Z-plan is a form of castle design common in Scotland and England. The Z-plan castle has a strong central rectangular tower with smaller towers attached at diagonally opposite corners. [1]
Prominent examples of the Z-plan include Brodie Castle in Moray, Castle Menzies in Perthshire, [2] Glenbuchat Castle in Aberdeenshire, [3] Castle Fraser in Aberdeenshire, Claypotts Castle in Dundee [4] and Hatton Castle, Angus, Scotland.
Colliston Castle is a 16th-century Z-plan tower house, altered and extended in the 18th and 19th centuries. It is located 6 kilometres (3.7 mi) north of Arbroath, in Angus, Scotland, and remains occupied.
Craigievar Castle is a pinkish harled castle or fortified country house 6 miles (9.7 km) south of Alford, Aberdeenshire, Scotland. It was the seat of Clan Sempill and the Forbes family resided here for 350 years until 1963, when the property was given to the National Trust for Scotland by William Forbes-Sempill, 19th Lord Sempill, in the 1960s. The setting is among scenic rolling foothills of the Grampian Mountains, and the contrast of its massive lower storey structure to the finely sculpted multiple turrets, gargoyles and high corbelling work to create a classic fairytale appearance.
Kildrummy Castle is a ruined castle near Kildrummy, in Aberdeenshire, Scotland. Though ruined, it is one of the most extensive castles dating from the 13th century to survive in eastern Scotland, and was the seat of the Earls of Mar. It is owned today by Historic Environment Scotland and is open to the public as a scheduled ancient monument with gardens that are included in the Inventory of Gardens and Designed Landscapes in Scotland.
Clan Keith is a Highland and Lowland Scottish clan, whose Chief historically held the hereditary title of Marischal, then Great Marischal, then Earl Marischal of Scotland.
Clan Farquharson is a Highland Scottish clan based at Invercauld and Braemar, Aberdeenshire, and is a member of the Chattan Confederation.
Clan Gordon is a Highland Scottish clan, historically one of the most powerful Scottish clans. The Gordon lands once spanned a large territory across the Highlands. Presently, Gordon is seated at Aboyne Castle, Aberdeenshire. The Chief of the clan is the Earl of Huntly, later the Marquess of Huntly.
Scottish baronial or Scots baronial is an architectural style of 19th century Gothic Revival which revived the forms and ornaments of historical architecture of Scotland in the Late Middle Ages and the Early Modern Period. Reminiscent of Scottish castles, buildings in the Scots baronial style are characterised by elaborate rooflines embellished with conical roofs, tourelles, and battlements with Machicolations, often with an asymmetric plan. Popular during the fashion for Romanticism and the Picturesque, Scots baronial architecture was equivalent to the Jacobethan Revival of 19th-century England, and likewise revived the Late Gothic appearance of the fortified domestic architecture of the elites in the Late Middle Ages and the architecture of the Jacobean era.
For Menzies as a personal name, including its pronunciation and a list of famous people of that name, see Menzies.
Claypotts Castle is a late medieval castle in the suburban West Ferry area of Dundee, Scotland. It is one of the best-preserved examples of a 16th-century Z-plan tower house in Scotland. Now surrounded by modern housing, the castle is maintained as an Ancient Monument by Historic Environment Scotland.
Clan Leslie is a Lowland Scottish clan. The progenitor of the Clan, Bartolf, was a nobleman from Hungary, who came to Scotland in 1067. He built a castle at Lesselyn, from which the clan name derives.
Clan Calder is a Highland Scottish clan. The clan is recognised by the Lord Lyon King of Arms but as it does not currently have a clan chief it is therefore considered an armigerous clan.
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.
Glenbuchat Castle is a historic Z plan Scottish castle built in 1590 for John Gordon of Cairnbarrow to mark his wedding. It is located above the River Don, near Kildrummy, Aberdeenshire. The building is roofless, but otherwise in fairly good repair.
Cairnbulg Castle is a z-plan castle situated in Cairnbulg, Aberdeenshire, Scotland. 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. It stands by the River Philorth and was originally known as Philorth Castle. The 17th-century Philorth Castle, an L-plan house consisting of a sizeable crow-stepped block, was demolished after a fire in 1915.
Castle Newe was a castellated mansion house, situated in Aberdeenshire, and designed in 1831 by Archibald Simpson. It was based on an existing Z-plan castle from 1604, which had square towers and was similar to Glenbuchat Castle. It was built by William Leslie of Nethermuir.
Clan Forbes is a Highland Scottish clan from Aberdeenshire, Scotland.
Clan Gardyne is a lowland Scottish clan from Angus. The clan does currently have a chief, Samuel Edward Britton Gardyne recognised by the Court of the Lord Lyon, therefore it is considered an clan. With the clan spreading as far as New Zealand. Where the current chief lives.
Terpersie Castle is a 16th-century tower house in Tullynessle, Aberdeenshire, Scotland, located 5 kilometres (3.1 mi) north-west of Alford. It is protected as a category A listed building.
Cluny Castle was originally built c.1604 as a Z-plan castle replacing either a house or small peel tower. Sited in the parish of Cluny, it is south of Monymusk and north of Sauchen in Aberdeenshire, north-east Scotland. Owned by three separate branches of Gordon families over the centuries, it was used to shelter Jacobite rebels in the mid-18th century. Extensive additions were made in 1820 to the design of architect John Smith when it was in the ownership of Colonel John Gordon. Two wings of the castle and the adjoining private chapel were destroyed by fire in 1926, but the damage was restored.
Clan Cheyne is a Scottish clan. The clan is officially recognized by the Lord Lyon King of Arms, however as the clan does not currently have a chief recognized by the Court of the Lord Lyon, it is therefore considered an Armigerous clan. The surname Cheyne is also recognized as a sept of the Clan Sutherland, and is accepted as such by the Clan Sutherland Society in Scotland.