Kinnaird Head
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Kinnaird Head (Gaelic: An Ceann Àrd is a headland in the north-east of Aberdeenshire projecting into the North Sea, within the town of Fraserburgh. Its name is from the Gaelic language and means "high headland".
The 16th-century Kinnaird Castle was converted in 1787 for use as the Kinnaird Head Lighthouse, the first lighthouse in Scotland to be lit by the Commissioners of Northern Lights. Kinnaird Castle and the nearby Winetower were described by W. Douglas Simpson as two of the nine castles of the Knuckle, referring to the rocky headland of north-east Aberdeenshire.[1] The lighthouse is a Category A listed building.[2] and the Winetower is a scheduled monument.[3]
- Location map: 57°41’51"N, 2°0’14"W
Kinnaird Castle
Kinnaird Castle, also known as Fraserburgh Castle and Kinnairdshead Castle, was begun in March 1570.[4] The builder was Sir Alexander Fraser, 8th laird of Philorth, (c.1536–1623), who also transformed the fishing village of Faithlie into the burgh of Fraserburgh in the 1590s. However, the building of the castle led to such expense that he was forced to sell Philorth Castle, the family home.[5] Alexander, 10th of Philorth, fought for the king at the Battle of Worcester (1651). Despite being badly wounded, he survived to live into his eighties. In 1669 he inherited the title of Lord Saltoun, and in later years he had apartments at Kinnaird Castle.
The last people to reside in the castle were Henrietta Fraser (1698-1751), daughter of the 12th Lord Saltoun, and her husband John Gordon of Kinellar (1684-1764). In 1787 it was leased to the Trustees of the Northern lights, who turned it into Kinnaird Head Lighthouse. Designed by Thomas Smith, the lamp was first lit on 1 December. The structure was rebuilt in the 1820s, and superseded by a new lighthouse in 1991.[4] It now houses the Museum of Scottish Lighthouses, which incorporates the original lighthouse and a modern building housing collections of lenses and other artefacts from many lighthouses across Scotland.[6]
Wine tower
The wine tower is a small three-storey tower located approximately 164.0 feet (50.0 m) from Kinnaird Head Lighthouse. The tower has been dated to the 16th-century, and may have gained its name through use as a store associated with the castle.[7]
The tower is accessed via the second floor, and contains elaborate carved stone pendants.[3] It is reputed that in the cave below, one of the Fraser family imprisoned his daughter's boyfriend, leaving him to drown there. The daughter then jumped from the roof of the tower. There is red paint on the rocks below to illustrate her blood. Local tradition holds that the tower is haunted.[8]
Outside links
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("Wikimedia Commons" has material about Kinnaird Head) |
- Museum of Scottish Lighthouses
- Castle Lighthouse: Historic Environment Scotland
References
- ↑ Simpson, W.D. (1949). "Cairnbulg Castle, Aberdeenshire". Proceedings of the Society of Antiquaries of Scotland 83: 32–44. http://ads.ahds.ac.uk/catalogue/adsdata/arch-352-1/dissemination/pdf/vol_083/83_032_044.pdf.
- ↑ Former Kinnaird Head Lighthouse, including outbuildings and fog horn - Listing detail (Historic Environment Scotland)
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 Wine Tower - scheduled monument detail (Historic Environment Scotland)
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 CANMORE (RCAHMS) record of Kinnaird Head Lighthouse
- ↑ "The Frasers of Philorth, Lords Saltoun". Lady Saltoun. http://www.fraserchief.co.uk/history.html#saltoun.
- ↑ "Museum of Scottish Lighthouses". Museum of Scottish Lighthouses. http://www.lighthousemuseum.org.uk/.
- ↑ "Wine Tower". Royal Commission on the Ancient and Historical Monuments of Scotland. http://canmore.rcahms.gov.uk/en/site/20780/details/fraserburgh+wine+tower/.
- ↑ Cranna, John (1914). Fraserburgh: Past and present. pp. 394–5. http://members.iinet.net.au/~liwill/Site/Downloads_files/Fraserburgh%20Past%20%26%20Present-John%20Cranna%20%28Illustrated%29.pdf.