Inchdrewer Castle

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Inchdrewer Castle
Inchdrewer Castle

Inchdrewer Castle

Creation time : Early-mid-16th century
Castle type : Niederungsburg (Tower House)
Conservation status: ruin
Standing position : Scottish nobility
Construction: Quarry stone
Place: Banff
Geographical location 57 ° 38 '6.2 "  N , 2 ° 34' 40"  W Coordinates: 57 ° 38 '6.2 "  N , 2 ° 34' 40"  W.
Height: 104  m ASLTemplate: height / unknown reference
Inchdrewer Castle (Scotland)
Inchdrewer Castle

Inchdrewer Castle is the ruin of a tower house in the parish of Banff in the Scottish county of Aberdeenshire . The 16th century castle stands on a small hill about 5.5 km southwest of Banff above Banff Bay . The property originally belonged to the Currour family , but then the Ogilvy of Dunlugas family bought it and in 1537 it became their family seat. The Ogilvys were staunch royalists , which led to the castle being attacked by the Covenants in 1640 . George Ogilvy , 3rd  Lord Banff , was murdered in 1713 and his body was hidden in the castle, which was then set on fire. In 1746, during the Jacobite revolt , the castle was again besieged. In 1803, after the death of the 8th Lord Banff , the Abercromby of Birkenbog family inherited Inchdrewer Castle. They leased it. From 1836 it was uninhabited and fell into disrepair.

In the following 100 years, the decline continued until between 1965 and 1971 some major renovations were carried out to make the building wind and rainproof. However, it remained uninhabited. Afterwards nobody paid any attention to the castle again. Therefore, it continued to deteriorate and became a ruin. In April 2013, after the death of Count Robin Mirrlees , to whom it had belonged for the previous 50 years, this ruin was put up for sale. Late that year, former model Olga Roh bought Inchdrewer Castle and said she wanted to have it renovated. Today it is reported that the ghost of 3rd Lord Banff and a white dog haunted the castle, which Historic Scotland has listed as a Category A Historic Building.

Early history

It is not known exactly when the castle was built, but it must have happened sometime in the early to mid-16th century, either during the reign of King James IV or James V. There are different spellings of the name: Inch Druar Castle , Inchdruar Castle , Inchdruer Castle , Inchdrewir Castle or Inchdrewr Castle . The property originally belonged to the Curror or Currour family , but in 1557 it was bought by Walter Ogilvy (1509–1558), laird of the feudal barony of Dunlugas in Banffshire , and it became his family headquarters. James Currour was a notary public in Banff and is associated with a number of Dunlugas' contracts and leases.

During the late 16th century, the Dunlugas Ogilvies had the castle renovated and expanded; for example, various buildings were added in the courtyard and a remarkable round tower with a knight's hall on the first floor. A law awarding the lands to George Ogilvy, 1st Lord Banff , was ratified by King Charles I of England in late June 1633. George was the son of Walter Ogilvy and a fiery royalist and supporter of the king against the Kovenanters . After an attack by the Kovenanter under General Robert Monro in 1640, Inchdrewer Castle remained in ruins; another family property, a townhouse, was also vandalized. George Ogilvy was raised to the nobility in 1642 and became 1st Lord Banff.

George Ogilvy, 3rd Lord Banff, inherited the property when his father, 2nd Lord Banff , died on September 10, 1668. In 1713 the 3rd Lord Banff was murdered and the castle was destroyed by fire; his body was locked inside.

In 1746 the castle was attacked by troops led by the Duke of Cumberland during the Jacobite uprising. Further restoration work was carried out at the end of the 18th century.

When William Ogilvy, 8th Lord Banff, died on June 4, 1803, the property fell to his sister Jean (or Jane ), who married Sir George Abercromby, 4th Baronet (1750-1831), lord of Birkenbog in Banffshire was. Her son, Sir Robert Abercromby, 5th Baronet (1784–1855), succeeded her. He was elected to the British House of Commons for the constituency of Banffshire in 1812 , but four years later financial difficulties prevented him from running again. In 1820 he asked King George IV to grant him the title of Lord Banff, which had rested since 1803 or was extinguished after the 8th Lord Banff had died. This was to be continued by declaring his mother a Baroness Banff or giving him the title of Lord Banff. But the request was not granted.

Floor plan of the first floor of Inchdrewer Castle 1887 with dilapidated parts ("ruinous")

The owners were Sir George Samuel Abercromby, 6th Baronet (1824–1872), Sir Robert John Abercromby, 7th Baronet (1850–1895) and Sir George William Abercromby, 8th Baronet (1886–1964). The Abercrombie’s headquarters were Forglen House in Turriff . The castle was in a sufficiently good state of preservation that it could be leased until 1836, after which the castle was abandoned and fell into disrepair. In the architecture book by McGibbon and Ross published in 1887, the ground floor plan already shows two parts of the building as derelict.

Later story

In 1962 or 1963, the childless Sir George William Abercromby, 8th Baronet, sold the castle to Count Robin Mirrlees . Renovation work was believed to have been carried out by architect Oliver Hill in 1965 , although his undated plans were not fully implemented. After his visit in 1966, the writer and historian Nigel Tranter reported that work on the masonry had begun, but he described the building as "a ruinous shell of a house". Some structural restoration work has been undertaken and the castle has received minor repairs, just enough to make it "wind and waterproof" in 1971. But it was then abandoned and continued to deteriorate. It had been uninhabitable since 1836 and Mirrlees had never lived there. Only rudimentary work had been carried out inside. Local people believe the only time the interiors were used during this period was in 1971, when a sign was put up to commemorate the completion of the exterior work.

Historic Scotland listed Inchdrewer Castle as a Category A Historic Building in February 1972. The Scottish Civic Trust expressed concern about the poor condition of the property in its 1999 report. An Aberdeenshire inspection in February 2008 found Inchdrewer Castle "showing signs of neglect" and all the windows were broken. Further deterioration was noted in October 2010; it was said to be "on the verge of ruin". However, in December 2012, further deterioration was found.

Mirrlees died on June 23, 2012. He had disinherited his son and left the property to his teenage grandson. Along with the title Baron of Inchdrewer , the castle ruins went up for sale in April 2013 and in November 2013 they bought Olga Roh , former Valentino and Versace model and owner of Rohmir , for about £ 400,000. Roh had never been to Scotland and hadn't seen the castle ruins before buying it, but she planned to restore it so it could be used for fashion shoots, a movie location or a home. Other suggestions were the use as a holiday home for friends or as a boutique hotel.

architecture

Floor plan of the first floor of Inchdrewer Castle 1887

First, a simple tower house with an L-shaped floor plan made of cut quarry stone, which was clad with ashlar , was built. At the end of the 16th century, a round tower was added as an extension to the south. There was a staircase inside the new tower. In the north and south of the courtyard, additional extensions were made during this construction phase. New entrances were added and the original entrance on the 1st floor was closed. A narrow, arched entrance was created on the west side and a wider main entrance was installed in the south facade.

Other architectural details throughout the castle were, for example, crenellated and console- supported attachments on the towers, tourelles above the 1st and 2nd floors, a large, elongated opening in the wall of the knight's hall on the 1st floor, which this with Light supplied, and loopholes in the southwest tower. The windows, which were put in place at the end of the 18th century, differ from those in earlier parts of the building in that they are larger and more regular in shape.

The restorations completed in 1971 made the building wind and waterproof; additional windows were installed and the broken panes of the existing ones replaced, but since the castle was then left to its own devices, the effects of the weather, reinforced by vandalism, led to further structural deterioration. In 2013 the castle was in ruin and unsuitable as a place to live.

Superstition and ghost driving

In newspaper stories from the 21st century it is reported that the ghost of the murdered Georg Ogilvy, 3rd Lord Banff, haunts the castle. Nigel Tranter visited Inchdrewer Castle again in the 1970s, and a large, white dog he thought was a Samoyed jumped out of the castle when he was approaching a local mason. He couldn't explain how the dog could have been locked in the castle for seven days; he was later sent a copy of Vogue magazine , in which it was written that the castle was "haunted by a white woman in the form of a white dog".

Individual references and comments

  1. ^ Francis Grose : The antiquities of Scotland . Hooper. Pp. 272, 1797. Retrieved September 13, 2017.
  2. ↑ a b c d e f Inchdrewer Castle brochure . Ballantynes. Archived from the original on December 28, 2013. Retrieved September 13, 2017.
  3. ^ A b c d Charles McKean: Banff & Buchan . Royal Incorporation of Architects in Scotland. P. 50. 1990. Retrieved September 13, 207.
  4. ↑ Wendy Davies, Paul Fouracre: The Settlement of Disputes in Early Medieval Europe . Cambridge University Press. S. 201. 1992. Retrieved September 13, 2017.
  5. ^ Act in favor of Sir George Ogilvie of Banff, 1633/6/195 . Records of the Parliaments of Scotland. Retrieved September 13, 2017.
  6. ^ A b David Stevenson: Ogilvy, George, first Lord Banff (d. 1663) . Dictionary of National Biography. 2004. Retrieved September 13, 2017.
  7. ^ W. Barclay: Banffshire . Cambridge University Press. P. 95. 2012. Retrieved September 13, 2017.
  8. ^ A b Samuel Lewis: A Topographical Dictionary of Scotland (Volume I) . Lewis. P. 111, 1846. Retrieved September 13, 2017.
  9. ↑ James Balfour Paul: The Scots Peerage . D. Douglas. S. 17. 1905. Retrieved September 13, 2017.
  10. ↑ James Balfour Paul: The Scots Peerage . D. Douglas. S. 20. 1905. Retrieved September 13, 2017.
  11. ^ Plantagenet Fry: Castles: England + Scotland + Ireland + Wales . David & Charles. P. 151. 2005. Retrieved September 14, 2017.
  12. ↑ Details about the period of reconstruction and the work carried out are not known: "Obviously it was rebuilt (...)".
  13. ↑ a b c d Jenny Shields: Scratch the Surface to Reveal a Classical Gem . In: Daily Mail . via Questia. April 23, 1999. Retrieved September 14, 2017.
  14. ↑ a b James Balfour Paul: The Scots Peerage . D. Douglas. P. 25, 1905. Retrieved September 13, 2017.
  15. ^ David R. Fisher: Banffshire . The History of Parliament. Archived from the original on March 19, 2014. Retrieved September 14, 2017.
  16. ↑ David R. Fisher: Abercromby, Robert (1784-1855), of Birkenbog and Forglen, Banff . The History of Parliament. Archived from the original on December 29, 2013. Retrieved September 14, 2017.
  17. ^ Sir John Sinclair, General Report of the Agricultural State: And Political Circumstances, of Scotland . A. Constable & Company. P. 44, 1814. Retrieved September 14, 2017.
  18. ^ A b c Jenny Shields: Now a Scotsman's castle could well be your home . Daily Mail. June 7, 2013. Retrieved September 14, 2017.
  19. ^ David MacGibbon, Thomas Ross: The castellated and domestic architecture of Scotland from the twelfth to the eighteenth century . D. Douglas. Pp. 147-148. 1887. Retrieved September 14, 2017.
  20. ↑ a b c Alexandra Goss: Hold the fort . In: The Sunday Times . April 28, 2013. Retrieved September 14, 2017.
  21. ↑ Different sources give different dates of the acquisition by Mirrlees: Ballantynes ​​and Shields give the year 1963, whereas in the Buildings-at-Risk Register 1971 is recorded as the year of the purchase.
  22. ↑ a b Inchdrewer Castle . Buildings at Risk register. Archived from the original on November 12, 2013. Retrieved September 14, 2017.
  23. ↑ Michael Lynch: The Oxford Companion to Scottish History . Oxford University Press. S. 328 2001. Retrieved September 14, 2017.
  24. ↑ Inchdrewer Castle . Dictionary of Scottish Architects. Archived from the original on January 2, 2014. Retrieved September 14, 2017.
  25. ↑ a b c Listed Building - Entry . In: Historic Scotland .
  26. ^ Nigel Tranter: The Fortified House in Scotland . Chambers Harrap Publishers. S. 59, 1970. Retrieved September 14, 2017.
  27. ↑ a b Inchdrewer Castle for sale for £ 400,000 . Scottish Castles Association. Archived from the original on November 12, 2013. Retrieved September 14, 2017.
  28. ↑ a b c Inchdrewer Castle . Royal Commission on Ancient and Historical Monumants of Scotland. Archived from the original on November 12, 2013. Retrieved September 14, 2017.
  29. ↑ a b Gordon Casely: Count Robin De la Lanne-Mirrlees . In: The Herald (Glasgow) . via HighBeam. June 26, 2012. Archived from the original on September 16, 2017. Info: The archive link has been inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. Retrieved September 14, 2017. @1@ 2Template: Webachiv / IABot / www.highbeam.com
  30. ^ Fiona McWhirter: Disinherited: Colorful Aristocrat Cuts His Only Son out of His £ 3m Will . In: Mail on Sunday . via Questia. August 26, 2012. Retrieved September 14, 2017.
  31. ↑ Nick Jedrzejewski: Russian princess and Versace model Olga Roh now queen of her own Scottish castle . In: Daily Express , November 24, 2013. Archived from the original on December 8, 2013. Retrieved September 14, 2017. 
  32. ↑ a b Frank Urquhart: Model Olga Roh to turn Inchdrewer Castle into home . In: The Scotsman . February 19, 2014. Archived from the original on March 23, 2014. Retrieved on September 14, 2017.
  33. ↑ Princess Diary: Russian royalty plots revamp of Inchdrewer Castle . STV. March 20, 2014. Archived from the original on March 23, 2014. Retrieved September 2017.
  34. ↑ a b Kirsten Johnson: She's queen of the castle: Millionairess buys her way to landed title . In: Mail on Sunday . November 24, 2013. Retrieved September 14, 2017.
  35. ↑ Barney Southin: castle Uninhabited . In: The Times . May 26, 1999. Retrieved September 14, 2017.
  36. ^ Nigel Tranter: Tales and Traditions of Scottish Castles . Neil Wilson Publishing. 2013. Retrieved September 14, 2017.

Web links

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