THE ROYAL CASTLE OF KINDKOCHIT IN MAR. 75 III. E ROYATH L CASTL P KINDROCHIO E MARN I T . BY W. DOUGLAS SIMPSON, M.A., F.S.A.ScOT. The scanty remains of the great Aberdeenshire Castle of Kindrochit occup ya ver y strong positio e righth n te Clun no ban th f yo k Water, a short distance from its confluence with the Dee, and immediately above the bridge which connects the two portions (Auchendryne and Castleton e villagth f f Braemarwalle o o )e th placo n se emorar n I . e than 10 feet high, and for the greater part they are reduced to mere foundations. These fragments are much overgrown with grass and moss, and the whole sits i obscuree y larcd b d an h rowan trees, scrubby undergrowtd an h luxuriant nettles, amidst whic harde hth , metamorphic bedrock here and there n roundedi crop t ou s , ice-worn bosses. e Aeas th roat n side,o d d variouan ' s erections connected with the adjoining farm, encroach upon the precincts. Also a considerable amount of refuse has been dumped upo sitee nthath o s , t what remains of the castle is now "a desola- tion of rubbish and weeds."1 But by a careful examination of the existing masonry, and of the green mounds with protruding stones which mark buried courses of wall, it is possible to recover KINDROCHIT CASTLE. GROUND PLAN a fairly accurate ground plan (fig, 1) . althoug a hcompletel y satisfactory sur- vey would entail extensive excavation. Fig . Kindrochi1 . t Castle: Plan. The chief featur thif eo s castle appear havo t s e bee ngreaa t master- tower or keep (fig. 2), measuring 64 feet by 43 feet over the walls, which are 10 feet thick. This keep is set with its main axis north and south. A partitio feen3 t thick divide s basemenit s t into apartments measuring fee3 2 fee 3 ty 3 b respectively tfee d 3 2 fee 7 an t y b t . Probabl e smalyth l northern chambenorte prisone th th s hkeepe n I th wal.wa r f ,o lnea r its west end, a vertical garderobe flue is exposed in the thickness of the n indignana e 1Se t protese Rev th r Georgy .D b t e Walker, Aberdeen "Thn i , e Clund an y s Sources,"it Aberdeenn i Daily Journal, 19th July 1920. E ROYATH L CASTL F KINDROCHIO E MARN I T . wall t measureI . fee 4 s1'fooy b fee5 t inches0 s i t1 e t deeth d an o ,p t top of the rubbish by which it is choked. My friend Dr William Kelly, who made an examination of the castle in July 1908, tells me that he explored this flue, and found that it turned westward as if to find an outlet toward e thire Clunyth th sd n I r editioAlexande. M f o n . I r M'Connochie's Guide Book Deeside,o t mentio e discovers madni th f o e y thin i s towe spiraa f o r l stair than O t. occasio stepo ntw s were found, whicf o subsequentl s e hwa on y stolen, while eth othe s stili r l preserve gardee th n di f Rowa no n Cottage e castl, harth y edb (fig . Thi3) . s stes pi in Kildrummy freestone, and measures 3 feet 1 inch in length exclusive of the newel, 5 inches in diameter, which is one quarter engaged with the step. At its narrowest part, at the newel, the step is 5 inches broad; at the opposite end e breadtth e heighe stefoot1 th Th s p hi f . o t inches8 s i . Mark se chise o th fe stil ar l l very distinct traco remain w N e towe.no e th n ri s of this stair, but Miss Clark, Rowan Cottage, exace th e t southe placm pointe th o t t et a - dou eass accordinglha t t anglei d an , y been shown on plan.1 This great keep occupies the south-west corner of a large courtyard, surrounded by strong walls of enceinte, 9 feet thick, and con- nected with a range of apartments along the opposite side fro e keep f thimth O s. enceinte e westh t curtain, parallel -wit e maith h n axis of the keep, springs from a point about the Photo. Clark,M . R July 1908.] s middlnortit f o he face; whil e soutth e h Fig. 3. Kindrochit Castle: Step from newel stair in Keep. curtain continues the corresponding wall of the keep. The latter thus projects only from the west front of the enceinte, encroachesd an upo e courtyarth n d within, which appearo t s have measured abou fee 3 n lengti 10 tt h (nort d feesouth4 3 an h t y b ) in greatest breadth (east and west). In the west curtain, close to and covered by the projecting keep, are the remains of a postern or water- gate steee , leadinth po t slopt gou e Cluny e downorte th o Th t nh. jamb remains, showing that the passage had narrowed outwardly. On this side also a projecting screen wall, with the shoulder of the keep on the other side, canalised the passage into a long, narrow trance. The west curtain beyon e posterne wholth dth d e an ,nort h curtain M'Connockie'e Se s Deeside, edd .3r (1900) . 196-7pp , . 1 78 PROCEEDING E SOCIETYTH F O S , JANUAR , 1923Y8 . except a small length at its east end, are now reduced to grass-grown^ stony mounds—although the base course of the west wall is exposed at intervals, allowing it to be accurately set out in the plan. The east enclosing wall is .better preserved, and may be traced in masonry from e north-easth t angle southward r som sfo feet0 8 e . Beyond this s ii t represented by a mound engaging with the south curtain, which also is reduce mera o dt e mound prolongin e soutgth he keep Avaith A f .o l [Photo B. M. Clark, July 1908. Fig. <t. Kindrochit Castle: Ven. wallE n i t, lookin W.. gS ; partition wal lefto t l . Note typical fourteenth fifteenth-centuro t - y masonry. small fragment of masonry in situ remains at the south-east angle. Though of the same thickness as the others, the east wall of the court- curtaina remain e t th no r yars f ,fo som so dwa e apartments exist along s outeit fee4 r3 tfacet fro A e north-eas. mth t angl ea smal l fragment of partition wal s preservedi l . Abou fee5 2 t t beyon e mucdth thie h ar s destroyed remain f anotheo s r wall, connected with whic a mas s hi f o s ruinous masonry, exhibiting some traces of the rebate of a door opening toward e eastth s , wit hbar-hola e measurin foog1 inche3 t heighn i s t inche6 d an s broad extendind ,an g back abou fee5 t t inte walle oth Th . confusion here is so great that it is not certain "whether this masonry is really in situ. THE ROYAL CASTLE OF KINDROCHIT IN MAR. 79 At 11 feet north of the first partition, and 2 feet above the present ground level here, a curious hole (see plan, fig. 1, and fig. 4) exists in the east face of the courtyard wall. On the outside it is partly ruined, but has apparently been aboiit 1 foot 5 inches square. Towards the court- yard it widens rapidly, and is roofed with flat slabs. Its aperture to the courtyard f suci , h existed s chokei , d with debris.fee2 t t A 9.inche n i s there occur lateral recesses, 2 feet 9 inches broad, of Avhich that on the north measures 1 foot 7 inches in greatest depth, whil e othee th on r is 9 inches in greatest depth. The roof of these recesses, with that of e passagth e between s steppei , d .up 1 foot 9 inches above the rest of the passage, which elsewhere is about 2 feet high. It is difficult to conceive AUCHENDRYI what purpose this y venhavma te served. There is a vertical facing in the ruined courtyard wall to the south (see plan, figapparentl, 1) . e yth chee bar-holea s abovi f t ko i et bu , the level of the vent. The masonry of the castle is ex- ceedingly stout heartinA . stonef go s of all sizes, grouted in run lime, is cased by large undressed " heathens " or surface boulders, some of which fee 2 r mor o e t diameterar n ei n I . some places the fallen masonry lies in great masses whicn ,i h stond ean lime coher s firmla e e s everya Th . Fig . Kinclroehi5 . t Castl e: Pla Sitef no . style of the work is typical of the fourteenth-and fifteenth-century castle Aberdeenshiren si , markee th y db ver mortaf yo free eus fillin n ri intersticee gth s betwee large nth e irregular stones. Small flat pinnings inserted horizontally, characterwhico s e har - isti featurca sixteenth-centurn ei y work here ar , e totally absent. Obscure foundations, not easily distinguished from the remains of comparatively modern structures, suggest that the buildings of the castle have been continued sout thosf ho e described walstily A tracede .