Document record MAB62385 - PITTARROW

Site of a castle, demolished in 1802.

Site of a castle, demolished in 1802. There are now no surface indications of the castle, but, according to the farmer, walling foundations survive circa 60 cm below ground level. A soilmark of the castle is possibly visible on the aerial photograph. The adjacent Mains of Pittarrow farmstead (NO77NW0066) may incorporate elements of the demolished castle, including two carved heads which appear to date to the 15th or 16th Centuries, while other decorative features (including a dated skewputt and carved dormerhead) are said to have at one time lain in the garden of the farmhouse but it is not know if they survive. The lands of Pittarrow were obtained by the Wishart (Wiscard / Wyscard/ Wischeard) family in the mid 13th Century, but it is not known when the castle itself was built here. George Wishart, born circa 1513 at Mains of Pittarrow, was Scotland's first Protestant martyr, burnt at the stake in 1546 by Cardinal Beaton in St. Andrews. Sir John Wischeard, who succeeded to the lands and barony of Pittarrow in the 16th century, was a strong Protestant and a leading member of the first congregation against Catholicism. He became a member of the Scottish parliament and the Privy Council in 1560, and distinguished himself against the Earl of Huntly at the battle of Corrichie in 1562. The estate was forfeited in 1565 when Sir John was denounced as a rebel for allegedly opposing the marriage of Queen Mary to Lord Darnley, and was forced to flee to England. The estate was restored in the following year after the murder of David Rizzio, when Sir John returned to Scotland and was pardoned. After the death of Sir John, the estate passed to his second son James who was obliged to sell the estate in 1631 to settle his affairs. The estate was sold, along with the family's lands at Carnebeg and Woodtoun, and the Mill of Conveth, to David, Lord Carnegie and 1st Earl of Southesk, for 59,000 merks. Pittarrow Castle was passed down through three generations of Carnegies until, in 1802, George Carnegie ordered its demolition. It was said to have been a fine example of a Scots baronial castle with many small turrets and a large vaulted entrance. The great hall was said to have been adorned with paintings of religious subjects, which were later covered over with wooden panels. The concealment of the paintings could indicate that they were painted before the Reformation, suggesting the castle was built sometime before the 16th Century. One of the paintings was said to represent a grand procession travelling to St Peter's basilica in Rome, showing the Pope, adorned with a tiara, in his full robes of State, and mounted on a horse or mule, led by a person of distinction, attended by a large company of cardinals, all richly dressed.

Period Notes
Demolished 1802.

JERVISE, A, 1861, MEMORIALS OF ANGUS & MEARNS, 178-81 (Bibliographic reference). SAB888.

FRASER, W, 1867, HISTORY OF THE CARNEGIES, EARLS OF SOUTHESK, AND OF THEIR KINDRED. VOL. 1 (Bibliographic reference). SAB2524.

FRASER, W, 1867, HISTORY OF THE CARNEGIES, EARLS OF SOUTHESK, AND OF THEIR KINDRED. VOL. 2 (Bibliographic reference). SAB2525.

FRASER, G. M., 1880, A HISTORY OF THE PARISH AND BURGH OF LAURENCEKIRK, 92 (Bibliographic reference). SAB519.

CRAMOND, W, 1894, ANNALS OF FORDOUN, 56 (Bibliographic reference). SAB267.

WISHART, D., 1914, GENEALOGICAL HISTORY OF THE WISHARTS OF PITTARROW AND LOGIE WISHART (Bibliographic reference). SAB2116.

WATT, JC, 1914, MEARNS OF OLD, XL (Bibliographic reference). SAB2005.

PAUL, 1914, THE SCOTS PEERAGE 1904-14, VIII, 75 (Bibliographic reference). SAB1448.

May 18 1977 , NO77 N 2701148, NO77 N 2701148 (Air-vertical Photograph). SAB12525.

Author unknown, n.d., NSA, (1845) 81 (Bibliographic reference). SAB1269.

RCAHMS, n.d., S KINC LIST, No244 (Bibliographic reference). SAB1512.

Record last edited

Oct 31 2022 2:21PM