Brucklay Castle, also known as Brucklay House, is a 16th-century

castle A castle is a type of fortified structure built during the Middle Ages predominantly by the nobility or royalty and by military orders. Scholars debate the scope of the word ''castle'', but usually consider it to be the private fortified r ...

in the Buchan area of

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 ...

. The earliest part of the castle was erected by James Crawford of Brucklay in 1600–1625, possibly incorporating elements of a 16th-century building. It was granted by the

Clan Irvine Clan Irvine is a Scottish clan.Way, George and Squire, Romily. ''Collins Scottish Clan & Family Encyclopedia''. (Foreword by The Rt Hon. The Earl of Elgin KT, Convenor, The Standing Council of Scottish Chiefs). Published in 1994. Pages 174 – 1 ...

to Arthur Dingwall in 1742 when he married into their family. The building was extended in 1765, and again in 1814, by architect John Smith, A major reconstruction took place in 1849, designed by Thomas Mackenzie for Captain Alexander Dingwall-Fordyce. Further additions were made in 1881, probably by architect James Matthews, who was in partnership with Alexander Marshall Mackenzie, son of Thomas. During

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

, prisoners of war were housed in huts on the castle grounds. In 1952 the building was sold to the

housebreaker Burglary, also called breaking and entering and sometimes housebreaking, is the act of entering a building or other areas without permission, with the intention of committing a criminal offence. Usually that offence is theft, robbery or murder ...

, Charles Brand of Dundee Ltd. Its contents and some architectural features were sold off shortly afterwards, and the roof removed. By the 1990s it was a ruin and was placed on the

Buildings at Risk Register for Scotland The Buildings at Risk Register for Scotland records buildings of national architectural or historic interest which are considered to be under threat. The list is maintained by Historic Environment Scotland (HES). The register was established in 1 ...

. In 2010 planning consent was granted for partial demolition and restoration of the house, though by 2013 this had not been implemented. The house is a category C

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 ...

. Within the estate is the private burial ground of the Dingwall-Fordyce family, including an obelisk commemorating

William Dingwall Fordyce William Dingwall Fordyce (31 March 1836 – 27 November 1875) was a Scottish Liberal politician. He was elected MP in 1866 to represent Aberdeenshire and, following the reorganisation of constituencies by the Representation of the People (Scotland ...

, MP (1836-1875), who is also commemorated by the Culsh Monument at New Deer.

References

{{coord, 57.5414, -2.1504, type:landmark_region:GB, display=title Ruined castles in Aberdeenshire Category C listed buildings in Aberdeenshire