Ballindalloch Castle

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Ballindalloch Castle

Ballindalloch Castle is a castle in the Scottish county of Banffshire (now part of the administrative division of Moray ). It has been the seat of the Macpherson-Grant family since 1546 , is considered the "Pearl of the North" and Historic Scotland has listed it as a Category A Historic Building.

history

The castle's first residential tower with a Z-shaped floor plan was built in 1546. The building was restored in 1645 after being pillaged and pillaged by James Graham , 1st Marquess of Montrose .

In 1770, General James Grant from the American Revolutionary War (the spirit of which is said to haunt the castle) had extensions added. In 1850 the architect Thomas Mackenzie created further extensions. The extensions built in 1878 were largely demolished again during the modernization carried out in 1965.

Over the centuries the castle was the home of Clan Russell and the Macpherson-Grant family .

The castle houses an important collection of Spanish paintings from the 17th century. The dining room at Ballindalloch Castle is said to be haunted by a ghost called the "Green Lady".

Rock garden

A rock garden from the 20th century and a pigeon house from the 17th century can be found on the castle grounds . The Spey and Avon Rivers flow through the property and are considered excellent fishing grounds. The famous Aberdeen Angus cattle breed is bred on the property.

Today the Macpherson-Grant family still lives in the castle. It is open to tourists in the summer months. A number of workshops on the site are still in operation today.

Say

It is said that the castle should have been built in a more defensible location. But when construction work began, what had been built the day before was torn down during the night. Finally, the builder, who was very annoyed by the problem, heard a mysterious voice that said: “Build in the cow meadows and there will be no more interruptions!” He stuck to it and there were no further problems with the construction.

Individual evidence

  1. ^ Ballindalloch Castle and Gardens . Ballindalloch Trust, 2017. Retrieved February 21, 2017.
  2. ↑ Listed Building - Entry . In: Historic Scotland .
  3. ↑ Scotland's specters: Haunted castles, part 1 - Heritage . Scotsman.com. Retrieved February 21, 2017.
  4. ^ Nigel Tranter: Tales and Traditions of Scottish Castles . Neil Wilson Publishing, 1993. ISBN 1-897784-13-9 . P. 15.

Web links

Commons : Ballindalloch Castle  - Collection of pictures, videos and audio files

Coordinates: 57 ° 24 ′ 42.5 ″  N , 3 ° 22 ′ 9.5 ″  W.