32 PROCEEDINGS OF THE SOCIETY, DECEMBER 12, 1938. II. FYVIE CASTLE. BY W. DOUGLAS SIMPSON, M.A., D.LiTT., F.S.A.ScoT. I. '' Fyvie lands ly broa widd dan e theAnd but bonny! yly o " The distric f Fyvieo t , wit s pleasanhit t braes descending southwaro dt the Ythan valley, is one of those localities by nature suited for supporting an early population. Its riverward slopes are not too rapid to prevent good deep earth from accumulating, same whilth t eea time the steee yar p enough to provide natural drainage, both surface and through the gravel subsoil, and thus were admirably fitted for primitive husbandry at a time when the Howe of Fyvie—the fertile haughs by the river-side that now for e besmth t farmin gparish—were lanth n di e water-logge noisomd dan e swamps. On those pleasant sheltered and sun-lit slopes—still known for their early harvests—the ancient inhabitants built their villages and grew their bear and oats. The forests provided them with abundant timber gamed an s welready-to-hana a , s a l d suppl f fuelyo , later supersedey db e peath t mosse whosn i s e thick bed s e coldeoth n r upland e paristh f so h e remain e th primevath f o s l forest e embalmed.ar s e Ythanth n n I i , 1 early day nows sa availabls ,wa ampln ea e stoc salmonf ko , trout eeld an ., Under these circumstances it is hardly to be wondered that traces of pre- historic occupation are frequent in Fyvie. Tools and weapons of the Ston d Bronzan e e Ages have been' picket varioua p u d s e placeth n i s parish d buriaan , l e cairnlatteth f ro s period exis t Cairnhilla t t Caira , n Fenny t Cairnchedlya , t King',a s Seat t Baca , t kPitmancya Hilld an , , while there are remains of stone circles at Burreldales, Rappla Wood, Hallgreens, and Monkshill.2 Where the early population was gathered together, thither the Christian missionary would mak ways ehi . That notablFyvia s ewa e centre th f eo Celtic Churc s provehe i grou th f Pictisy o pdb h sculptured stonew no s built into the east gable of the-parish church.3 The latter was dedicated t PetertI havoS d ean , elsewhere suggeste havy d thaema s t beei it t n ni e churcheth f o origi e s on nfounded t BonifacS s missioy hi b ' n i eo nt Pictland about the year 715.4 1 A hundred years ago "the ordinary description of fuel" used in Fyvie was peat (see The New Statistical Account of Scotland, vol. xii . 344).p . Nowaday Fyvie.n i t peao cu sn 's ti Proceedings,e Se 2 vol. xxxvii . 102-6pp . , 108-9. 3 J. Romilly Alien and J. Anderson, The Early Christian Monuments of Scotland, pt. Hi. pp. 164-6, 194-6; Proceedings, vol. xlix . 41-3pp . Celtice Th y Churchm e Se Scotland,4n i . 111p . 3 3 FYVIE CASTLE. In the days of the Anglo-Norman penetration, during the twelfth and thirteenth centuries Celtie th , c ecclesiastical establishmen t Fyviea t , pro- bably in much the same way as happened at Turriff, Deer, and Monymusk, was reconstituted as a priory of Tironensian monks, dedicated to the Virgin Mary and subordinate to Arbroath Abbey. The site of the priory, -now marke gentla crossa n o y edb s i ,knol l north-eas s ruinf Lewesit o t d s an , were still visibllattee th eighteentn e rei th hal f o f h century.1 Aboue th t same perio localite dth organiseds ywa usuae th n li , way, int omanoa d ran parish, wit hcastla parochiaa d ean l churc e civiecclesiasticad th an ls ha l nuclei respectively churce Th . h sam e stooth en d o positio successors it s na , which dates from 1808; the ancient building measured 90 feet by 22 feet within the walls, and therefore possessed the elongated proportions commonly met with in Scottish mediseval parish churches. In addition to the parochial church, there was the chapel of St Rule at Follarule, founde n 1376,i d s wela 2s severaa l l subordinate chapels. From 1325 onward have sw e numerous reference burge th Fyvis Fyvief o ha t so d ean , was a crown demesne throughout most of the fourteenth century it is likely tha t firsa t royas thia t swa l burgh. Later s oftena , happeneds it , early status seem havo t s e bee3 n forgotten d unde an e ,Earl th r f Dunso - fermline it appears as a burgh of barony. In a description of the parish compiled in 1723 it is stated that "about a mile and a half north-east froe churcmth h n olthera d s i evillage , called Woodhea f Fetteo d r Letter, where is a stone tolbooth and a stone cross, and where in old times stood severall yearly mercats." It therefore seems that here— latterly at all events—was the locus 4 of the now vanished burgh. Thus the parochial topography was a curiously scattered one, and the usual close association of church, castle, and burgh was here conspicuously absent.5 Adjoinin e Par e castlth f Fyviekth s go ewa , calle e King'dth s Parn ki 1395. The Park Burn preserves its name. In 1503 the barony possessed three mills, one at Meikle Gourdas—probably the romantic mill, now dis- used, celebrate ballae th f "Tifty'n di o s bonnie Annie"—an otherso dtw , 1 "From the appearance of the foundations, which were extant some years ago, it should seem to have been three sides of a court, the middle of which was the church, and the two sides the cells and offices of the monks " (Statistical Account of Scotland, vol. ix. (1793) p. 463). 2 Begistrum Episcopatus Aberdonensis, . 109-11 pp vol . i . Exchequere Se 3 Rolls, vol. i., Preface . Ixxxviii. 355-6p , pp d . an , 1 Coll. Aberdeen and Banff, p. 495. papea n I 5 r publishe e Banffshirth y db e Field Clu 1899n bi , Rev. Alexander Bremner contended that the royal burgh stood on the Castle Dales, the terrace immediately south of the castle. But some of his arguments depend on old place-names inaccurately transcribed. The burgh would naturall outside yb royae priore th eth ls ya park landd an f ,Lethent o s y and Ardlogy adjoinee th d park on the east and south-east, we may thus have the reason for the eccentric situation of the burgh, if it really was at Woodhead. But the ancient topography of Fyvie presents some difficult problems, and greatly requires working out. Here I can do no more than tabulate the facts, which would amply repay more thorough investigation. VOL. LXXIII. 3 34 PROCEEDINGS OF THE SOCIETY, DECEMBER 12, 1938. idlealsw t Milono a , f Petto l Mild f Saphock.yan o l r picture Ou th f eo appurtenance e medievath f o s l1 demesn s completei e e Gallowshilth y b d l Gallowslackd an , nort Kirktownf ho . thirteente th n I h century Fyvi ecapitae Castlth s lewa messuage th f eo Thanage of Fermartyn, comprisin centrae gth l district betwee Tthae nth n an Done t thadth A roya.s t timwa l t ei property charted an , r evidence shows that William the Lion was at Fyvie, with the high officers of his court, in.121 r 12141o , while Alexande . granteII r dchartea r from hern eo 22nd February 1222.2 Edwar . visitedI d "Fyuin Chastel Saturdayn o " , 21st Jul e nexyth 1296. t n I centur y Fyvie continuea roya e b l o t d demesne, and wa3 s leased to various occupants, but by Robert II. it was grante eldess hi o dt son Steware th , Scotlandf do , afterwards Robert III., from "whom it passed to his cousin, Sir James Lindsay, Earl of Crawford and of Buchan. His wife was Margaret Keith, daughter of the Great nephewn ow s besiegeMarischalr wa he ,n 139i e Robery b d sh 5 an ; t Keith, in the Castle of Fyvie, but was relieved by her husband, who hurried north across the Cairnamounth Pass and defeated Keith in a smart skirmis e Kir th f Bourtie kt o h a . Accordin Wyntowno gt , building opera- tions were in progres t Fyvisa e Castle when Keith bega blockades nhi : '' For his 4 masownys fyrst gert he Fra thar work remowide be; And quha that wattir broucht fra the burne gere H t thai t spurne t withmos of s ehi . Thus he demaynit that lady WithCastee th Fiwy.f n ei o l " 5 This seems to be the first mention of stone buildings at the castle. The later history of Fyvie need not be set forth in detail here.6 In the devolution of the demesne five periods are distinguished, during each of "whic t "wai h s a differenhel y b d t family .tabulatee b They r yma dfo referenc e s followsPrestoa th e ) (1 n: period, circa 1390—1433e th ) (2 ; Meldrum period, 1433-1596; (3) the Seton period, 1596-1690; (4) the Gordon period, 1733-1889; and (5) the Leith period, from 1889 to the present day. Eac f thesho e period e fabrie s lefts marth th it ha s f n co ko s architecturacastleit t bu ; l glories belontime th Alexandef eo o gt r Seton, Lord Fyvie, and afterwards first Earl of Dunfermline, President of the Court of Session and Chancellor of Scotland (PL XXIV), who held Fyvie from 1596 to 1622—a man of high culture, and a notable patron of scholar- e Coll.1Se Shires Aberdeen d Banff, .