Ravenscraig Castle | |
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Peterhead, Aberdeenshire in Scotland | |
![]() Ruins of Ravenscraig Castle | |
Site information | |
Condition | Ruined |
Location | |
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Coordinates | 57°31′45″N1°50′32″W / 57.5291°N 1.8423°W |
Site history | |
Built | 15th century |
Official name | Ravenscraig Castle |
Type | Secular: castle |
Designated | 30 June 1964 |
Reference no. | SM2496 |
Ravenscraig Castle, also known as the Craig of Inverugie, is a ruined 15th-century L-shaped tower-house north-west of Peterhead, Aberdeenshire, Scotland. [1] It is a scheduled monument. [2]
The castle was the seat of the barony of Torthorston, held by the Cheynes family, and passed to the Keiths in the mid-14th century. A licence was granted to build a new castle in May 1491, [3] with the castle built on the banks of the Ugie and defended by a moat.
It is thought that King James VI of Scotland visited the castle in 1589 to attend the wedding of Rebecca Keith and Sir James Gordon of Lesmoir. [4] At that time, the castle belonged to John Keith of Ravenscraig, whose half-brother William Keith of Delny was a courtier and diplomat who had tried to save the life of Mary, Queen of Scots, in 1587. [5]
Most of the castle's decorative features and dressed stone have been robbed; however, the vaulted ground floor and principal apartments on the first are still visible. "A circular stair in the re-entrant angle rose originally above the wall head into a turret." [3]
William Thom was inspired to write this deathless poem after sighting a "pretty governess" in the castle grounds in 1844. [3]