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Castles of Scotland

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Boudica
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« on: December 04, 2007, 06:19:55 am »

Aberdeen Castle

Coordinates 57°08′57″N, 02°05′25″W
Built  ?
Construction
materials  ?
In use  ? - c.1308
Demolished c.1308
Current
condition Destroyed, no remains.
Garrison Variously between Scottish and English troops.



Aberdeen Castle was a late Middle Ages fortification,[1] in Aberdeen, Scotland. It was situated on Castle Hill, a site today known as the Castlegate, where a block of flats are currently located.[2].

It is thought the castle and fortifications were burned down[3] by King Robert the Bruce in June 1308, during the Wars of Scottish Independence immediately following the Harrying of Buchan. Bruce and his men laid siege to the castle before massacring the English Garrison to prevent its use by Edward the second's English troops. It is said the Scots showed no mercy "slew every man who fell into their hands. Edward I., indeed had already set the example of executing his prisoners, and it was not to be expected that the other side would fail to follow the same course".[4]On 10 July 1308, English ships left Hartlepool to help the English garrison.[5] However by August 1308, Gilbert Pecche and the last troops had all been forced out of the city.[1] Following the destruction of Aberdeen Castle, Bruce marched his men to capture the Castle of Forfar.[4]

Legend tells that the city's motto, Bon Accord came from the password used to initiate Bruce's final push and destruction of the castle.[6][7]
« Last Edit: December 04, 2007, 06:27:24 am by Boudica » Report Spam   Logged

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Boudica
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« Reply #1 on: December 04, 2007, 06:22:54 am »

History
On the 14th April 1296, the English King, Edward I arrived in Aberdeen and stayed in the castle as part of his tour of the east coast of Scotland having defeated the Scots.[8]
However the next year after defeating the English at Dunnottar Castle in 1297 William Wallace marched his men to Aberdeen during their campaign to retake the east-coast for the Scots again.
They found the English were hastily preparing to leave in an armada of one hundred ships. The speed of Wallace's arrival from Dunottar caught the English unawares and at low tide the stranded ships were attacked in the harbour, the crew and soldiers slaughtered, the cargo taken and the ships burnt.
The English Sheriff of Aberdeen, Sir Henry de Lazom had been left in charge of the Castle, but during the chaos of the attack he defected declaring it in the name of the Scottish King, John de Balliol.[9][10]
References
1.   ^ a b New Tolbooth exhibition puts unique spotlight on Aberdeen’s castle. Aberdeen City Council. Retrieved on 2007-05-03.
2.   ^ The Castlegate- Aberdeen. Aberdeen Today. Retrieved on 2007-05-03.
3.   ^ Welcome to Aberdeen. Destinations in Scotland. Retrieved on 2007-05-03.
4.   ^ a b George Lillie Craik and Charles MacFarlane (1841). The Pictorial History of England: Being a History of the People, as Well as a History of the Kingdom (in English). C. Knight & Co.. 
5.   ^ Notable Dates in history. Retrieved on 2007-05-03.
6.   ^ Keith, Alexander (1987). A Thousand Years of Aberdeen. Aberdeen: Aberdeen University Press. 
7.   ^ Aberdeen Official Guide - Coat of Arms and Motto. British Publishing. Retrieved on 2007-05-03.
8.   ^ Journal of the Movements of King Edward I in Scotland, 1296. Retrieved on 2007-05-03.
9.   ^ Andrew de Moray Unsung Hero of Scotland's Wars of Independence. Retrieved on 2007-05-03.
10.   ^ Rebel Commander. Retrieved on 2007-05-03.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aberdeen_Castle
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Boudica
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« Reply #2 on: December 04, 2007, 06:24:35 am »

Balmoral Castle



Balmoral Castle.

Balmoral Castle is a large estate house situated in the area of Aberdeenshire, Scotland known as Royal Deeside. The estate was purchased by Queen Victoria's consort Prince Albert, and remains a favorite summer royal residence.

The Balmoral estate has been passed down the generations and has gradually expanded to more than 260 square kilometres (65,000 acres) [1]. Today it is a working estate, employing 50 full time staff and 50 to 100 part time.
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« Reply #3 on: December 04, 2007, 06:25:56 am »


Balmoral Castle, painted by Queen Victoria in 1854 during its construction.


The Balmoral Estate began as a home built by Sir William Drummond in 1390. The estate was formerly owned by King Robert II (1371–1390), who had a hunting lodge in the area. After Drummond, the estate was sold to Alexander Gordon, the 3rd Earl of Huntly, in the 15th century. The estate remained in the family's hands until it was sold in 1662 to the Farquharsons of Invery, who sold the estate in 1798 to the 2nd Earl of Fife. The estate formed part of the coronation activities of King George IV in 1822.

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« Reply #4 on: December 04, 2007, 06:26:49 am »

Balmoral is today best known as a royal residence, the summer retreat of Queen Elizabeth II and the Duke of Edinburgh. The history as a royal residence dates back to 1848, when the house was rented to Queen Victoria and Prince Albert by the trustees of Sir Robert Gordon (who had obtained a long-term lease of the castle in 1830 and died in 1847). They very much enjoyed their stay in the house, and they paid just over £30,000 for full ownership in 1852. Prince Albert immediately started making plans with William Smith to extend the existing 15th century castle, and make a "new" and bigger castle fit for the royal family.

In 1856 the building was completed, it now being a full and working estate with around 100 buildings surrounding the castle. The castle, not including its land and estate, is valued at around £160 million[citation needed] and remains privately owned by the British royal family.

Along with Sandringham House, Balmoral is private property and not part of the royal estate. This became an issue in 1936, when Edward VIII abdicated as king but did not automatically relinquish the private property he had inherited. George VI had to explicitly purchase Balmoral and Sandringham from his older brother, so that they could remain private retreats for the monarch.

Today, the Balmoral Estate is still in working order, occupying over 200 km² of land. The Royal Family employs around 50 full-time and 50–100 part-time staff to maintain the estate and look after the animals. The part-time staff are used particularly when the Queen makes her annual visit.

There has been some speculation that Balmoral Castle may have been earmarked as a royal refuge in the event of nuclear war.[citation needed] In the 1960s war plans apparently envisaged evacuating the Sovereign to the Royal Yacht Britannia, but this might not have been practical, and a land-based refuge would have been desirable. It would appear that, contrary to persistent rumour, there were no plans for the Sovereign to join the Prime Minister at the Corsham bunker complex known variously as Hawthorn, Subterfuge, Site 3, Burlington, or Turnstile.[citation needed] Buckingham Palace and Windsor Castle would both have been too vulnerable, the former as being in the heart of London — a major target in its own right — and Windsor because of its proximity to Heathrow Airport.

The Queen was in residence at Balmoral at the time of the death of Diana, Princess of Wales in 1997. Her initial decision not to return to London or to mourn more publicly was much criticised at the time. Her private discussions with Prime Minister Tony Blair are dramatised in the movie The Queen.

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« Reply #5 on: December 04, 2007, 06:29:51 am »


Source: Project Gutenberg eText 13103: Great Britain and Her Queen, by Anne E. Keeling http://www.gutenberg.org/dirs/1/3/1/0/13103/13103-h/13103-h.html
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« Reply #6 on: December 04, 2007, 06:31:05 am »



Balmoral Castle in Scotland, drawn by W. Leitch, engraved by J. Godfrey, published 1875.

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« Reply #7 on: December 04, 2007, 06:32:40 am »



Balmoral Castle, c. 1890-1900
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« Reply #8 on: December 04, 2007, 06:36:20 am »


Bognie Castle (also called Conzie Castle) is a ruined castle near Huntly, in the Aberdeenshire region of Scotland.

Dating from the second half of the 17th century, Bognie Castle may have been built by the Clan Morrison.

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« Reply #9 on: December 04, 2007, 06:38:34 am »

Braemar Castle


Braemar Castle is a castle near Braemar in the Aberdeenshire region of Scotland.


The first tower of Braemar Castle was constructed in 1628 by John Erskine, the 7th Earl of Mar to replace the older Kindrochit Castle. An important garrison during the Jacobite uprising, Braemar was attacked and burned by John Farquharson, the Black Colonel of Inverey in 1689, killing John Erskine. The castle was left in ruins until 1748 when it was leased to the government by Clan Farquharson of Invercauld, now to serve as a garrison for Hanoverian troops. In some rooms, graffiti left by the English soldiers can still be seen.

In 1797 the castle was returned to the Farquharson clan and its restoration for use as clan seat begun. The 12th Laird of Invercauld entertained Queen Victoria there while she attended the Braemar Gathering.

It is an L plan castle with a star-shaped curtain wall and three storey angle turrets. The main entrance to the castle retains an original iron yett.

Among the antiques on display within the castle are a Bronze Age sword, the world's largest cairngorm crystal, a rare specimen of blue topaz and a piece of tartan plaid once worn by Bonnie Prince Charlie.

Today, the castle is regarded as the ancestral home of the Farquharson clan and is still owned and occupied by them. Areas of the main building including its dungeons are open to tourists all year round, and the castle chapel and dining room may be rented for weddings and small functions.


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« Reply #10 on: December 04, 2007, 06:40:35 am »

Corgarff Castle



Corgarff Castle is a castle in Strathdon, Aberdeenshire, Scotland.

Through much of its history Corgarff has been of strategic importance, guarding the quickest route from Deeside to Speyside, a route later followed by the military road from Blairgowrie to Fort George. Its location ensured that Corgarff Castle has had an eventful and sometimes tragic history.

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« Reply #11 on: December 04, 2007, 06:41:20 am »

The castle is thought to have been built in about 1550 by John Forbes of Towie. It would initially have comprised a tower house set within a walled enclosure. The tower house would have been similar to the structure you see today: the surrounding wall would have been very much simpler and probably rectangular in plan.

The Forbes family were supporters of the cause of the future James VI in the years following the imprisonment of Mary Queen of Scots in England. The Gordon family from Auchindoun near Dufftown were supporters of the claim of Mary to the Scottish throne.

This led to feuding between the two clans, and in November 1571 Adam Gordon of Auchindoun tried to capture Corgarff Castle. The Forbes menfolk were absent, but John Forbes' wife, Margaret, refused to surrender the castle and shot one of Gordon's men through the knee with a pistol. In response Adam Gordon piled kindling against the castle and burned it down, killing all within the castle except for Margaret Forbes who fled to Irland where she give birth to John' son, Alexander. It is perhaps not surprising that the castle is believed to be haunted.

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« Reply #12 on: December 04, 2007, 06:42:50 am »

In 1607 the castle was taken over as a base for local bandits who plundered the surrounding area until 1626 when it was acquired by John Erskine, 18th Earl of Mar. In 1645 Corgarff Castle's strategic location again came to the fore when it was used as the mustering point by James Graham, 1st Marquess of Montrose, commander of the Royalist forces in Scotland during the Civil War. And during the 1689 rising led by John Graham, 1st Viscount of Dundee, Corgarff was again burned down, this time by Jacobites to prevent it being used as a base by supporters of William of Orange.

In 1715 Corgarff once again played an important role in national events. John Erskine, 22nd Earl of Mar launched the Jacobite rising from Kildrummy Castle, further down Strathdon. He then came to Corgarff to assemble and equip his army before marching on to Braemar. After the 1715 rising had been defeated, Government forces yet again burned down Corgarff, and the Earl of Mar's estates were forfeited.

The castle was then returned by the Government to the Forbes family. But 30 years later it was caught up in the maelstrom of Scottish history again. In early 1746, Jacobite forces were using Corgarff Castle as an arms store after their retreat from Derby. A forced march by 300 Government foot soldiers and 100 dragoons through the snow from Aberdeen caught the Jacobites off guard.

When the troops arrived the Jacobites had fled, but so hurriedly that there was a cat asleep in front of the still burning fire. The troops also found large quantities of gunpowder and over 300 muskets, which they either destroyed or took back to Aberdeen. The Battle of Culloden, which took place some weeks later on April 16, 1746, was so one-sided that the loss of these weapons by the Jacobites was probably not decisive: but it can have done little to help their morale.

The Corgarff Castle you see today owes much to events following the 1745 uprising. In an effort, either successful or unnecessary, according to your point of view, to suppress the Highlands once and for all, the Government stationed outposts of troops right across the country.

In 1748 Corgarff Castle was converted into barracks. At the same time it acquired the flanking pavilions you see today and the very unusual star shaped encircling wall. This was well equipped with musket loops, but it is obvious from the design that attack by artillery was not expected. In the event, these defences were never tested.

Over the following years, Corgarff Castle was used as a base for around 50 men under the command of a junior officer. Half would have been quartered in the castle itself. The other half were divided into small and widely scattered patrols and based in a variety of barns or in the homes of the largely hostile population. They spent much of their time chasing highlanders unwise enough to wear their kilts (which were made illegal in 1746), carry weapons, or smuggle whisky within view of the troops.

Life in the barracks would have been comfortable in terms of 1748 expectations. But when looking round the recreated barracks at Corgarff, remember that the beds, which look generously sized, were intended to be used by two soldiers. And although it would not have happened at an outpost like Corgarff, in a larger base like Fort George up to one in a hundred soldiers were allowed to marry, and his wife and any family would also live in the barrack room.

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« Reply #13 on: December 04, 2007, 06:45:49 am »



Corgarff Castle viewed from the Lecht Road

From 1802 the Castle was used as a farmhouse, but the Government repurchased it in 1827, this time as a base designed specifically to tackle whisky smuggling and illegal distillation in the area. From the army's final departure in 1831, the castle went into a steady decline. Its last residents were the Ross sisters, known locally as the Castle Ladies, and they left during the First World War.

Corgarff Castle passed into State care in 1961 and has in recent years been wonderfully restored by Historic Scotland as it would have been in the years following the 1748 conversion. And while you peer out of the upper floor window at the lovely views over Strathdon, think how it would have looked to a soldier in winter, amid a hostile population and a very long way from home.
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« Reply #14 on: December 04, 2007, 06:48:49 am »


Craigievar Castle

Craigievar Castle is a pinkish harled castle six miles south of Alford, Aberdeenshire, Scotland. It is currently the seat of the Clan Sempill. The setting is among scenic rolling foothills of the Grampian Mountains. The contrast of its massive lower story structure to the finely sculpted multiple turrets, gargoyles and high corbelling work create a classic fairytale appearance.

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