Lickleyhead Castle is a well-restored L-plan castle, dating from around 1600, a little south of Auchleven, by the banks of the Gadie Burn, in Aberdeenshire, Scotland. [1] Alternative spellings are Licklihead and Licklyhead Castle. [2]
Lickleyhead Castle is a well-restored L-plan castle, dating from around 1600, a little south of Auchleven, by the banks of the Gadie Burn, in Aberdeenshire, Scotland. [1] Alternative spellings are Licklihead and Licklyhead Castle. [2]
The estate originally belonged to Clan Leslie, but William Leith, who had twice been Provost of Aberdeen, acquired it from George Leslie in the 13th century. It remained in that family until, in 1625, Patrick Leith sold it to William Forbes of Leslie, who is thought to have restored the main element of the building, perhaps with the help of John Bell of Aberdeen.
While residing in the house, William Forbes, illegitimate son of John Forbes, accidentally shot off his hand. This was believed to be a judgment on him for the murder of Alexander Irvine, who was thought to be a supporter of the Marquess of Montrose. After the Restoration, he was executed for the crime.
The house was owned by the Hays for a period from the end of the 17th century. [3]
Patrick Duff of Craigston purchased the castle in 1723. He and his son built a new wing to the castle and remodelled its interior. There were further additions during the 1820s by Henry Lumsden, after he acquired the property from the Ogilvy-Maitland family.
The castle was the seat of the lairds of Premney. [4]
Don Guillermo de Landa y Escandon, the Governor of Mexico City, purchased the castle for his daughter Maria Luiz in 1922 when she married a Leslie. [5] Her great-granddaughter Rose Leslie, the actress, lived at Lickleyhead Castle when young. [6] The castle was repossessed from her father in 2018 after a dispute about repayments for a loan. [7] The current owners are the Davies family, originally from the Wirral. [8]
The main block of the castle lies east to west, with the wing providing cover over two faces by jutting out southward. [1] In the main block, there are corbelled two-storey turrets on the north front, the upper floors having oval windows. [1] A heavily corbelled semi-circular stair turret, corbelled out to square, [3] rises in the west re-entrant; it provides access to a watch room in the wing. The castle has crow-stepped gables. [1] It is harled, and has a slated roof. [4]
The tower rises to three storeys, with an attic and a garret. [1] While it has no gun loops, it has twelve shot holes. [1] There are decorated pediments. [1]
There is a vaulted basement, with a kitchen and cellar, lit by slit windows; this is accessed by the entrance in the main re-entrant angle to the south. [1] Narrowing turnpike stairs give access to the first floor; ascent afterwards is by the turret stair. There is an excellent hall. [1]
It is a category A listed building. [4]
Leslie Castle is a castle in Aberdeenshire, Scotland, the historical seat of Clan Leslie, located just to the west of Auchleven, or about 45 kilometres (28 mi) northwest of Aberdeen.
Greenknowe Tower is a 16th-century tower house, located just west of the village of Gordon, in the Scottish Borders. Although a roofless ruin, the stonework of the tower is well preserved, and represents a fine example of a later tower house, built more as a residence rather than as a place of defence. The building is located at NT639428, beside the A6105 road. It is a Scheduled Ancient Monument, and is in the care of Historic Scotland.
Barholm Castle is a tower house located 5 miles (8.0 km) south-west of Gatehouse of Fleet, in Kirkcudbrightshire, Galloway, Scotland. The tower dates back to the late 15th century, and it was a stronghold of a branch of the MacCulloch family. The present form of the castle dates from rebuilding in the 16th or 17th century, and in the early 2000s it was restored from a roofless state to residential use. The tower is sometimes identified with the fictional Ellangowan, in Sir Walter Scott's Guy Mannering.
Birse Castle is located in the Forest of Birse, Aberdeenshire, Scotland. Originally a square tower house, it was rebuilt in the first decade of the 20th century into an L-plan structure. The 1930 addition of a new wing gave it a Z-plan. The building was designated a category B listed building in 1971.
Arnage Castle is a country house, incorporating a Z-plan tower house, located around 4 miles (6.4 km) north of Ellon, in Aberdeenshire, north-east Scotland. The tower house dates from the late 16th century, and was extended in subsequent centuries.
Ravenscraig Castle, also known as the Craig of Inverugie, is a ruined 15th-century L-shaped tower-house north-west of Peterhead, Aberdeenshire, Scotland. It is a scheduled ancient monument.
Pittulie Castle is an oblong tower house probably dating from 1596, half a mile from Pitsligo Castle, Rosehearty, Aberdeenshire, Scotland. It is a scheduled monument. Built by the Frasers of Philorth, it was described by W. Douglas Simpson as one of the nine castles of the Knuckle, referring to the rocky headland of north-east Aberdeenshire.
Balfluig Castle is an L-plan tower house, dating from the mid-16th century, a mile south of Alford, in the Howe of Alford, Aberdeenshire, Scotland. The tower is conspicuous throughout the Howe. It may be viewed by appointment.
Barra Castle is an unusual L-plan tower house dating from the early 16th century, about two miles south of Oldmeldrum, above the Lochter Burn, in the parish of Bourtie, Aberdeenshire, Scotland. It occupies the site of the Battle of Inverurie (1308), in which Robert Bruce defeated John Comyn, Earl of Buchan.
Beldorney Castle is a Z-plan castle dating from the mid-16th century, about two miles south of Glass, in hilly country in the valley of the Deveron, in Aberdeenshire, Scotland.
Druminnor Castle is an L-plan castle, dating from the early 15th century, about two miles east of Rhynnie, in a steep valley by the Keron burn, in Aberdeenshire, Scotland.
Fordyce Castle is a T-plan castle, its oldest part dating from 1592, about three miles south-west of Portsoy, in the village of Fordyce, Aberdeenshire, Scotland.
House of Schivas is an L-plan tower house, dating from the 16th century, about three miles east of Methlick, in the valley of the River Ythan, in Aberdeenshire, Scotland.
Tillycairn Castle is an L-plan castle, dating from the 16th century, standing on high ground around 2.0 miles (3.2 km) south-east of Cluny in Aberdeenshire, Scotland.
Blairfindy Castle is an L-plan tower house, dating from the 16th century, around 6.5 miles (10.5 km) north of Tomintoul, and west of the River Livet. The tower was a hunting seat of the earls of Huntly.
Earlshall Castle is a restored 16th century courtyard castle, near Leuchars Station about 1⁄2 mile east of Leuchars, Fife, Scotland.
Evelaw Tower is a ruined 16th century tower house, about 2.5 miles (4.0 km) north west of Westruther, Scottish Borders, Scotland, and about 1.5 miles (2.4 km) east of Wedderlie, south of Eve Law.
Harthill Castle is a large 17th-century Z-plan castle, about 5.5 miles (9 km) west-north-west of Inverurie, Aberdeenshire, Scotland, south of Kirkton of Oyne, at grid reference NJ687252.
Plunton Castle is a ruined L-plan tower house between Kirkandrews and Gatehouse of Fleet in Dumfries and Galloway, Scotland. Built around 1575 for the Lennoxes of Plunton, it passed by marriage to the Murrays of Broughton in the late 17th century. It was still inhabited in 1684, when it was described by Reverend Symson in his Large Description of Galloway as "a good strong house", but by 1838, when it was painted by George Colomb, it had been abandoned and had fallen into a ruinous condition.
Earlstoun Castle, sometimes spelled Earlston Castle, is a derelict tower house near St John's Town of Dalry in Dumfries and Galloway, Scotland. Built in the late sixteenth century, it was home to members of the Gordon family, including William Gordon of Earlston who was killed at the battle of Bothwell Bridge. It is unusual for a tower house of its age for its lack of defensive arrangements: it has no gun loops, its roof is without a parapet or corner turrets, and it lies in open ground without natural defences.