New Slains Castle
| New Slains Castle | ||
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 South elevation of the ruins of New Slains Castle |
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| Creation time : | 16th Century | |
| Castle type : | Rock castle | |
| Conservation status: | ruin | |
| Geographical location | 57 ° 24 '54.7 " N , 1 ° 49' 56.6" W | |
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Slains Castle , also known as New Slains Castle , to distinguish it from the nearby Old Slains Castle to distinguish is a castle ruin in Aberdeenshire , Scotland . It monitors the North Sea on a rocky coast about a kilometer east of Cruden Bay . The core of the castle is marked by a residential tower , built by the ninth Earl of Erroll in the 16th century. Significant renovations and renovations were carried out several times , the last being in 1837 when it was rebuilt in the Scots Baronial Style. Once equipped with three extensive gardens, it is now just a roofless ruin . The repair plans were kept until 2009.
history
The Hay clan was a very powerful family in the region for a long time, and has owned the Slains lands since the 14th century. In 1453 the head of the clan, Sir William Hay , was appointed Earl of Erroll by King James II of Scotland . At that time the local mansion was Old Slains Castle, which is about five miles southwest of Collieston. In 1585, Francis Hay became the ninth Earl of Erroll and joined the Roman Catholic Church . He colluded with other Catholic nobles, including the Earl of Huntly, with whom he joined the rebellion in 1589. Hay was also a signatory to the Spanish Blanks. These documents provided for Spanish aid in the religious conflict with England and were signed by Catholic nobles from Scotland. Earl Francis Hay was declared a traitor in 1594 and Old Slains Castle was declared a traitor by the orders of King James VI. destroyed by Scotland in October.
After a period abroad, Hay came back to Scotland in 1597 and swore by the Roman Catholic Church, which brought him back into the favor of the king. He gave up the destroyed Old Slains and built a new castle consisting of a square main tower, rooms and an inner courtyard. Although the original name was Bowness Castle, it later became known as New Slains Castle. In 1664 the wings of the building adjoining the inner courtyard were extended and a gallery and corridor were set up. In 1707 the entrance facade was renewed.
In 1820 the 18th Earl of Errol William Hay married Lady Elizabeth FitzClarence , the illegitimate daughter of King William IV and Dorothea Jordan . In the 1830s, Hay commissioned architect John Smith to redesign the castle. Slains Castle was converted into a baronial style castle between 1836 and 1837. This included, among other things, an external wall cladding made of granite and the creation of gardens during the late 1890s by the landscape architect Thomas H. Mawson. In 1895 the author Bram Stoker visited the area and was most likely a guest at Slains Castle. The castle is therefore widely regarded as the inspiration for Stoker's 1897 novel Dracula .
In 1913, the 20th Earl of Erroll sold New Slains Castle, which at the time had been owned by his family for more than 300 years. The new owner, Sir John Ellerman, the rich but closed owner of Ellerman Lines , did not live in it himself, but leased it. In 1925, as with so many English estates and castles, the roof was removed to avoid additional taxes. Since then it has been falling into disrepair and is now nothing more than a roofless wall framework.
Current condition
In 2004 it was reported that Slains Partnership was preparing plans to refurbish and convert the building into 35 holiday apartments. In August 2007 the designs were approved and planning permission was obtained from Aberdeenshire Council. In 2009 the plans were put on hold due to the economic crisis.
The building has been partially fenced in for security reasons. Nevertheless, the ruins are freely accessible and can be visited at your own risk at any time.
In June 2013 a fatal accident occurred near the entrance at Slains Castle. Another accident is also reported, which occurred in 1991. Warning signs pointing out the dangers on the cliffs along the hiking trail there are in many places.
Individual evidence
- ↑ a b c Scheduled Monument - entry . In: Historic Scotland .
- ↑ Erroll, Francis Hay, 9th Earl . In: Chisholm, Hugh (Ed.): Encyclopædia Britannica , 11th. Edition, Volume IX, Cambridge University Press, 1911.
- ↑ Entry on New Slains Castle in Canmore, the database of Historic Environment Scotland (English)
- ↑ a b c d e Slains Castle . In: Buildings at Risk Register for Scotland . Royal Commission on the Ancient and Historical Monuments of Scotland. Retrieved October 17, 2012.
- ^ Edmund Lodge: The Peerage of the British Empire as at Present Existing . Saunders and Otley, 1851, p. 222.
- ↑ Slains Castle . In: Dictionary of Scottish Architects . Retrieved October 17, 2012.
- ↑ Haworth Maden, Clare: The Essential Dracula . Crescent Books, 1992, ISBN 1-85422-268-6 .
- ↑ Slains Castle redevelopment halted . STV Group. February 8, 2009. Retrieved October 14, 2013.
