Duffus Castle, near
Elgin,
Moray
Moray () gd, Moireibh or ') is one of the 32 local government council areas of Scotland. It lies in the north-east of the country, with a coastline on the Moray Firth, and borders the council areas of Aberdeenshire and Highland.
Between 1975 ...
,
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 ...
, was a
motte-and-bailey castle
A motte-and-bailey castle is a European fortification with a wooden or stone keep situated on a raised area of ground called a motte, accompanied by a walled courtyard, or bailey, surrounded by a protective ditch and palisade. Relatively easy to ...
and was in use from c. 1140 to 1705. During its occupation it underwent many alterations. The most fundamental was the destruction of the original wooden structure and its replacement with one of stone. At the time of its establishment, it was one of the most secure fortifications in
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 ...
. At the death of the 2nd Lord Duffus in 1705, the castle had become totally unsuitable as a dwelling and so was abandoned.
The wooden castle
Oengus, Mormaer of Moray, led a rebellion against
David I, King of Scots in 1130. After Oengus' defeat and death in battle, David installed Freskin, a nobleman probably of Flemish origin, as his chief agent in Moray, and he was probably the first to build a castle at Duffus.
Freskin’s background is uncertain. The consensus amongst historians is that he was of Flemish background, the principal argument being that "Freskin" is a Flemish name. Undoubtedly, King David, himself a
Normanised magnate with extensive estates in northern England and Normandy, granted lands to many nobles from
Flanders
Flanders (, ; Dutch: ''Vlaanderen'' ) is the Flemish-speaking northern portion of Belgium and one of the communities, regions and language areas of Belgium. However, there are several overlapping definitions, including ones related to culture, ...
as well as Normans. The unlikely alternatives are that he may have been an Anglo-Saxon or a
Scot
The Scots ( sco, Scots Fowk; gd, Albannaich) are an ethnic group and nation native to Scotland. Historically, they emerged in the early Middle Ages from an amalgamation of two Celtic-speaking peoples, the Picts and Gaels, who founded t ...
who fought for King David and his English general Edward Siwardsson in Moray. At that time, when Flemish nobles were referred to in writs by nationality (almost never), they were styled "''Flandrensis''". Freskin appears in no contemporary sources, and was never referred to by his national origin. Regardless of his origin, by the 13th century his descendants were referring to themselves as 'de Moravia' ('of Moray') and had become one of the more powerful families in northern Scotland.
[Balfour Paul, J 1906 & 1911 ''The Scots Peerage. Edinburgh'']
It was Freskin who built the great earthwork and timber motte-and-bailey castle in c. 1140 on boggy ground in the
Laich of Moray. It was certainly in existence by the time the king came to visit in 1151.
The motte was a man-made mound with steeply sloping sides and a wide and deep ditch that surrounded the base. Timber buildings would have stood on its flat top and would have been further protected by a wooden palisade placed around the edge of the summit. The motte was accessed from the bailey. This is a wide stretch of earth elevated above the surrounding area but not as high as the motte. At Duffus, the motte would have been reached by steps set into the mound. The bailey contained the buildings necessary to sustain its inhabitants – brew and bake houses, workshops and stables – as well as the living accommodation.
The castle may have been destroyed in 1297
during a rebellion against English rule in the region, and it might have suffered further during
Robert the Bruce
Robert I (11 July 1274 – 7 June 1329), popularly known as Robert the Bruce (Scottish Gaelic: ''Raibeart an Bruis''), was King of Scots from 1306 to his death in 1329. One of the most renowned warriors of his generation, Robert eventual ...
's campaign in Moray in 1306.
The stone castle
In 1270, the castle passed into the ownership of Sir
Reginald le Chen (d.1312) by marriage to the heiress Mary de Moravia, a descendant of Freskin. With the death of
Reginald le Chen of Duffus in 1345, Duffus passed to his daughter Mariot who was married to
Nicholas
Nicholas is a male given name and a surname.
The Eastern Orthodox Church, the Roman Catholic Church, and the Anglicanism, Anglican Churches celebrate Saint Nicholas every year on December 6, which is the name day for "Nicholas". In Greece, the n ...
, the second son of
Kenneth de Moravia, 4th Earl of Sutherland
Kenneth de Moravia (also known as Kenneth Sutherland) (died 19 July 1333) was the 4th Earl of Sutherland and chief of the Clan Sutherland, a Scottish clan of the Scottish Highlands.
Early life
Kenneth de Moravia, 4th Earl of Sutherland was the ...
. The Sutherlands themselves were descended from Freskin and the castle remained in their possession until 1705
when it was abandoned.
In 1305, it was recorded that Reginald le Chen received a grant from King Edward I of England of 200 oaks from the royal forests of Longmorn and Darnaway "to build his manor of Dufhous", demonstrating that a large construction project was being carried out. The wood could have been needed for scaffolding, flooring and roofing of a new stone fortress. Alternatively, the stone structure, which dates from the early 14th century,
could have been built by the younger Reginald.
A two-storey rectangular tower was built on the motte and was the main residence. The first floor held the lord's hall, with a latrine and bed chambers. The ground floor was the main storage space and also accommodated the lord's household. The tower was built as a defensive structure with a small number of narrow windows. There was only one entrance on the ground floor, which also housed a portcullis. On the second floor, two doors exited onto the walkway of the curtain wall. This wall enclosed the bailey. The
putlog hole
Putlog holes or putlock holes are small holes made in the walls of structures to receive the ends of poles (small round logs) or beams, called putlogs or putlocks, to support a scaffolding. Putlog holes may extend through a wall to provide staging ...
s built into the curtain wall indicate the presence of a number of buildings. On the north side, a later building was erected that housed a kitchen, a great hall with a reception room and the great chamber bedroom. It is possible that this building was constructed by the Sutherlands. It is not known when the serious subsidence took place but there is evidence of repairs to the tower before it slid down the motte. The tower shows no further repairs and may have collapsed early on, but the newer hall became the main residence. This building shows continued alterations over time. In 1689,
John Graham, 1st Viscount of Dundee
John Graham, 7th of Claverhouse, 1st Viscount Dundee (21 July 1648 – 27 July 1689) was a Scottish soldier and nobleman, a Tory and an Episcopalian. He was responsible for policing southwest Scotland during and after the religious unrest and r ...
was a guest of Lord Duffus just before the
Battle of Killiecrankie
The Battle of Killiecrankie ( gd, Blàr Choille Chnagaidh), also referred to as the Battle of Rinrory, took place on 27 July 1689 during the 1689 Scottish Jacobite rising. An outnumbered Jacobite force under John Graham, Viscount Dundee and S ...
, and would be one of the last important visitors before the castle's abandonment.
[Shaw, L & Gordon, J 1882 ''The History of the Province of Moray, vol 2. Edinburgh'']
Notes
External links
*{{Historic Environment Scotland, num=SM90105, desc=Duffus Castle
www.duffus.com Duffus Castle Virtual Tour
Castles in Moray
Clan Sutherland
Scheduled Ancient Monuments in Moray
Motte-and-bailey castles
Clan Cheyne
Clan Murray
De Moravia family