Kinnaird Castle is a 15th-century castle near

Brechin Brechin (; gd, Breichin) is a city and former Royal burgh in Angus, Scotland. Traditionally Brechin was described as a city because of its cathedral and its status as the seat of a pre-Reformation Roman Catholic diocese (which continues today ...

Angus, Scotland Angus ( sco, Angus; gd, Aonghas) is one of the 32 local government council areas of Scotland, a registration county and a lieutenancy area. The council area borders Aberdeenshire, Dundee City and Perth and Kinross. Main industries include agr ...

. The castle has been home to the Carnegie family, the Earls of Southesk, for more than 600 years. It is a Category B

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

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 conti ...

History

14th century

Charters show a mansion had existed on the property.

15th century

A castle was listed onsite in 1409, when the estate was granted to the

Clan Carnegie Clan Carnegie is a Lowland Scottish clan. History Origins of the clan Walter de Maule made a grant of the lands and barony of Carnegie, in the parish of Carmyllie, Angus, Scotland, Angus to John de Balinhard in 1358. However, there is no certa ...

. After the

Battle of Brechin The Battle of Brechin was fought on 18 May 1452 during the reign of James II of Scotland, about two and a half miles north north east of Brechin. It has been regarded as part of the civil war during his reign between the king and an alliance of p ...

on 18 May 1452, the castle was burnt by

Alexander Lindsay, 4th Earl of Crawford Alexander Lindsay, 4th Earl of Crawford (1423–1453) was a late medieval Scottish nobleman, and a magnate of the north-east of that country. Life Alexander Lindsay was the son of David Lindsay, 3rd Earl of Crawford and Marjory Ogilvie, the daug ...

as Clan Carnegie had supported

King James II of Scotland James II (16 October 1430 – 3 August 1460) was King of Scots from 1437 until his death in 1460. The eldest surviving son of James I of Scotland, he succeeded to the Scottish throne at the age of six, following the assassination of his father. ...

17th century

In 1617,

King James VI James VI and I (James Charles Stuart; 19 June 1566 – 27 March 1625) was King of Scotland as James VI from 24 July 1567 and King of England and Ireland as James I from the union of the Scottish and English crowns on 24 March 1603 until ...

stayed at Kinnaird. Kings

Charles I Charles I may refer to: Kings and emperors * Charlemagne (742–814), numbered Charles I in the lists of Holy Roman Emperors and French kings * Charles I of Anjou (1226–1285), also king of Albania, Jerusalem, Naples and Sicily * Charles I of ...

and Charles II also visited the castle.

James Graham, 1st Marquess of Montrose James Graham, 1st Marquess of Montrose (1612 – 21 May 1650) was a Scottish nobleman, poet and soldier, Lord Lieutenant, lord lieutenant and later viceroy and captain general of Scotland. Montrose initially joined the Covenanters in the Wa ...

spent 3 years at Kinnaird from 1629.

18th century

Kinnaird Castle - George Washington Wilson - ABDMS050829

During the winter of 1715,

James Francis Edward Stuart James Francis Edward Stuart (10 June 16881 January 1766), nicknamed the Old Pretender by Whigs, was the son of King James II and VII of England, Scotland and Ireland, and his second wife, Mary of Modena. He was Prince of Wales from ...

(The Old Pretender) spent some time at the castle. As punishment for supporting the

Jacobite rising of 1715 The Jacobite rising of 1715 ( gd, Bliadhna Sheumais ; or 'the Fifteen') was the attempt by James Edward Stuart (the Old Pretender) to regain the thrones of England, Ireland and Scotland for the exiled Stuarts The House of Stuart, ori ...

, the estate was confiscated. The castle was transformed by the architect, James Playfair in 1791 into a large house.

19th century

The castle returned to Clan Carnegie ownership in 1855 and was remodeled in Victorian baronial style.

20th century

The castle burnt to the ground in 1921 and was rebuilt. Kinnaird Castle 2

Citations

Castles in Angus, Scotland Category B listed buildings in Angus, Scotland Listed castles in Scotland Inventory of Gardens and Designed Landscapes {{Scotland-struct-stub