the courtyard (removed).

The castle was given a partial 'restoration' by the new owners around 1950. The architect and antiquary Dr William Kelly supervised the removal of much 19th-century work to reveal the earlier fabric.

Castle Fraser retains the atmosphere of a family home and still contains the original contents, including Fraser family portraits, furniture and collections. The evocative interiors represent all periods of the castle's history, from the Medieval stone vaulted Great Hall to the Regency Dining Room.

Ownership
Castle Fraser was built as the home of the Frasers of Muchalls, later Frasers of Castle Fraser. The castle was passed down through the Lords Fraser, the Frasers of Inverallochy and then the Mackenzie family who took the name Mackenzie Fraser. In 1897 the last male Fraser of the direct line, Frederick Mackenzie Fraser, died childless. In 1921 his widow, Theodora, sold the castle due to the lack of a suitable heir and mounting financial difficulties. The buyer was Weetman Pearson, 1st Viscount Cowdray. The Pearson family restored the castle as a shooting lodge and gave it to the National Trust for Scotland in 1976.

Popular culture
Legend has it that a young princess was once staying at the castle when she was brutally murdered while asleep in the 'Green Room'. Her body was dragged down the stone stairs, leaving a trail of blood stains. As hard as they tried, the occupants of the castle could not scrub out the stains, and so were forced to cover the steps in wood panelling, which remains today. It is said she still stalks the halls of the castle during the night. It is more likely, however, that the stone stairs were covered to make them easier to climb as they were used as the servants stairs in the 19th century.

Some scenes in the 2006 film The Queen, starring Dame Helen Mirren, featured Castle Fraser as a backdrop.

Today, the castle is owned by the National Trust for Scotland. The castle is open to visitors from Easter to October. The grounds and walled gardens are open year round. It can be hired for weddings, dinners, conferences and corporate events.

Castle Fraser

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.

New Slains Castle

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.

Cluny Castle

Delgatie Castle is a castle near Turriff, in Aberdeenshire, Scotland.

A castle has stood on the site of Delgatie Castle since the year 1030 AD, although the earliest parts of the castle standing today were built between 1570 and 1579. Additional wings and a chapel were added in 1743.

The castle was stripped from the disgraced Henry de Beaumont, Earl of Buchan after the Battle of Bannockburn in 1314 and given to Clan Hay (later to become the Earls of Erroll). Mary, Queen of Scots, was a guest at the castle in 1562 after the Battle of Corrichie.

Like many castles, Delgatie is rumoured to be haunted. A number of reports of a ghostly red-haired figure, supposedly one Alexander Hay, were made by soldiers posted there during the Second World War. The castle's information boards, mostly written by Captain Hay who restored the house in the 1950s, recount that the ghost was first seen when a body was found bricked up in a priest hole.

Architecturally, the castle consists of a keep, adjoining house and two later wings. Notable features include a very wide turnpike stair and painted ceilings dating from the 16th century in some rooms. In many places may be seen the Hay family arms including the three cattle yokes which recall a farmer and his two sons who were instrumental in the defeat of a Danish raiding party at Cruden Bay. (See Clan Hay for more detail.)

Today, the castle and its gardens are owned by the Delgatie Castle Trust. The castle, grounds, and café are open to the public throughout the summer months and suites within the castle itself and a number of cottages the estate are available to rent. There is also a popular fishing site on the river passing through.