Brodie Castle is a well-preserved

Z plan castle Z-plan is a form of castle design common in England and Scotland. The Z-plan castle has a strong central rectangular tower with smaller towers attached at diagonally opposite corners. Prominent examples of the Z-plan include Brodie Castle in Mo ...

located about west of

Forres Forres (; gd, Farrais) is a town and former royal burgh in the north of Scotland on the Moray coast, approximately northeast of Inverness and west of Elgin. Forres has been a winner of the Scotland in Bloom award on several occasions. There a ...

, in Moray,

Scotland Scotland (, ) is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. Covering the northern third of the island of Great Britain, mainland Scotland has a Anglo-Scottish border, border with England to the southeast ...

. The castle is a Category A

listed building In the United Kingdom, a listed building or listed structure is one that has been placed on one of the four statutory lists maintained by Historic England in England, Historic Environment Scotland in Scotland, in Wales, and the Northern Irel ...

and the grounds are included in the

Inventory of Gardens and Designed Landscapes in Scotland The ''Inventory of Gardens and Designed Landscapes in Scotland'' is a listing of gardens and designed landscapes of national artistic and/or historical significance, in Scotland. The Inventory was originally compiled in 1987, although it is a cont ...

The Brodie family

The original Z-plan castle was built in 1567 by

Clan Brodie Clan Brodie is a Scottish clan whose origins are uncertain. The first known Brodie chiefs were the Thanes of Brodie and Dyke in Morayshire. The Brodies were present in several clan conflicts, and during the civil war were ardent covenanters ...

but was destroyed by fire in 1645 by Lewis Gordon of

Clan Gordon 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 ...

, the 3rd Marquis of Huntly. In 1824, architect

William Burn William Burn (20 December 1789 – 15 February 1870) was a Scottish architect. He received major commissions from the age of 20 until his death at 81. He built in many styles and was a pioneer of the Scottish Baronial Revival,often referred ...

was commissioned to convert it into a mansion house in the

Scots Baronial 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 Scot ...

style, but these additions were never completed and were later remodelled by James Wylson (). The Brodie family called the castle home until the early 21st century. It is widely accepted that the Brodies have been associated with the land on which the castle is built since around 1160, when it is believed that King Malcolm IV gave the land to the family. Ninian Brodie of Brodie (The Brodie of Brodie), the castle's last resident member of the family, died in 2003. The former family wing is being prepared for holiday letting.

The castle today

Architecturally, the castle has a very well-preserved 16th-century central keep with two 5-storey towers on opposing corners. The interior of the castle is also well preserved, containing fine antique furniture, oriental artefacts and painted ceilings, largely dating from the 17th–19th centuries. Today the castle and surrounding policies, including a national daffodil collection, are owned by the

National Trust for Scotland The National Trust for Scotland for Places of Historic Interest or Natural Beauty, commonly known as the National Trust for Scotland ( gd, Urras Nàiseanta na h-Alba), is a Scottish conservation organisation. It is the largest membership organi ...

and are open to the public to visit throughout the year. The castle may be hired for weddings and indoor or outdoor events. An ancient

Pictish Pictish is the extinct Brittonic language spoken by the Picts, the people of eastern and northern Scotland from Late Antiquity to the Early Middle Ages. Virtually no direct attestations of Pictish remain, short of a limited number of geographica ...

monument known as Rodney's Stone can be seen in the castle grounds.

References

External links

*{{official website, https://www.nts.org.uk/visit/places/brodie-castle
3D model from NTS Archaeology
Castles in Moray National Trust for Scotland properties Category A listed buildings in Moray Listed castles in Scotland Inventory of Gardens and Designed Landscapes Decorative arts museums in Scotland Historic house museums in Moray Listed museum buildings in Scotland

The Brodie family

The castle today

See also

References

External links