Melgund Castle

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Melgund Castle

Angus

Melgund Castle Photo.JPG
Melgund Castle
Location
Grid reference: NO546564
Location: 56°41’48"N, 2°44’32"W
History
Built 1543
Information

Melgund Castle, standing around a mile east of Aberlemno in Angus, is a restored 16th-century house which today serves as a private residence.

The castle is generally said to have been built in 1543 on the orders of Cardinal David Beaton as a home for himself and his mistress, Margaret Ogilvie. However, Charles McKean has argued that the work of the 1540s was a re-modelling of an earlier building.[1] It much later passed by marriage to the Earls of Minto, who were granted the title Viscounts Melgund, presently used by the heir to the earldom. The building is L-shaped and was probably styled on 15th century fortified houses. Archaeological investigations were carried out at the castle between 1990 and 1996. The castle was long in a semi-ruined state, and lacking a roof, until restored by Benjamin Tindall Architects.

Melgund Castle in 2006, the restored battlements in new stone from a specially re-opened quarry nearby

References

  1. McKean, Charles, The Scottish Château (2001), chapter 2.