Historical Introduction
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398 PROCEEDING E SOCIETYTH F SO , 1955-56. XV. FINAVON CASTLE. BY W. DOUGLAS SIMPSON, O.B.E., M.A., D.LITT., F.S.A., F..S.A.SCOT. "When Finavon Castle ring to sand The warld's end is near at hand." HISTORICAL INTRODUCTION. In 1934 Professor Childe, in a masterly paper contributed to our Proceedings, set forth the results achieved by his partial investigation of the famous vitrified fort of Finavon.1 I have now to communicate the results of excavations, similarly partial in nature, at the once powerful castle of Finavon, for long the seat of the Earls of Crawford, of the Lindsay stock. When it is remembered that the parish contains, in addition to the vitrified fort and the castle, the site of a buried parochial church built in 1380, and apparentl f unusuao y l architectural distinction, e Roma th s wela 2s a ln marching camp of Battledykes,3 it will be realised that Finavon, or Oathlaw usuall parise w asth no s hyi called placa s i mor,f eo e than ordinary historic and archaeological interest. The ruins of Finavon Castle (fig. 1) occupy a strong and romantic situatiopleasane . banrighe th S th f r ko o tn no t little Wate f Lemnoo r a , short distance abov s confluenceit e wit e Rivehth r South Eskaboud an , t 125 ft. above sea-level. On the N. side of the Castle, the ground forms a level terrace, probabl parn yi t artificial, extendin t aboug ou yds 0 2 t . fro Hige mth h ToweCastle edge steea th th f f eo o o pr et bank descendin e Lemnoth o gt , here a placid stream about 20 ft. broad, some 30 yds. distant from the Castle, and about 30 ft. below it. To the E. of the Castle the ground falls gentl r abou fo yyds0 2 t . int a osubsidiar y ravine, down whic ha bris k streamlet, joine anothery db , career seriea n s i tinf so y cascade meeo st e th t Water of Lemno. Thus the site of the Castle is well-secured on the N. and groune th . dW formd an . fairla sS e yth leveo T l . platformE , extendinn gi e latteth r directio e moderr abou th ydsn0 fo o 15 t t. n castl f Finavoneo , a handsome Victorian Gothic structure, erected in 1865 for the then laird, David Greenhill Gardyne, by Messrs Carver and Symon, an Arbroath firm of architects somf o thei n i ,y e reputationrda . Toward modere sth n mansion 1 P.S.A.S., LXIX, 49-80. 2 See A. Jervise, The Land of the Lindsays, 2nd ed., pp. 162-4. CrawfordS . G . Topographye O Th e , Se 3 of Roman Scotland North Antoninee oth f Watt, . 94-97pp . FINAVON CASTLE. 399 extensive foundations can be traced amid the undergrowth: and it is clear tha upstandine tth g portio Castlee th f no , imposin represent, is t i s ga s LIME. T fctt II AC. TKE.E. FINAVON CASTLL. SITE. P L A M. use 10 10 i» w jt o J Ifi> 1' Fit;. Pig. 1. Finavon Castle: plan of site. merel eastere whaf yo bees th d ha tnlarg a nen importand ean t structure, worthy of its dignity as the principal seat of a powerful earldom. The whol includew ee Finavo no sitth s ei n d i n policies s coverei d an ,d with larg tree d shrubberyd eol san , -whil little eth e valleLemne th f yo o formn sa 400 PROCEEDINGS OF THE SOCIETY, 1955-56. umbrageous walk amid one of the choicest vignettes of woodland scenery in Angus. The bed-rocSandstoned e parise LoweRe th th d f s ko hi Ol r , herea warm, brownish-red in colour, fine-grained and very free from pebbles.1 t formI gooa s d freestone easily worke evern di y direction weatherd an , s on the whole well enough. Out of it the facework and much of the core material of the Castle has been built, though Highland rocks, mostly in the for glaciaf mo l boulders, have been use somo dt e exten theartin e botth n hi g and in the foundation courses. The enormous quantities of limestone required for so large a structure must have been brought in from elsewhere. The Castle is founded on a deep bed of stiff red clay. Ample timber would be supplied by what remained of the ancient Forest of Plater, of which Finavon forme parta d . Conformabl practice th o yt e whic prevailes hha d for centurie Strathmoren si Castle roofeth s , t witewa no dh slate t witsbu h Turid re ne slab th sandstone f so , sometime mucs sa hals ha incn a f h thick, secured an woodey db n pegs. Number roofinf so g slabs, sometimes wite hth pegs in position, were recovered in the course of our excavations. The history of Finavon Castle has been very fully set forth, with ample documentation y Andreb , w Jervis than ei t admirable work Lande f Th ,o the Lindsays? , thereforeis t I , requisite onl giv o yt briefese eth t summary r presenfoou r t purpose e baronTh .f Finavo yo n forme e easterdth n part of the ancient and once extensive royal forest of Plater, which stretched from Finavon to Kirriemuir, a distance of not less than 7 miles. At an early date the eastern portion of this forest land was constituted into a parish, and the site of the old parochial church, now marked by a couple of trees, is on the right bank of the River South Esk a little below the confluence of the Water of Lemno. In 1380 this church was rebuilt by Sir Alexander Lindsa f Gleneskyo thee th , n lor Finavonf do created an , d int oprebena d of Brechin Cathedral. The barony of Finavon was held first by the Comyn Earls of Buchan, the3 n by Philip the Forester, who by a brilliant feat of armForfan swo r Castl Brucr efo 1308n ei . After Polaynhimw e th He , d ean Earl of Ross were in turn lords of the barony until in 1369 the latter was succeeded by Sir David de Annand, who in 1375 resigned his interest to Crowne th whicsamy e ,b th ehn i year Finavo conveyes n wa Alexander Si do t r Lindsa f Gleneskyo , together wit e offich th f Keepe o e Forese th f f o ro t Plater. Sir Alexander's son was the famous Sir David Lindsay, hero of the celebrated tournament with Lord Welles on London Bridge in 1390, in the presenc f Kineo s queeng hi Richar d , an Ann I dI f Bohemia eo n 1398I . , 1 On Finavon Hill, however, the rock is conglomerate. I quote always from the second edition, edited by J. Gammack, in 1882. The first edition, pub- lishe2 d in 1853, is the better one to read, much of its fine literary character having been marred in Gammack's scholarly revision. In the historical summary which follows, except where specified, authority for the statements made will be found in Jervise. 3 For the tiled pavement and monuments recovered from the church see Jervise, op. cit., p. 163. Fragment glazef so d tilebitd masonrf ssan o freele yar y picke thin o s p sitedu . 1 40 FINAVON CASTLE. Sir David Lindsay "was created Earl of Crawford, by solemn belting and investiture e parliamenth n i , t hel Pertn i d h that year—the Earldof mo Crawford being the third created since the extinction of the Celtic dynasty, that of Douglas having been the second, and Moray the first." 1 Sir David Lindsa sais yi havo dt e bee foundee nth f Finavoo r n Castle certainld an , y oldese th t masonry whic have hw e expose evers dha y appearanc belonginf eo g abouo t time s diee hi tt H Finavoda . n Castl Februarn ei y 1407. The most famous, or rather notorious, of the Lindsay Earls of Crawford was the terrible "Tiger Earl," or "Earl Beardie" as he was called from his hirsute aspect. He took part with the Douglases in their great rebellion against the House of Stewart in 1452, was defeated by the Earl of Huntly at the Battle of Brechin, and had to yield Finavon Castle to the victorious troops of James II, who visited the Castle in person and there, in a dramatic scene, received the submission of the defeated Earl.2 Apriln I , 1546 weddinge scene Castle th th f th ,s eo ewa , celebrated with the greatest pomp, of the Master of Crawford and Margaret, a daughter of Cardinal Beaton, who himself attended the ceremony. Extravagance ruine e Crawfordth d fortunes 162n i barone d 5th an , f Finavoyo diss n-wa posed of by a forced sale to Lord Spynie, from whom it passed to the Earl of Kinnoul, and later to the Earl of Northesk. In 1697 Lord Northesk made Finavon secons ovehi o rt d son Hone th , . James Carnegie sais i dt I . that the greater part of the Castle fell without warning towards the middle 18te oth f h century, having been undermine currene Lemnoe th th y df b o t . The subsequent owners of Finavon do not concern us here. In 1843 the Castle was bought by Thomas Gardyne of Middleton, whose descendant, the late Lieut.-Col. Alan D. Greenhill Grardyne, was the laird during the period of the excavations.