Fyvie Castle
| Fyvie Castle | |
|
Aberdeenshire | |
|---|---|
 Fyvie Castle | |
| Location | |
| Grid reference: | NJ771387 |
| Location: | 57°26’36"N, 2°23’42"W |
| Village: | Fyvie |
| History | |
| Built 13th Century | |
| Information | |
| Owned by: | National Trust for Scotland |
| Website: | Fyvie Castle |
Fyvie Castle is a castle in the village of Fyvie, near Turriff in Aberdeenshire. It is owned by the National Trust for Scotland.
History
The earliest parts of Fyvie Castle date from the 13th century – some sources claim it was built in 1211 by William the Lion. Fyvie was the site of an open-air court held by Robert the Bruce, and Charles I lived there as a child. Following the Battle of Otterburn in 1390, it ceased to be a royal stronghold. Instead, it fell into the possession of five successive families – Preston, Meldrum, Seton, Gordon and Leith – each of whom added a new tower to the castle. The oldest of these, the Preston Tower (located on the far right as one faces the main facade of Fyvie), dates to between 1390 and 1433. The impressive Seton tower forms the entrance, and was erected in 1599 by Alexander Seton. He commissioned the great processional staircase several years later. The Gordon Tower followed in 1778, and the Leith in 1890.
Inside, the castle stronghold features a great wheel stair, a display of original arms and armour, and a collection of portraits.
Manus O'Cahan and Montrose fought a successful minor battle against the Covenant Army at Fyvie Castle on 28 October 1644. The battlefield was added to the Inventory of Historic Battlefields in Scotland in 2011.[1] Anne Halkett stayed at the castle from 1650 to 1652 with the Countess of Dunfermline, she treated wounded soldiers and the illnesses of local people, and negotiated with the English major of a company of Commonwealth soldiers, and with three Colonels, Lilburne, Fitts, and Overton.[2]
Following Victorian trends, the grounds and adjoining Loch Fyvie were landscaped in the 19th century. The industrialist Alexander Leith (later Baron Leith of Fyvie) bought the castle in 1885. His descendants sold it to the National Trust for Scotland in 1984.
The castle today
To the east, there is a walled garden which is currently a garden of Scottish Cultivated Fruits. There is evidence for two other walled gardens closer to the castle itself to its west and south. The one to the west appears on an estate plan of 1768.[3]
In the media
Fyvie Castle has featured in a number of British television programmes, such as STV's Castles of Scotland.
The castle appears in the children's fantasy novel, The Time-Tailor and the Fyvie Castle Witch Trials (2009). The castle was also featured in BBC documentary, Castle Ghosts of Scotland,[4] narrated by Robert Hardy.
In recent years, the castle grounds have hosted a Fyvie Live music festival in the summer.
Today, the castle is open to tourists during the summer months.
Outside links
- Fyvie Castle – National Trust for Scotland
- Fyvie Castle Grounds Virtual Tour
References
- ↑ Battle of Fyvie - Listing detail (Historic Environment Scotland)
- ↑ John Gough Nichols, Autobiography of the Lady Halkett (London, 1875), pp. 64-71
- ↑ "Plan Of The Lands Of Fyvie And Surrounding Lands, Aberdeenshire | ScotlandsPlaces" (in en). https://scotlandsplaces.gov.uk/record/nrs/RHP11/plan-lands-fyvie-and-surrounding-lands-aberdeenshire/nrs#zoom=2&lat=2591.5&lon=4958.5&layers=B.
- ↑ www.imdb.com
