Asloun Castle is a castle, formerly Z-plan, dating from the 16th century, south-west of Alford, in

Aberdeenshire Aberdeenshire ( sco, Aiberdeenshire; gd, Siorrachd Obar Dheathain) is one of the 32 Subdivisions of Scotland#council areas of Scotland, council areas of Scotland. It takes its name from the County of Aberdeen which has substantially differe ...

Scotland Scotland (, ) is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Covering the northern third of the island of Great Britain, mainland Scotland has a border with England to the southeast and is otherwise surrounded by the Atlantic Ocean to the ...

, of which only one tower remains. It is just east of Castleton of Asloun, and north of the Strow burn.Coventry Martin (1997) ''The Castles of Scotland''. Goblinshead. p58 Alternatively it may be known as Asloon Castle. It is designated a protected

scheduled monument In the United Kingdom, a scheduled monument is a nationally important archaeological site or historic building, given protection against unauthorised change. The various pieces of legislation that legally protect heritage assets from damage and d ...

History

The castle was built by the

Calder family Calder is a Scottish name and may refer to: People *Calder (surname) *Calder baronets, two baronetcies created for people with the surname Calder *Alexander Calder (1898-1976), the American sculptor known for his mobiles, son of Alexander Stirlin ...

, but later came into the possession of the Forbes family. On the night before the battle of Alford in 1645, the Marquess of Montrose stayed at the castle.

Structure

The tower, which is three storeys high, has an entrance on the south, the principal entrance to the castle. This was the south-east tower of the castle, and it contained a turnpike stair to the first floor. The ground floor of the hall was stone-vaulted. There are round gun loops in the basement of the tower, while there are quirked roll mouldings on openings on upper levels. There appears to have been private accommodation in the upper floor of the tower, access being only from the main castle. This was lit by a large window. There are two recesses for armorial, both now empty, one over the entrance, and the other above a first-floor level slit window.

References

{{Authority control Castles in Aberdeenshire Scheduled Ancient Monuments in Aberdeenshire Ruins in Aberdeenshire