V.

CAIBNBULG CASTLE, ABERDEENSHIRE. By W. DOUGLAS SIMPSON, M.A., D.LiTT., P.S.A., F.S.A.ScoT., HON. F.R.I.A.S.

Read May 9, 1949.

Cairnbulg Castle seae f Lorth ,o t d Saltoun, standnorth-eastere th n i s n knuckl Scotlandf eo bole th , d promontor Buchaf yo n that divide Norte sth h froa Morae mSe th y Firthabous i mile o t I tw t. s south-eas Fraserburghf o t , and three-quarters of a mile due south from the coast in Fraserburgh Bay. The castle is in the parish of Rathen. Its site is a fairly prominent mound of stiff boulder clay, resting on the quartz-schist which here forms the country rock. Probably this moun l bee al s firs f ndha o t artificially shapes a o ds to support an early timber castle, and subsequently cut down into a platform existine foth r g stone building moune Th surroundes . dwa moata y t db ye , traceable on the east side. In the middle of last century this moat still retained water. e castlee nortth th f o ho ,t 1 nea, e presenParit th rf o t t lake, is even now soft and muddy, so that cattle are liable to be bogged there. e castlTh e overlook e soutsth h e Watebanth f f Philorthko o r sluggisa , h stream that has long since reached its base-level, and now forms a tidal channel up to a point a little above the castle. Just below it the stream is spanned by Philorth Bridge, a two-arched stone structure replacing a

examplr fo e illustratioe Se 1e th firse nth t . Pratt'oppositn editioi B 1 . J 14 f s n. o e Buchanp (1858). CAIRNBULG CASTLE, ABERDEENSHIRE. 33

wooden predecesso r n existenci whic s wa h t leasa e s earla t s 1723.ya

Below the bridge, the stream winds on1 through pleasant links of crisp turf and blown sand, and enters the sea by a channel which it has cut for itself in the broad crescent of Fraserburgh Bay. On the landward sides the castle was formerly protected by marshes, considerable remnants of which still exist. The quartz-schists are nowhere exposed in situ, being heavily blanketed with boulder clay. From the included stones of this the materials for the Ft k. iT

. PfiiCortfx. CAIRNBULG"%,

• INVERALLOCHY

LONMAY -THE NINE CASTLE THF SO E KNUCKLE- 34^-4 Lock of- 4- MILES Stro.tfi.beg

Pig. 1. Map to illustrate the position of Cairnbulg Castle.

rubble masonry of the castle have been gleaned; with the result that its walls may be described as a kind of petrological museum, so -varied are their contents. Gneisses, schists, quartzites, crystalline limestones, granites, felsites, diorites, gabbros and other representative rocks of Buchan may all be identified in the masonry. For dressed work two different kinds of material have been used: knotted schist, green or purplish in colour, belonging to the large area of this formation which extends to the westward of the quartz-schists; and a deep red sandstone, obtained probably from one or more of the numerous small old quarries along the coast in the neighbour- hoo f Aberdourdo . This sandstone belong e G-amrie-Turrifth o t s f outlier, and is of Middle Old Red date. It is, however, not impossible that the sandstone came fro quarre mth t Delgatyya , existencwhicn i s hwa t leasea t earls a untid 1375s ya an ,l 1479 belonge Barone th o d t Philorth f yo whicf o , h

Cairnbulg Castle is the capital messuage. Limestone for building could

2

Macfarlane'1 s Geographical Collections, ed. Sir A. Mitchell, vol. i. p. 55. 2 Antiquities Shirese th f f Aberdeeno o . Banff,d Anothe88 an . p . voliv r. quarry representew no , d by Quarryhead and Quarryburn, west of Eosehearty, is on record in 1408 (Frasers of Philorth, vol. ii. p. 220), but this is in the knotted schists. 3 VOL. LXXXIII. 34 PROCEEDINGS OF THE SOCIETY, 1948-49.

be obtained either from, the calcareous Broadsea schists of Fraserburgh or, neare t handa r , from Quarryhea Rathenf do , wher ebana thif do s rockf o , excellent quality s lonwa g, worked r buildinfo g purposes. Timbere w ,

may suppose, will have come from farther 1 afield. In 1793 we are told that thernativo n s ei e woo Rathenn di tha d plantatione an ,th t parise th n shi wer oldeo en r tha beginnine nth thaf go t century.2 Possibl wooe y th dma have been brought by sea from Speymouth, or even from much farther afield: in 1631 timber for Castle Fraser, also in Aberdeenshire, was imported from Norway. Even local bog-oak might have been used to some extent,

for in the parochia3 l description of 1793 we are told that the mosses of Rathen "abound with oaklarga f so e size; som sucn ei hstata preservatiof eo s na r manfo t yfi usefue b o lt purposes. clay-slatee Th "e Mora th f o sy Firth coast, at Melrose or elsewhere, will have supplied material for the roofs.

HISTORICAL SKETCH. This larg strond ean g castle, towerin amip g u linke desolata d th f so e part of the Buchan coast, strikes the spectator with astonishment. The reason fos presencit r thin ei s lonely spos beeha t n admirably discusse Lory db d Saltou pamphlet-guida n i e prepares whicha e hh visitorsr dfo . "Between Rattray Head and Aberdour Bay in Aberdeenshire there lies a stretch of coast running north-west for about 14,000 yards and due west for about 11,00 furtherd firs0e an Th t portio. n consist successioa f so sandf no y bays, in one of which there existed at one time an opening (now blocked by sand) into a landlocked salt-water basin, and in another there is still a burn running into the sea, which also has become winding and less active than it was within historic timescoase Th t. facing othee nortth n rh o han rocks di y and in many places inaccessible, gradually rising towards the west to the high lands about Troup. "The whole 25,000 yards of coast contains the remains of nine castles caseo [figtw . s n 1]I neighbourin. g castles were almost certainly successors on f anothero e , Pitslig e Wind Pitullieth oan ed an Towe, d Kinnairdan r . There is also another, Inverallochy, whose position is not easy to account for same on th recko e e w reasonin f i nt reste seveBu th .s g na castle 25,00e th o st 0 yards, five of them lie in the eastern portion, while only two lie on the north coast, and these front the more accessible parts of that seaboard. In contrast, e landwarth d district show similao n s r wealt f theso h e ruins e nearesth , t probable being that of Fedderate, some 12^ miles from Fraserburgh. "Suc ha distributio mosn nca t easil explainee yb e necessitieth y db f o s coast defence impression a , n whic s strengthenehi e situationth e y db th f o s individual castles, except Inverallochy. Rattray command o sandtw s y stretches of coast, and the easternmost point of the coast. Strathbeg [i.e. Lonmay] commande landlockeentre e dth th yo t d basin. Cairnbulg commands moute burne Wind th botth d an f an eht ,o h i Tower command Fraserburgh Bay, the best landfall in the neighbourhood. ————————^———————————————————————-————————————.———————————— 1 Statistical Account of Scotland, vol. vi. pp. 4, 17. 2 Ibid., p. 20. 3 The Deeside Field (1931), p. 62. CAIRNBULG CASTLE, ABERDEENSHIRE. 35

"Whatever date, therefore e assigneb , o existint d g remains s onli t yi , reasonable to believe that the sites, or the more important of them, were occupie somy db e for stronf mo g post befor discontinuance eth Vikine th f eo g raids, say, beforthirteente th ene f eth do h century." Wit foregoine hth g argumen I fint d mysel fuln i f l agreement t appearI . s mose m to t probable tha Castle th t Cairnbulgf eo , thougexistine th t hno g structure, will have originated, like other early castle Buchann si , undee rth rule of the great Anglo-Norman family of the Comyns, who obtained possession of that old Celtic province in 1214, and presumably were the first peopl introduco et feudae eth l castle into this sequestered par Scotlandf o t . Not that we need exclude the possibility of such structures, timbered earth- works in the fashion of the period, having been erected by the old Celtic mormaers who preceded the Comyns, and who, at least as early as the reign of Alexander I, had begun to style themselves comes or earl in the Anglo- Norman or feudal fashion.. In any case, we must clearly look to the

requirements of coastal defenc1 e as the reason for their foundation. Through- twelfte th t hou centur shoree yth Buchaf so reasod nha feao nVikine t th r g descents, and as late as 1151 Eystein, King of Norway, sailed down this coast and sacked the royal burgh of Aberdeen.2 We know that the great Norse invasion which came to grief at Largs in 1263 led to a strengthening of the national defences in various parts of Scotland, and the scare may well e Comyth hav d nele Earl f Buchao s e protectio th looo nt o kt f theino r exposed seaboard by the planting of castles at commanding points. anciene Th t histor Cairnbulf yo g Castl fulls e i t fort documenteyd se han d in the seventeenth Lord Saltoun's great work on The Frasers of Philorth, so that onl ybriea f summar calles yi barone herer dfo Th .Philortf yo h came into the hands of the Frasers, of the old family of Touch-fraser, in Stirling- shire, in 1375, in virtue of a grant to Sir Alexander Fraser of Cowie and Durris, fro r WaltemSi r Leslie husbane th , grantee'e sistea f th do f ro s wife. nexe th tn I year mentio mads ni f "theo e manor-plac Philorth,f eo " which indicates the existence then of a residence upon the barony. That this seat

wa t Cairnbulsa g appear provee indenturb n a o st y db e made ther 1360n ei ; * 3 andI believe s a , lowee th , existinre parth f o t g great castle toweth f eo r may well date bac thao kt t period. Ther s littli e f dramatieo c incident associated wit histore castlee hth th s owne f It yo . r durin Civie gth l War, Andrew, Lord Fraser, was a prominent Covenanter, and in March 1644 judged it prudent to retire to Cairnbulg Castle for safety. In the quaint narrative of Spalding,5 "the Lord Fraser also, being wnder feir, causi aitets cashi sn ti vpon e onlabourit ground, thairefter to teill the samen, rather then to haue thame in barnes or

1 Scots Peerage, . 250-1 volpp . .ii .Earldome Th y m e of Se 2Mar, . 8—9pp .

Frasers of Philorth, . vol116p . i .. Laing's Scottish Seals, . vol175. 990p . i No ., . 4

3 Memorialls Trubles, e oth f . 323volp . .ii . 36 PROCEEDING E SOCIETYTH F O S , 1948-49.

stakis, for feir of plundering. He causis translait his victual!, of the barony of Stanywodgirnelhe th f o f Wattertou t so ou , niche nb Muchallis.o t t e H 1 sendis and bringis his children fra the scoolis in Abirdene, and down to Cairn- bulge gois he out of the get, leaving sum men to keip the place of Mvchallis with all furneshing necessar." The castl thes Lorn ewa ni d Eraser's hand resula apprisan a s sf a o t r o l forced sale which had been made, before the "Trubles" commenced, by the tenth Lord Saltoun, who was heavily in debt. Subsequent efforts to have this sale annulled proved unsuccessful, and in 1666 Lord Saltoun built himsel mansionw ne a f , whic stylee hh House dth Philorthf eo , abou milta e inlandfuln i l ancestras d viehi an , f wo l castle. Philorth House remained e Lord th e sea f th so t Saltou nburnes untiwa 25tn t i do l h March 1915. Meantime Cairnbul beed g ha lasn e solth t y Lordb d Frase 170n ri Colone3o t l John Bucha f Auchmacoyno anceston a , presene th f o r t Ear f Caithnesso l . purchases n 180 I wa thire t 2th i dy db Ear f Aberdeeo l s behaln no hi f o f natural son, Joh latter'e n th Gordonn o s d deat solan s , 186o n hdt i wa t 2i trusteee Williath r M f so m Duthie well-know,a n Aberdeen shipbuilder, "who establishe e firsth d t regular linf vesselo e s betweene Britaith d an n Australian colonies." Long before tha castld t ol timfalled e ha eth n into

utter stilruins 178n I lwa .inhabitedt 1 i appears a , 2 s fro mtombstona n ei churchyard ol e th t Fraserburghda , which bear followine sth g inscription: "Here e lybodth sf Georgo y e Marten, Lawfulo Jamet n so sl Marten, Presently residing at the House of Cairnbulge, who died January the 8, 1781, age years.8 d1 " Next year, however place th , e -was dismantled, "the

haill Timber, Slates3 , Iron and Glass" being exposed for sale. It is specified that "the joist coupled l oakal san .e sar Jame s Marticastle th t ena will show these articles to any person inclining to purchase." 4 During a great gale on Christmas Day, 1806, "the venerable castle of Cairnbulg suffered much, one of the side walls being entirely beat down and great part of the roof blown off. 14tn "O h5 March 180 9publia c0 rou10 f "fropo o t 0 m6 full-grown ASH, also some PLANES ,prim n i etc. l al e, stat cutting,r efo " took castle.e placth t ea This entr interestins yi showins ga g that latterly

l evental t castle a sbeeth d eha n enclose6 considerably db e timber. 1896-n I ruinee 7th d castl restores ewa habitabla s da e dwellin Miy gb - John Duthie.7 The architects were Messrs Jenkins and Marr of Aberdeen. After Mr Duthie's death, Cairnbulg was bought back, in 1934, by the

1 Tha , Muchals-iu-Maris t Castlw no , e Fraser, Aberdeenshire s distinca , t from Muchalle th n i s Mearns.

2 J. B. Pratt, Buchan, 4th ed., p. 239. . HendersonA . J 3 , Aberdeenshire Epitaphs Inscription,d an . JerviseA . . 259p Cf ., Epitaphsd an

Inscriptions, vol. ii. p. 60. 4 Aberdeen Journal, 26th August 1782, col4 . 1 . . p , 6 Op. cit. (14th January 1807), p. 4, col. 3. 6 Op. cit. (8th March 1809), p. 1, col. 3. 7 Fo accounn ra restoratio e th f o t Aberdeene nse Evening Express, llth September 1897. CAIRNBULG CASTLE, ABERDEENSHIRE. 37

present Lord Saltoun representative th , founderss it f eo , thus reassertine gth validit Thomad ol f yo Rhymer'e sth s prophecy:

"Whil ecoca k Nortcrowe th n shi There'l Frasea e b l t Philorth.ra "

DESCRIPTION. The castle (fig. 2) consists principally of a large and strong tower-house, measurin fee1 g4 inc1 t lengthn hi , fee 9 easwestd 2 inche8 t an y t b ,n i s breadth, over walls e basemenwhicth n hi e nearlar t feey7 t thick, laid without foundation on a bed of clay. To the south-east corner of this tower-house was subsequently attached a long house, known formerly as e "loth w work," measurin fee7 g7 inche2 t lengtfeen 9 si width n 2 i t y hb , having at its south-eastern corner a strong round tower, 27 feet in diameter. Previous to its restoration in 1896-7 the castle was a total ruin (Pis. IX, 1, tower-house XI)d Th an roun.e X th d d etowean r were fairly well preserved, thougvera n yformee "i renhtorth d s ntan wa r condition, buildine th t "bu g between them hada grea n i , t measure, disappeared e restoratioth t A . n the two towers were repaired and reroofed, and what is to all intents and purposes a new building, embodying the remnants of the old walls, was erected between s ruineit them n I d. state e castlth , s describei e y db Dr Thomas Ross in the great work on The Castellated and Domestic Archi- tecture of Scotland, f whicho 1 , along wit r DavihD d Macgibbone th s wa e h , joint author. Beside plas drawingd shi nan s various other illustrationf so castlee th , befor restorations eit , exist, notably thos Jamey eb s Giles, R.S.A., drawn in 1839, which have been published" by the Third Spalding Club.2 Good photograph e alsar so available, showin e buildine statth th gf o e g before it came into the restorer's hand. Attached to the east end of the south wall of the tower-house, and connecting it with the later building, is a square staircase tower—or "jamb " as it would have been called in olden times—which contained a newel stair, about 4 feet 6 inches wide. Most of this stair had already fallen, and a further portio t collapsei f no d durin restoratione gth tha o e "jambs , th t " has had largely to be rebuilt and the stair renewed, from bottom to top, in wood. This "jamb" was regarded by Dr Ross as an integral part of the original tower-house. In that case we should have expected to find the door e usuath n li (thoug t invariablehno ) positio sucn ni h tower-housee th f o s L-plan, namely in the re-entrant angle. Actually it is on the east side of w ne e e "jamb,th th e re-entranf toweo th d t ol n "i bu e r th tf o angl t eno building—a fact which, by itself, would raise the suspicion that the "jamb" 1 Vol. i. pp. 309-13. 2 Aberdeenshire Castles, pis. xx, xxi: reproduced herewith as pis. x and xi by permission of the Club. 38 PROCEEDINGS OF THE SOCIETY, 1948-49. buildinw belongne e gth rathew o st tower walld e no ol e rTh e sar tha . th no t all masked with harling, but old photographs show very clearly that Dr Ross was wrong in regarding this staircase "jamb" as contemporary with the CAIRNBULC CASTLE

l4-m CENT.

I5TH CENT

I6TH CENT

: LATERDo .

PLAN AT FIRST FLOOR

Fig. 2. Cairnbulg Castle: plans.

rectangular tower. In these photographs the masonry of the "jamb" is seen to butt without bond against the south wall of the tower, the facing- stones of which pass in behind it; while the jamb of a first-floor window is partly concealed by the later walling which comes against it. On the east side of the tower-house the photographs show the irregular joint where the masonr staie th rf yo "jamb " meet soldee thath f ro t tower quoine th , f so which were evidently first removed, except in the lower portion of the tower CAIRNBULG CASTLE, ABERDEENSHIRE9 3 .

as far as about the first-floor level, in which part of the quoin of the original south-east angle, wit latee hth r staircase wall butting agains clearls i , it t y seen in one photograph. Even to-day, when the masonry is concealed by harl, the slight change in the alignment of the wall face, where the stair "jamb" meets the tower, is quite evident. The corbelled projection at the wall head on the east side (seen in PI. X), which now seems meaningless, is probably the end of a square turret capping the original south-east angle, coverind an primare th g s wha shalwa ye e w entranct se l e below. Further proof tha staircase th t e "jamb addition a s "i n wil foune b l n di passage th give whicw y eb no firse s t haccesth hali e te n th floo lo th o f st o r tower-house. This passage enter windoa hale y sth b l w bayt i : n andi . as , the masonry is exposed, the passage is seen to have been obviously forced. Moreover, the passage (as Lord Saltoun has pointed out) has a step-down and a downward slop eadjuso t fro s e stairlevel—anothee a m th th to s , r clear indication that the newel stair is an addition to the tower. Originally, it thus appears, the window bay had a wall-closet opening off it, like that which survives unaltered at the south-west corner of the hall: and the back wall of this closet was slapped through so as to convert it into a passage fro newee mth l stair. Not only is the staircase "jamb" an addition to the tower-house, but ther evidences i e tha uppee tth r portion latte e ofth lates ri r tha basements nit . photographse th Af so showe on n i changa , e occurcharactee th e n si th f ro masonr wese th tfirst-flooe n y i -wal th t a l r level. Below thiwore n i sth s ki medium-sized boulders very carefully coursed in horizontal bands, giving a kind of striated texture such as is not uncommon in fourteenth-century building. Above this the masonry is in random rubble in larger boulders, quite uncoursed showind an , gfairla pinningf yo free eus smaller so r packing material. The original entranc tower-house th o et e seem havo t s a en i bee t nse recess openinr o ,orderso groune e th tw th f f n go o o , d e eas d flooth en tt a r sout freestond hre fronte Th e . jambinnee th f rso order still remain; they vere ar y well formed ,course e higth shod n hi an , w 2-^-inca h chamfere Th . stone muce sar h weathered clearld an , y were once expose outee th o rdt air, befor newee th e l staircas buils ewa t agains e doorth t . Inside a straigh, t stair fee2 , inche9 t s broad, roofed over with rough ascending lintels, leads thicknese th uease n pi th tf wallso , enterin northe dooa hale th gy t th lb ra - east corner. On the landing was a stone laver, like that which occupies a similar positio e toweth f Dunnottan o ni r r Castle, circa 1395. Thid ol s straight stair is now blocked, and the landing thereby converted into a mural closet, in which the rake of the roof at the stair-head is still apparent. dooe whicy Th rb enter) his thiw ss no frobowte a close halt e i s mth s lha (a tl mouldin inside,e th n go toward closete sth , clearly showing tha t onci ts ewa dooe whicth y rb enterehals e hth lwa d fro staie staire mth Th r .itsel s wa f 40 PROCEEDINGS OF THE SOCIETY, 1948-49.

covere carefulla y db y constructed square meurtriere murder-holer o , opening from the window bay of the hall above it. Though now boarded over in windoe th w bay, this meurtriere fulls i y displaye staie th rn d i below . The plain barrel-vaulted tower-housee cellath f o r fee 9 ,height n i t , still retain marke boarde sth th f o s s s centeringuseit e usuan di th n lI way. , the vault was built subsequent to the side walls of the tower, as may be seen s wesit t ta end, wher vaultine eth g partly cover rouge sth h voussoira f o s loophole bay .e north-eas Therth a wel e n i b ls sai ei o dt t cornee th f o r cellar. The door into the cellar from the stair foot is a round arch, wrought in red freestone with a 2^-inch chamfer, and the whole northern half of the arch.is formed of one large voussoir.1 This suggests early work, probably e fourteentoth f r earlo h y fifteenth e centurycellath d r an doo; r much resemble stower-house thath f o t t Pitsligea o Castle, built soon after 1424. The fresh conditio e dresseth f no d stonewor t thika s door contrasts signifi- cantly with the weathered condition of the original outer door beside it. The arrangemen e straighth f o t t stair, ascending fro entrancn ma ee dooth t a r end of one side of the tower, and covered by an internal meurtriere from a e hallth windo moss i ,n i y t wfouns unusualba i t i d greae t alsth bu , n toi tower at Dun vegan Castle. Elsewhere I have argued that the Dun vegan tower dates from the late fourteenth century,2 and I have suggested that its builder was Malcolm, the third Chief of the Clan MacLeod. Perhaps it is not without significance that Malcolm's mother was a sister of Sir Alexander Fraser, grandfathe e firsth tf o rBaro f Philorthno . Despit e differeneth t generations greao n , t interva timn i l e separate meno tw ,e MacLeod'sth s dates being circa 1320—70, while Sir Alexander Fraser obtained Philorth in 1375. It is also worth noting that Sir Alexander Fraser's father-in-law, William, fifth Ear Rossf lo , from who obtainee mh barone dth Philorthf yo , s Lor f Skyewa do r Alexande Si . r himsel a cousie King s th s f wa hi no f, grandfather having married David II's aunt e Ladth , y Mary Bruceo S . powerfu d well-connectean l a dbaro n will have bee a nlikel y persoo t n replace the early earthwork castle at Cairnbulg by a ponderous tower of stone in the new fashion of the fourteenth century. The great vaulte firse d th hal ttower-house n floolo th f o r e again recalls that of Pitsligo, and may well be of the fourteenth or fifteenth century, thoug detailo n hw sther no abou e e ar t thai t t enabl more s datb eit o eet narrowly fixed. The hall measures 25 feet 4 inches by 16 feet 7 inches, and fee8 i1 inches6 t e hall-leve se e vaultcrowth higth th t f A o he nt o . th l outer walls are 6 feet 7 inches thick. The fireplace in its west end measures grea feen 8 i y widthn s i schistosti t I . e rock dressewhice useth s r hdwa fo d

1 In the fourteenth-century tower of Belsay, Northumberland, one-half of the arched head of the doorway to the great hall is similarly built in a single large voussoir. The same mode of construction alss i o foun t David'da s Towe Edinburgn ri h Castle, erected 1361—78. Booke Th 2 of Dunvegan, . volxxxix-xliipp . i .

CAIRNBULG CASTLE, ABERDEENSHIRE1 4 .

latee worth rn ki buildings s slendeit d an ,r bead moulding shows thas i t i t no older than the sixteenth century. At the restoration it was enclosed by a modern mantle of stone. The hall has a single window on each of the north and east sides, and windowo e souttw th n ho s side. These windows have arched bayse th , eastern one being specially large and provided with a raked vault so as to cast as much light as possible upon the vaulted ceiling, which was probably painted. The south-east and north-west windows have stone side benches, south-wese th d an t windosuce on h s benchwha wese ,th t ingoing containing a door which admit larga o t se vaulted mural chambe e south-westh n i r t cornetower-housee th f ro . This goo a chambe y db t windoli s rwesi e th wtn i wall. In the east ingoing of the north-west window is an aumbry, and there is another in the main wall to the west of it. A third aumbry, now closed, is in the east wall south of the large window. The floor above thi t presena s t form a singls e large th e n roomi t bu , original arrangemen divides wa t i dt intfireplaca s o ha two eithet n ei I . r end wall, of which the east one retains its old jambs, with a bead moulding like that of the hall; the western fireplace has been modernised. Each roo reaches m wa dooa y db r fro mflat-ceilea d mural passag e soutth n hei wall, leading from the newel stair. In each of the north and east walls is a window, with an arched ingoing and a stone side bench. From the north windo wese wdooa th tn sido r e admit smala o st l garderobe, wit hwindoa w and a couple of aumbries. At the north-west corner a low arched door gives access to a dog-legged garderobe, lit by a narrow loop and ceiled with stone slabs. Its raked shaft is well preserved. In the west wall of this flat is a narrow w*indow. At the south-west corner is a mural closet, large enoug contaio ht nbeda rather o goo,a s dbunkra ha window t I s .i d ,an now ceile eass woodn dit i tn I wal. narrola w door gives acces newea o st l stair, ceiled with flat slabs, which descends, very steeply vaultea o t , d prison formed in the haunch of the hall vault below. It is lit only by a narrow loop, subsequently widened. As the floor of this is wood, hollow below, it is probable that under this priso "pit,a ns i placr "o morf eo e rigorous confine- mentarrangemene Th . f thio t s prison somewhat recall similasa r feature fifteenth-centure th n i y towe Comlonganf ro , Dumfriesshire. The old corbels of the third floor still remain, and are of one rounded and filleted member, in reddish freestone; but two corbels at the west end of the north wall are in green schist, and consist of two members, the upper filleted. Both corbels are weathered, and one is much shattered; and (as we shall see) it is most likely that they are not in situ. thire Th dtower-house flooth f o r arranges ewa d similarl thao yt t below and divides , wa lik , edit introomso otw , both reache separaty db e doors from a flat-ceiled mural passage in the south wall. It has a window, with arched ingoing, in each of the north, east and west walls. The north window 4'2 PROCEEDINGS OF THE SOCIETY, 1948-49.

has a garderobe off it, just like the one below, and, like it, ceiled with flat slabs. The garderobe has a window and two aumbries, one large. In the south wal f thio l s floo larga s i r e window whicf o y h, ba intopen e oe th sth door from the mural passage. At the south-west corner of this floor is a large vaulted chamber, lit by a window, and at its north-west corner a dog- legged garderobe, flat-ceiled witd aumbrieo smale an ,htw on ld loopan s . eacn I h gable walfireplacea s i l builw no t, easupe th ;ta fireplacd ha s eha bead moulding. The position of the mural passages on the second and third floors suggests that the former access to these floors was by a stair at the south-east angle tower-housee oth f thad an ,t whe "jambe nth builts passagese "wa th , y b , an easy alteration, were made available for the new stair. It appears, how- ever, that ther alss ostraighea wa t stair syster ,o stairsmf norte o th n h,i wall; and this may have been the original means of access before the tower was reconstructed in the sixteenth century. The internal doorway e tower-housth f o s e are generaln ,i , carriet dou in red freestone, showing a 2-^-inch chamfer on jambs and lintel. On the ulterior dressed work mason's marks are much in evidence. Externally e tower-housth , s casei e n moderi d n harl t I show. e th s beautifully profiled entasis so usual in old Scottish buildings. To the coping merlone oth f heighe sth abous chimnei e t feetth 8 5 o tt : y heads abou0 7 t feet. Wher t modernisedno e e windowth , s hav d freestonre e r greeo e n schist margins with a plain heavy chamfer—in one case with a quirked edge roll. On the main portion the parapet oversails on corbels of two filleted members d similaan , r corbelling carrie e juttth sr projectin o y g feature which, as already suggested, may represent a square turret at the original south-east corner. At the other three corners, open round angle turrets are borne on three courses of continuous corbelling, above which are indi- vidual corbels similarangind an o t rg with maie thosth f neo parapetl Al . roun e buildinth d g these corbels suppor a cavetto-mouldet d base-course on which rests the parapet wall. To a large extent the battlements are restored, but they had raised and chamfered margins round the merlons and embrasures. The gargoyles are plain dished weepers. The concrete wall- head paving is modern, and so is the corbie-stepped cap-house. The main door to the staircase "jamb" at ground-level is on the east side, and is a full centered arch, measuring 6 feet in height and 4 feet in breadth, with a half-engaged, quirked edge roll. It is carried out in green knotted schist. The upper part of the staircase "jamb," which fell during the restoration of 1896-7 thes ,nwa rebuilt, with crow-steppe, IX L d(P e gableon d sol lik e eth additionn lattea e s Th beforrd wa . ,an 2) fellt ei d coupla , an 1 corbelf eo n so soute th h fron remaine) t (seeXI d Pis, 1n i ,maran o d.t IX opee kth n parapet with which the " jamb " was originally crowned. Probably at the restoration these two corbels were salvaged from the wreckage, and reinserted in the CAIRNBULG CASTLE, ABERDEENSHIRE. 43

second-floor tower-housee rooth f mo suggestes a , d above photographd Ol . s sho, 1) w(PI, tha .IX cap-hous e tth e chimne mors ywa e ancient tha skewe nth s of the gable, which butted against it, and it thereby appears that the "jamb" had always had a living-room, or living-rooms, above the stairhead. From the foregoing analysis it is evident that this noble tower-house, for all its superficial aspect of uniformity, is in reality a very complex structure, containing wor severaf ko l differend t ol periods s basemena e e Th b . y ma t as the latter part of the fourteenth century; the main structure seems to date from the fifteenth; the parapet looks like work of the early sixteenth centurye staircasth d an e; "jamb addes "wa d whe e lonnth g houss ewa built on to the old tower subsequently in the same century. The "low work sais "i havo dt e been erected, circa Alexande r 1545Si y ,b r Eraser, the seventh baron of Philorth. A royal charter to him, dated 1541, twice refers to "the maner place and castell of Phillorth, now biggit or to be biggit," indicating that addition buildine th o st g were then projecten i r do progress.1 In an Account of the Family of the Frasers, compiled in 1720, it is stated that "Sir Alexander Erase f Philortho r , commonly called 'Gflied Sandy,' . . . did build the low work of the house of Cairnbuilg." 2 The basement of this "low work" contained a row of four vaulted offices, served by a corridor along the north side. The eastmost vault formed the kitchen. Abov greae eth this t hallswa , havin withdrawing-rooe gth eass it mt a end . Th elarga hald eha l windo wese th e twn th fireplacs i gable it n i d s an , ewa south wall near the west end. The withdrawing-room had a window, with stone side benches, in the south wall, another window in the east wall, beside which was an aumbry, and in the north wall a small fireplace and a narrow loophole. The round south-eastowee th - t ra un f o t s cornei ) X d r (sean , e1 Pis, .IX usual size and massiveness, and the suspicion is raised whether it was not older than the long house, having perhaps formed an angle tower at the corne earln a f yro barmkin wall, like those still preserve t Threavda e Castle. The tower contains four storeys, the walls being about 5 feet 6 inches thick. s basemenIt rudels wa t y circula plann i rdomd an , e vaulted crowe th t n bu , of the vault either had fallen or was cut out during the restoration. At this level the tower was pierced by three gun-loops, with wide horizontal mouths, one flanking either main wall and a third commanding the field. This gun- loop opens below a narrow oblong window. The first floor forms an octagonal room wit hfireplacea , three windows deep-arched an , d wall recessee th n si remaining faces of the octagon, the recess on the east side having an aumbry. Alinternae lth l details have been modernised. Accordin Rossr D o g,t "the plaster still remainin e wallth f thi o sn go s roo ms coverei d with painted ornament." Ofe entrancfth e passage righte muraa th s n i ,o , l garderobe,

1 Frasers of Philorth, . 241-2 volpp . .ii . 2 Some Account of the Family of Fraserfleld, or Balgownie, and their Ancestors, p. 9. 44 PROCEEDINGS OF THE SOCIETY, 1948-49.

with a flat stone ceiling and the usual aumbry (now blocked) and loophole. Its door is well formed in red freestone. Into this garderobe ascends a straight service stair, now closed, coming up from the kitchen in the main building. The second floor is similar in its arrangements, and here also there seem havo st e bee ngarderoba e ofentrance fth e passage,w thougno s i t hi boarded up. The third floor of the tower has been completely remodelled. Externally, the round tower (PI. IX, 2) is crowned with an open parapet in all respects similar to that of the tower-house. The battlements and wall- walk are modern, and so is the inner cylinder, likewise battlemented, which rises over all to a height of some 40 feet: but this is a reconstruction of the old arrangemen , whicX) t (sehL P emus t vera hav d y eha Frenc h aspect, recalling smala n o , l scale towere th , Pierrefondsf so r Caesar'o , s Towet a r Warwick Castle, and in two Scottish examples, on James IVs tower at Holyroo angle dth Palacn e o tower curtaie d th e an f so n wal t Craigmillarla . The lower parapet of the round tower is continued along the east gable e maioth f n building showd original,an e whicd son ol s hi , oblong window. The north-east turret of the main building is likewise mostly unaltered: its corbelling is identical with that of the turrets on the tower-house. The lowe nortre parth f ho maite walth f nlo building easters it n i , n portion, likewiss i e ancient retaind an , recessa s wit hconduia admittinr fo t g water inte kitchenoth . Befor e restorationth e e parapeth , alss owa t continued along the south wall of the main building, and across its west gable into the staircase "jamb." So far as it is preserved, the old dressed work of the round towe lond an rg house appear havo st e been mostle yth carrien i t dou green schist preferred by the later builders at Cairnbulg Castle. On the east side of the castle was a square courtyard which was cobbled with beach pebbles, and enclosed by a wall with an arched gateway in the easter . nThiX) fronL s gatewa(P t quirkea d yha d edge rollabovd an , t ei was the empty panel for a coat of arms. The jambs, which are wrought in green knotted schist, have been resegardea s a t n door.

I am indebted to Lord Saltoun for permission to study the castle, for much kindly hospitality there, and for information on various points.