Kindrochit []
History[]
| Kindrochit | |
|---|---|
| Location Information | |
| Name | Kindrochit |
| Owner | Ruins |
| NGR | NO 15122 91338 |
| Lon. & Lat. | 57.005273,-3.399171 |
| Council | Aberdeenshire |
| Parish | Crathie and Braemar |
| Nearby Castles | Balmoral, Abergeldie |
| Year built | 14th C. |
| Overview map | |
Kindrochit Castle (/kɪnˈdroʊxɪt/) 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 palace, or hunting seat, of Robert II which he used annually from 1371 to 1388, occupied a very strong position between the Water of Clunie and an ancient mill-lade. The remains consisted of an oblong hall, 100 feet long and 30 feet wide, with unvaulted cellars below and quadrangular towers at the corners.
On 10th November 1390 a license was granted by King Robert to Malcolm Drummond to build a new tower. Excavations in 1925 showed this to be an oblong tower-house, 64 feet long and 43 feet broad, with walls 10 feet thick. Evidence was found of the ancient bridge across the Clunie which gave the castle its name.
John, Earl of Mar showed the ruined castle at Kindrochit to John Taylor when the poet made his Pennyles Pilgrimage to Scotland in 1618. Taylor, who rode with the Earl from Braemar Castle, was told that Malcolm Canmore had built the castle in the 11th century. He thought it remarkable because he did not see another house in the next 12 days of their ride.
C. Michael Hogan has suggested that Kindrochit Castle, as well as Kildrummy and Durris Castles, were likely sited based upon strategic positions relative to the ancient Elsick Mounth trackway, which provided a strategic crossing of the Mounth of the Grampian Mountains.
As a royal castle, it was let by the king to other nobles. In the late 1400's it was given into the care of George Gordon 2nd Earl of Huntly.