| Braemar Castle | |
|---|---|
| Braemar, Aberdeenshire, Scotland | |
 Braemar Castle | |
  Braemar Castle | |
| Coordinates | 57°00′53″N3°23′29″W / 57.0147°N 3.3914°W Coordinates: 57°00′53″N3°23′29″W / 57.0147°N 3.3914°W |
| Site information | |
| Website | https://www.braemarcastle.co.uk |
Braemar Castle is situated near the village of Braemar in Aberdeenshire, Scotland. It is a possession of the chief of Clan Farquharson and is leased to a local charitable foundation. It is open to the public.
From the Late Middle Ages, the castle was a stronghold of the Earls of Mar. [1] The present Braemar Castle was constructed in 1628 by John Erskine, Earl of Mar, as a hunting lodge and to counter the rising power of the Farquharsons, [2] replacing an older building, which was the successor of nearby Kindrochit Castle, which dates from the 11th century AD. The siting of Kindrochit Castle was based upon the strategic location of this site relative to historic crossings of the Grampian Mounth. [3]
An important garrison after the 1745 Jacobite rising, Braemar Castle had been attacked and burned by John Farquharson, the Black Colonel of Inverey during the Jacobite rising of 1689, to prevent it being used as a garrison by Government troops. In 1716 the castle was forfeited to the Crown following the Earl of Mar's leadership of the 1715 Jacobite rising. [4] The castle and lands were purchased by John Farquharson, 9th Laird of Invercauld but the building was left in ruins until 1748 when it was leased to the government at a fee of £14 per year, now to serve as a garrison for Hanoverian troops. From 1760 to 1806 the estate was used largely for commercial woodland, but on a massive scale, with James Farquharson of Invercauld planting 16 million fir trees and 2 million larch during this period. [5]
Rebuilding started under the command of John Adam, Master Mason to the Board of Ordnance. [2]
In 1831 the military garrison was withdrawn and the castle returned to the Farquharson clan. Restoration to provide a family home began under the 12th Laird of Invercauld who entertained Queen Victoria there when she attended the Braemar Gatherings in the grounds of the castle. In 1800 Braemar Castle was documented to have its moat intact. [6]
It has also featured in the video to Andy Stewart's "A Scottish Soldier".
Since 2006 the castle has been leased to the local community. It is run on behalf of the community by local charity, Braemar Community Ltd and staffed by local volunteers, and an ambitious restoration programme has been started. It reopened to the public in 2008. [7]
The building is a five-storey L-plan castle with a star-shaped curtain wall of six sharp-angled salients, and with three storey angle turrets. The central tower enfolds a round stair tower and is built of granite covered with harl. The main entrance retains an original iron yett, and many of the windows are protected by heavy iron grilles.
On the ground floor are stone-vaulted rooms which contained the guardroom, ammunition store and original kitchen. These are built out into the salients of the outer wall, and in Victorian times a second kitchen was added adjoining the staff rooms. In the floor of a passage, an iron grill provided access to the Laird's Pit, a dark hole used as a dungeon.
On each of the upper floors a large room and a small room occupied the two arms of the tower. On the first floor are the Dining Room and Morning Room, whilst on the floor above is the Laird's Day Room, entered by a curved door. Opposite is the Rose Room, and between the two is a small bathroom installed in 1901. In the main wing at this level is the Drawing Room, containing graffiti incised on the window shutters by government troops. The words "John Chestnut, Sergeant, 1797" can be clearly seen. On the third floor is the Four Poster Bedroom, whilst on the fourth floor lie the Ladies Guest Bedroom, Gentlemans Guest Bedroom and the Principal Bedroom. These upper floors were used by the Farquharson family in the latter years of their visits. [2]
Balmoral Castle is a large estate house in Aberdeenshire, Scotland, and a residence of the British royal family. It is near the village of Crathie, 9 miles (14 km) west of Ballater and 50 miles (80 km) west of Aberdeen.
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Braemar is a village in Aberdeenshire, Scotland, around 58 miles (93 km) west of Aberdeen in the Highlands. It is the closest significantly-sized settlement to the upper course of the River Dee sitting at an elevation of 339 metres (1,112 ft).
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Doune Castle is a medieval stronghold near the village of Doune, in the Stirling council area of central Scotland and the historic county of Perthshire. The castle is sited on a wooded bend where the Ardoch Burn flows into the River Teith. It lies 8 miles northwest of Stirling, where the Teith flows into the River Forth. Upstream, 8 miles further northwest, the town of Callander lies at the edge of the Trossachs, on the fringe of the Scottish Highlands.
Clan Shaw is a Highland Scottish clan and is a member of the Chattan Confederation.
Clan Farquharson is a Highland Scottish clan based at Invercauld and Braemar, Aberdeenshire, and is a member of the Chattan Confederation.
Clan Erskine is a Scottish clan of the Scottish Lowlands.
The Battle of Inverurie was fought on 23 December 1745 at Inverurie, Aberdeenshire, Scotland, during the Jacobite rising of 1745.
Inverey is a hamlet on Mar Lodge Estate, in Aberdeenshire, Scotland.
Kindrochit Castle is a ruined 14th-century fortification in Aberdeenshire, Scotland. It is located at Braemar, in a strategic position on the banks of the Clunie Water, a tributary of the River Dee. The ruins are protected as a scheduled monument.
The Cairngorm Club is a mountaineering club, based in Aberdeen, Scotland formed in June 1887.
Invercauld Castle is a country house situated in Royal Deeside near Braemar in Scotland. It is protected as a category A listed building, and the grounds are included in the Inventory of Gardens and Designed Landscapes in Scotland.
The Jacobite rising of 1715 was the attempt by James Edward Stuart to regain the thrones of England, Ireland and Scotland for the exiled Stuarts.
Abergeldie Castle is a four-floor tower house in Crathie and Braemar parish, SW Aberdeenshire, Scotland. It stands at an altitude of 840 feet (260 m), on the south bank of the River Dee, five miles (8 km) west of Ballater, and about two miles (3 km) east of the royal residence of Balmoral Castle. Behind it rises Creag nam Ban, a rounded granite hill about 527 metres (1,729 ft) high, and across the river to its front is the cairn-crowned Geallaig Hill, rising to 743 metres (2,438 ft).
Events from the year 1715 in Scotland.
John Erskine, Earl of Mar was a Scottish landowner.
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