Building record MAB31397 - KINDROCHIT CASTLE

Remains of castle, used as a palace and/or hunting seat by Robert II between 1371-1388.

Remains of castle, used as a palace and/or hunting seat by Robert II between 1371-1388. A license was granted by King Robert III in 1390 to Malcolm Drummond to build a new tower. The later tower intruded into the west side of the earlier work, on a different axis. The plan of the older castle shows a great oblong hall, nearly 30.48 m long by 9.14 m wide, with walls 3 m thick. This hall was on the first floor, over unvaulted cellars divided by two cross-walls, one of which was removed to built the later keep. At each corner of the north end of the hall and the southeast corner are remains of quadrangular towers. Immediately north of the keep were found the remains of two piers which supported a wooden bridge over the river. During excavations in 1925 a highly enriched silver-gilt Highland brooch was uncovered in the area which contained the prison. The brooch was found by a party of Boy Scouts under the supervision of Simpson, and was unearthed at a depth of 18 inches. A programme of conservation work was carried out on the ruins in 2013. Evaluation of the site of consolidation works was carried out by Alder Archaeology in 2014. Two test pits dug to investigate a suspected sub-surface wall line recorded this in one pit, however, a feature in the second pit may have been a floor. Three possible buttresses or tower bases were recorded in April 2014 as part of an ongoing watching brief on Phase II of the consolidation works. During June-July 2014 excavation was carried out by Alder Archaeology on an area between two test pits which had suggested the presence of a buried wall feature. The basal courses of a substantial defensive wall linking the extant (ruinous) gatehouse with the remains of a corner tower in the southeast part of the site The base of a splayed window or arrow slit was also revealed. Further work uncovered the stubs of two partition walls, apparently destroyed during later building works involving the construction of a tower house. A watching brief by Alder Archaeology in September 2014 during de-turfing of a courtyard area, and hand excavation of small areas for interpretation board stands recorded no archaeological features or artefacts. A further watching brief was carried out by Alder Archaeology in March 2015 during groundworks for a new flagpole in the northeast corner of site, but no archaeological features or artefacts were observed.

Period Notes
Used between 1371-88; license granted 10 November 1390.

Author unknown, , PRESS & JOURNAL, 15/08/13 (Bibliographic reference). SAB1416.

Author unknown, , PRESS & JOURNAL, 20/08/13 (Bibliographic reference). SAB1416.

Author unknown, , SCOTTISH NOTES AND QUERIES, 3 SER(1926) 27-33 (Bibliographic reference). SAB1839.

Author unknown, , SCOTTISH NOTES AND QUERIES, VOL I(1923) 109 (Bibliographic reference). SAB1839.

ERSKINE, S, 1898, BRAEMAR, 39-43 (Bibliographic reference). SAB461.

SIMPSON, WD, 1923, THE ROYAL CASTLE OF KINDROCHIT IN MAR, PSAS 57(1922-3) 75-97, 75-97 (Bibliographic reference). SAB1644.

CALLANDER, J. G., 1926, NOTES ON A HIGHLAND BROOCH OF SILVER, pp.118-122 (Bibliographic reference). SAB3997.

MACKENZIE, W. M., 1926, SOME STRAY INSCRIPTIONS ON THE KINDROCHIT BROOCH , PSAS 61, pp.177-9 (Bibliographic reference). SAB4996.

SIMPSON, WD, 1927, DEESIDE FIELD 3(1927) 75-6, 75-6 (Bibliographic reference). SAB1651.

DONATIONS & PURCHASES, 1927, PSAS 61(1926-7) 166, 166 (Bibliographic reference). SAB2419.

SILVER-GILT BROOCH

SIMPSON, W. D., 1928, THE EXCAVATION OF KINDROCHIT CASTLE, pp.69-75 (Bibliographic reference). SAB4781.

CRUDEN, SH, 1960, THE SCOTTISH CASTLE , 102,124,125,128 (Bibliographic reference). SAB247.

GRAHAM, C, 1981, GRAMPIAN: THE CASTLE COUNTRY (2ND ED), 10 (Bibliographic reference). SAB598.

BOGDAN, N, 2008, EARLY CASTLES OF ABERDEENSHIRE (Bibliographic reference). SAB3811.

ALDER ARCHAEOLOGY, 2014, ARCHAEOLOGICAL EXCAVATION, KINDROCHIT CASTLE, BRAEMAR, ABERDEENSHIRE, Excavation report (Bibliographic reference). SAB5497.

ALDER ARCHAEOLOGY, 2014, INTERIM REPORT ARCHAEOLOGICAL EVALUATION AND WATCHING BRIEF, PHASE II, KINDROCHIT CASTLE, BRAEMAR, Eval/WB interim rep (Bibliographic reference). SAB5488.

ALDER ARCHAEOLOGY, 2014, KINDROCHIT CASTLE, BRAEMAR: FURTHER ARCHAEOLOGICAL WATCHING BRIEF WRITTEN SCHEME OF INVESTIGATION, WSI (Bibliographic reference). SAB8296.

ALDER ARCHAEOLOGY, 2014, KINDROCHIT CASTLE, BRAEMAR: SECOND INTERIM REPORT ON WATCHING BRIEF, WB report (Bibliographic reference). SAB5507.

ALDER ARCHAEOLOGY, 2015, ARCHAEOLOGICAL WATCHING BRIEF AND PHOTOGRAPHIC RECORD, KINDROCHIT CASTLE (Bibliographic reference). SAB7889.

ARCAHEOLOGY SCOTLAND, 2015, DISCOVERY AND EXCAVATION IN SCOTLAND. NEW SERIES, VOLUME 15, 2014, p.20 (Bibliographic reference). SAB5542.

CASTLE STUDIES GROUP, 2016, BULLETIN VOLUME 22 (Bibliographic reference). SAB8025.

RENMUIR, J, 2016, KINDROCHIT: A NEW LIFE FOR STATELY STONES IN BRAEMAR GATHERING ANNUAL 2016, PP107-112 (Bibliographic reference). SAB3195.

Aug 1 1976 , COLOUR PRINTS, COLOUR PRINTS (Ground Photograph). SAB15141.

Aug 13 2014 , AAS-GR-14-08-228 - 232, AAS-GR-14-08-228 - 232 (Ground Photograph). SAB34414.

Aug 20 1984 , CM 11-12, CM 11-12 (Ground Photograph). SAB15140.

Feb 24 2011 , DG3273-89, DG3273-89 (Ground Photograph). SAB20831.

Jan 1 1976 , AAS/GR/76/CT135, 151, AAS/GR/76/CT135, 151 (Ground Photograph). SAB32447.

Jan 1 1976 , AAS/GR/76/CT242-247, AAS/GR/76/CT242-247 (Ground Photograph). SAB32462.

Jul 16 1990 , POLAROID PRINTS, POLAROID PRINTS (Ground Photograph). SAB15142.

Jun 1 1996 , AAS/GR/96/CT78-80, AAS/GR/96/CT78-80 (Ground Photograph). SAB32967.

Jun 19 2014 , AAS/GR/14/06/462-479, AAS/GR/14/06/462-479 (Ground Photograph). SAB33945.

Mar 17 2015 , AAS-GR-15-03-126 - 135, AAS-GR-15-03-126 - 135 (Ground Photograph). SAB35551.

ALDER ARCHAEOLOGY, n.d., KINDROCHIT CASTLE, BRAEMAR: FURTHER ARCHAEOLOGICAL EVALUATION: WRITTEN SCHEME OF INVESTIGATION, WSI (Bibliographic reference). SAB5482.

Nov 7 1989 , MJ 28-34, MJ 28-34 (Ground Photograph). SAB33392.

Nov 15 2013 , AAS-GR-13-11-592 - 600, AAS-GR-13-11-592 - 600 (Ground Photograph). SAB35325.

Oct 14 2013 , AAS-GR-13-10-272 - 283, AAS-GR-13-10-272 - 283 (Ground Photograph). SAB35315.

Oct 15 2014 , AAS-GR-14-10-103 - 115, AAS-GR-14-10-103 - 115 (Ground Photograph). SAB35364.

Sep 9 2013 , AAS-GR-13-09-219 - 226, AAS-GR-13-09-219 - 226 (Ground Photograph). SAB35309.

Sep 13 2013 , AAS/GR/13/09/055-61, AAS/GR/13/09/055-61 (Ground Photograph). SAB33943.

Sep 20 2015 , AAS-GR-15-09-132 - 133, AAS-GR-15-09-132 - 133 (Ground Photograph). SAB35820.

Sep 23 2013 , AAS/GR/13/09/62-63, AAS/GR/13/09/62-63 (Ground Photograph). SAB33944.

SEDGEWICK, s, undated, THE CASTLE OF KINDROCHIT IN MAR, Booklet (Bibliographic reference). SAB1785.

Record last edited

Aug 19 2024 3:01PM