Balvenie Castle
| Balvenie Castle | ||
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 Balvenie Castle |
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| Creation time : | 12th Century | |
| Castle type : | Rock castle | |
| Conservation status: | ruin | |
| Place: | Dufftown | |
| Geographical location | 57 ° 27 '10.6 " N , 3 ° 7' 26.4" W | |
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Balvenie Castle is a ruined castle on the outskirts of Dufftown in the Moray region . It is one of the oldest stone castles in Scotland .
history
The castle was built in the second half of the 12th century , probably by William Comyn or his son Alexander . The ring wall still preserved today dates from this time. In 1304 the "castle of Mortlach", an older name based on the neighboring parish, was officially assigned by King Edward I to John Comyn, 7th Earl of Buchan .
During the Scottish Wars of Independence , the Comyns stood on different sides at different times. This led in 1304 to the revocation of all dignities by Edward I, from 1306 as a supporter of John Balliol to enmity with Robert the Bruce and on May 23, 1308 to exile after the defeat in the Battle of Inverurie . Robert the Bruce transferred Balvenie Castle to his follower James Douglas (The Black Douglas) and founder of the line of the same name in this family.
After the assassination of William Douglas, 8th Earl of Douglas in 1451 and the suppression of the ensuing rebellion at the Battle of Arkinholm by King James II , the latter took possession of the Douglas lands and distributed them to his followers. Balvenie Castle was awarded to John Stewart , later 1st Earl of Atholl, and remained in the Stewart family's possession for the next 250 years. In 1562 Queen Mary was a guest at Balvenie Castle.
In 1595 the 5th Earl of Atholl died without a male heir; his daughters returned the property to the crown in 1610. As a result, the owners quickly changed: James Stewart, 2nd Earl of Atholl ; John Abernethy , 8th Lord Saltoun ; James Stewart of Killeath until 1614 when the castle was bought by Robert Innes of Invermarkie. His family lost the castle in the Scottish Civil War . In 1658 she was sold to Colonel Sutherland of Kinminity, who sold Balvenie Castle in 1687; new owners were the Duffs of Braco.
During the Jacobite Rebellion in 1689 , supporters of the Stuarts settled in Balvenie Castle. After the suicide of William Duff in 1718, Balvenie Castle was abandoned and was in ruins just a few years later. During the Second Jacobite Uprising in 1746, the castle was used again by royal troops, but afterwards it was finally abandoned.
description
The construction of Balvenie Castle shows three different construction phases, which can be clearly assigned in time.
13th Century
The curtain wall dates from this time. It is up to 2 meters thick, about 6 meters high and encloses an approximately rectangular inner courtyard of about 40 by 50 meters; the diagonals run almost exactly in an east-west or north-south direction. In places, the defensive corridors on the top of the wall are still preserved. The entire complex was surrounded by a trench that was largely filled in today and was between 9 and 12 meters wide. There were towers at the north and south corners of the castle (possibly also in the east, where the round tower from the 16th century has been preserved today). The well, which is almost in the middle of the courtyard and lined with oak boards, probably dates from this period.
15th century
These parts of the building date back to the time when James Douglas, 7th Earl of Douglas, was Lord of Balvenie. They are located in the southern and western part of the castle courtyard along the curtain wall, of which only remains of the foundations and traces in the wall are preserved. They show a single-storey building in the south, which contained the kitchen and a small brewery as well as a storage room and a staircase to the west wing. This, in turn, was two-story, with three small and one large storage room on the ground floor, the hall on the first floor and another large room called the “Great Chamber”. In the hall there was a small latrine, in the "Great Chamber" there is a lavatory bay .
16th Century
Erected by John Stewart, 4th Earl of Atholl on the foundations and at the expense of the previous structures, the eastern area called "Atholl Lodging" is still an imposing sight today. Even if the external appearance should give a different impression: The building was created for representative purposes and furnished for maximum comfort. The defensive possibilities are few: the lack of battlements, large windows on the upper floors and only a few loopholes offer at best protection from personal enemies. Three stories high, with an attic that was formerly above it and a mighty round tower at the eastern corner of the complex, this building appears symmetrical and balanced. The access to the castle complex is almost in the middle: a passage with a vaulted ceiling, which was originally secured with an iron lattice gate and two additional iron-reinforced wooden doors. In the passage itself there is a small guardroom on the left without access to the castle.
If you enter the castle courtyard and then turn back towards the entrance, the two round stair towers to the left and right of the entrance are first to be seen. They grant access to the upper floors. The part on the right now (towards the south) is the supply wing. On the two lower floors there is a single large room with a stone vaulted ceiling and its own large fireplace. Access to the first floor is also possible via another external staircase; the two rooms served as a kitchen and a bakery.
The room on the second floor belonged to the Earl's apartments, whose accommodation encompassed the entire left-hand part (to the east) including the round tower.
On the ground floor there are four chambers with vaulted ceilings, possibly simple guest quarters or staff quarters. Each room has its own fireplace and a latrine in the outer wall, three of these rooms also have small window openings in the form of loopholes. On the first floor were the hall (as a dining and reception room), the outer room (as a painting room), the inner room (in the round tower as the earl's bedroom) and a room with an unknown purpose. Each of the two rooms has its own latrine. Large windows protected with iron bars provided enough light and fresh air. The floor plan of the second floor is identical to the three rooms below, but the fourth room is completely missing. These were the accommodations of the Countess of Atholl, they were also used to accommodate the noblest guests (e.g. Queen Maria in 1562).
The castle today
All building elements made of wood have disappeared, there are no more remains of windows or the roofs on the tower or building. Further decay was stopped by structural measures, but apart from a few stone carvings, nothing more suggests the former splendor of a manor house.
Balvenie Castle was state-owned in 1929 on behalf of the last owner, Alexandra Duff, 2nd Duchess of Fife , and is now administered by Historic Scotland . The whiskey distilleries Glenfiddich and - named after the castle - Balvenie are in the immediate vicinity .
Individual evidence
- ↑ Balvenie Castle on the Historic Scotland website .
- ^ MacIvor, 1986 , p. 4
- ^ MacIvor, 1986 , p. 5
- ↑ Balvenie Castle on the Scottish-Castles website , accessed September 16, 2012.
- ^ MacIvor, 1986 , p. 8
- ^ MacIvor, 1986 , p. 9
- ^ MacIvor, 1986 , p. 11
- ↑ MacIvor, 1986 , p. 14f.
- ↑ MacIvor, 1986 , pp. 16f.
- ^ MacIvor, 1986 , p. 20
- ↑ MacIvor, 1986 , pp. 18f.
- ↑ a b MacIvor, 1986 , p. 21
- ↑ MacIvor, 1986 , p. 22ff.
literature
- Coventry, Martin: The Castles of Scotland (4th Edition) . Polygon, Goblinshead 2006.
- MacIvor, Iain: Balvenie Castle . Historic Scotland, Edinburgh 1986, reprinted 2003. ISBN 1-900168-01-4 .
