Building record MAB8677 - GORDON CASTLE FARM, FOCHABERS

The home farm of Gordon Castle (NJ35NW0010), of early 19th century date.

The home farm of Gordon Castle (NJ35NW0010), of early 19th century date. Gordon Castle Walled Garden (NJ35NW0143) is situated to the W of the farm. Various grand designs for a main farm were proposed in the 1760s, but the final design was by Archibald Simpson in 1828-1829 and comprised an Italian villa-style quadrangular layout of three courts, which are single storey structures containing byres and barns. The front range also included cottages for farm workers. The buildings are red harled with tooled ashlar margins and dressings. There are squat copes and shaped ridge stacks, and slate roofs with projecting jointed eaves. The windows are round headed with a high round arched entrance into the court. There are two mirrored 2-storeyed houses that are projecting front and back as single bay gables that are canted to the courtyard. They flank a segmental-headed archway with a corniced and stepped blocking course. The two houses link to the archway by a set back single bay, in each of which is bracketted a corniced entrance. There is long ground floor fenestration, the front windows also with bracketed cornices. The first floor fenestration is lower, and some are blind in inward facing bays. A detached block stands to the north. A number of buildings have been added over the years. To the north stand the kennels (NJ35NE0046). There is a single storey structure and a loft, with set back 6-bay outer ranges. There is lunette fenestration above each window, set in shallow round-headed recesses. At the left, all front fenestration is blind, and at the right, the block has near centre gabled porch. There is varied multi-pane glazing and some lying-pane. There is squat coped and shaped ridge stacks and slate roofs with projecting jointed eaves. Two further long single storey west ranges are sited parallel to the main square, and are linked at the gabled frontage by square panelled ashlar gatepiers. To the rear there is a much altered range of buildings not included in the listing. Scottish Record Office RH Plan no 2398 is a working drawing with a reference to 'Mr Simpson's own drawings'. The series of drawings reveal that a clock tower was intended as the archway centrepiece. Described in 1842 as 'a range of buildings which for amplitude, utility and elegance are certainly unrivalled in the N'. Formerly the mains farm on Gordon Castle Estate and called Boghead. Most of the structures have now been gutted internally and converted for modern farm usage.

Period Notes
Built 1828-29. Designated 24/03/1988

GLENDINNING, M, 2008, BUILDINGS OF THE LAND: SCOTLAND'S FARMS 1750-2000, pp48-9, Fig 2.29 (Bibliographic reference). SAB2625.

Apr 23 2002 , AAS/02/3/CT13-4,17, AAS/02/3/CT13-4,17 (Air-oblique Photograph). SAB31694.

Apr 23 2002 , AAS/02/3/G7/14-18, AAS/02/3/G7/14-18 (Air-oblique Photograph). SAB31693.

SDD, n.d., BLDS OF ARCH & HIST INTEREST, Bellie, No77 (Bibliographic reference). SAB1827.

Record last edited

Jul 28 2022 2:05PM