Ardclach Bell Tower
| Ardclach Bell Tower | |
|
Nairnshire | |
|---|---|
 Ardclach Bell Tower | |
| Type: | Bell tower |
| Location | |
| Grid reference: | NH95384533 |
| Location: | 57°29’10"N, 3°44’48"W |
| Village: | Ardclach |
| History | |
| Built 1655 | |
| Bell tower | |
| Information | |
| Owned by: | Historic Scotland |
| Website: | Ardclach Bell Tower |
Ardclach Bell Tower stands alone on a hill above the parish church of Ardclach in Nairnshire, overlooking the valley of the River Findhorn.
The tower was probably built in 1655 by the laird Alexander Brodie of Lethen, a noted Covenanter, and it may have begun life as a watchtower, doubling also as a prison. One of th gables records the year, and on the fireplace inside the inscription "MGB" are the initials of Brodie's second wife, Margaret Grant Brodie.
History
Alexander Brodie was a Covenanter, committed to the establishment of Presbyterian polity in the Church of Scotland and the kingdom. In the 'War of the Covenant', a brutal civil war between the King's forces ad the Covenanters, several attacks were made on Brodie's on his estate by Royalist forces, notably in 1645 by Montrose on his way to victory at the Battle of Auldearn. By 1655 the 'Killing Time' was over and the Civil War had passed. Cromwell was in command, but a Royalist uprising in the Highlands in 1654 suggested that the trouble was far from over. This may have led to Brodie's construction of his watchtower, to protect his family and watch over movements in the valley.
It appears that the tower was never attacked nor refuge sought in it.
In 1765 Ardclach Old Parish Church in the valley, and the tower was then used as its detached bell tower; a small belfry was added for this purpose to ring the bells over all the parish below.
Construction
The position of the tower is unusual for a church belltower, if not for a military watchtower. The hill on which it stands looks down over the valley and its summit is small that it has been terraced on one side, simply to accommodate the footprint of the tower.
On the outside, the tower is very plain, with one door small windows to front and rear at first floor only, and shot holes on the end gables. One gable has a chimney and the other a stone showing the date '1655'. The belfry and bell stand atop this latter gable.
There are but two rooms inside, the ground floor windowless and the first floor with a fireplace.
Outside liks
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("Wikimedia Commons" has material about Ardclach Bell Tower) |
- Ardclach Bell Tower: Historic Scotland
- CANMORE (RCAHMS) record of Ardclach Bell Tower
- Ardclach Bell Tower on Undiscovered Scotland