Lickleyhead Castle is a well-restored
L-plan castle
An L-plan castle is a castle or tower house in the shape of an L, typically built from the 13th to the 17th century. This design is found quite frequently in Scotland, but is also seen in England, Ireland, Romania, Sardinia, and other locations ...
, dating from around 1600, a little south of
Auchleven, by the banks of the Gadie Burn, in
Aberdeenshire,
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 ...
.
[Lindsay, Maurice (1986) ''The Castles of Scotland''. Constable. p333]
Alternative spellings are Licklihead and Licklyhead Castle.
History
The estate originally belonged to
Clan Leslie
Clan Leslie is a Lowland Scottish clan. The progenitor of the Clan, Bartolf'','' was a nobleman from Hungary, who came to Scotland in 1067. He built a castle at Lesselyn, from which the clan name derives.
Clan Chief, the Earl of Rothes
From 1 ...
, but William Leith, who had twice been
Provost of Aberdeen, acquired it from George Leslie in the 13th century. It remained in that family until, in 1625, Patrick Leith sold it to William Forbes of
Leslie, who is thought to have restored the main element of the building, perhaps with the help of John Bell of
Aberdeen
Aberdeen (; sco, Aiberdeen ; gd, Obar Dheathain ; la, Aberdonia) is a city in North East Scotland, and is the third most populous city in the country. Aberdeen is one of Scotland's 32 local government council areas (as Aberdeen City), and ...
.
While residing in the house, William Forbes, illegitimate son of John Forbes, accidentally shot off his hand. This was believed to be a judgment on him for the murder of Alexander Irvine, who was thought to be a supporter of the
Marquess of Montrose
A marquess (; french: marquis ), es, marqués, pt, marquês. is a nobleman of high hereditary rank in various European peerages and in those of some of their former colonies. The German language equivalent is Markgraf (margrave). A woman w ...
. After the
Restoration
Restoration is the act of restoring something to its original state and may refer to:
* Conservation and restoration of cultural heritage
** Audio restoration
** Film restoration
** Image restoration
** Textile restoration
* Restoration ecology
...
, he was executed for the crime.
The house was owned by the Hays for a period from the end of the 17th century.
[Coventry Martin (1997) ''The Castles of Scotland''. Goblinshead. p239]
Patrick Duff of
Craigston
Craigston is a heritage-listed apartment block at 217 Wickham Terrace, Spring Hill, City of Brisbane, Queensland, Australia. It was designed by Atkinson & Conrad and built in 1927. It was added to the Queensland Heritage Register on 21 Octob ...
purchased the castle in 1723. He and his son built a new wing to the castle and remodelled its interior. There were further additions during the 1820s by Henry Lumsden, after he acquired the property from the Ogilvy-Maitland family.
The castle was the seat of the lairds of Premney.
, the Governor of
Mexico City
Mexico City ( es, link=no, Ciudad de México, ; abbr.: CDMX; Nahuatl: ''Altepetl Mexico'') is the capital and largest city of Mexico, and the most populous city in North America. One of the world's alpha cities, it is located in the Valley o ...
, purchased the castle for his daughter Maria Luiz in 1922 when she married a Leslie.
Her great-granddaughter
Rose Leslie
Rose Eleanor Arbuthnot-Leslie (born 9 February 1987) is a Scottish actress who rose to fame as Gwen Dawson in the ITV drama series ''Downton Abbey'' and Ygritte in the HBO fantasy series ''Game of Thrones''. She starred as Maia Rindell for t ...
, the actress, lived at Lickleyhead Castle when young.
The castle was repossessed from her father in 2018 after a dispute about repayments for a loan.
The current owners are the Davies family, originally from the Wirral.
Structure
The main block of the castle lies east to west, with the wing providing cover over two faces by jutting out southward.
In the main block, there are
corbel
In architecture, a corbel is a structural piece of stone, wood or metal jutting from a wall to carry a superincumbent weight, a type of bracket. A corbel is a solid piece of material in the wall, whereas a console is a piece applied to the s ...
led two-storey turrets on the north front, the upper floors having oval windows.
A heavily corbelled semicircular stair turret, corbelled out to square,
rises in the west re-entrant; it provides access to a watch room in the wing. The castle has crow-stepped gables.
It is harled, and has a slated roof.
The tower rises to three storeys, with an attic and a garret.
While it has no gun loops, it has twelve shot holes.
There are decorated
pediments
Pediments are gables, usually of a triangular shape.
Pediments are placed above the horizontal structure of the lintel, or entablature, if supported by columns. Pediments can contain an overdoor and are usually topped by hood moulds.
A pedime ...
.
There is a vaulted basement, with a kitchen and cellar, lit by slit windows; this is accessed by the entrance in the main re-entrant angle to the south.
Narrowing turnpike stairs give access to the first floor; ascent afterwards is by the turret stair. There is an excellent hall.
It is a category A listed building.
References
{{Authority control
Castles in Aberdeenshire
Category A listed buildings in Aberdeenshire
Listed castles in Scotland