Hallforest Castle

Hallforest Castle
	Hallforest Castle
Creation time :	14th Century
Castle type :	Niederungsburg
Conservation status:	ruin
Standing position :	Scottish royalty
Construction:	Quarry stone
Place:	Kintore
Geographical location	57 ° 13 '44.5 " N , 2 ° 22' 14.3" W Coordinates: 57 ° 13 '44.5 " N , 2 ° 22' 14.3" W.
Height:	65 m ASL

Hallforest Castle is a donjon ruin about 2.5 km from Kintore in the Scottish county of Aberdeenshire . The donjon is one of the oldest in Scotland; it dates from the 14th century.

The castle ruins are also called Castle of Hallforrest , Hall Forest Castle or simply Hallforrest .

history

The castle is said to have been built as a hunting lodge at the behest of King Robert the Bruce . It is said that he lent them to Robert II Keith , the predecessor of the Earls of Kintore . Mary Queen of Scots visited Hallforest Castle in 1562.

The castle was frequently attacked during the wars of the 17th century. Soon after, it appears to have been abandoned, but continued to be owned by the Earls of Kintore.

architecture

Hallforest Castle is a simple, rectangular tower with a floor plan of 14.6 by 11 meters. It once had a parapet and there was probably a stone roof on an upper arch. It had two vaults , divided by mezzanines . It appears that the entrance led to the first mezzanine floor. There are small loopholes on the ground floor ; this floor could have had a door for the cattle.

Originally the castle had six floors; its walls were eight feet thick. There are windows on the south side. There is no evidence of stone stairs; one must have used flaps and ladders. The interior of the tower is now in ruins.

North of the donjon there are traces of a former enclosure wall, to the northwest traces of a possible ditch .

Hallforest Castle is listed as a Category B Historic Building.

Individual evidence

↑ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e ^f Maurice Lindsay: The Castles of Scotland. Constable, London 1986, ISBN 0-09-464600-7 , p. 270.
↑ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e ^f ^g Castle of Hallforrest . In: Canmore . Retrieved September 5, 2017.
^ Hall Forest Castle . In: British Listed Buildings . Retrieved April 8, 2014.

Web links

Commons : Hallforest Castle - collection of pictures, videos and audio files

[Lindsay270-1] ↑ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e ^f Maurice Lindsay: The Castles of Scotland. Constable, London 1986, ISBN 0-09-464600-7 , p. 270.

[Canmore-2] ↑ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e ^f ^g Castle of Hallforrest . In: Canmore . Retrieved September 5, 2017.

[BLB-3] Hall Forest Castle . In: British Listed Buildings . Retrieved April 8, 2014.