Pittulie Castle is an oblong

tower house A tower house is a particular type of stone structure, built for defensive purposes as well as habitation. Tower houses began to appear in the Middle Ages, especially in mountainous or limited access areas, in order to command and defend strateg ...

probably dating from 1596,Lindsay, Maurice (1986) ''The Castles of Scotland''. Constable. p.398 half a mile from

Pitsligo Castle Pitsligo Castle is a ruined castle half a mile east of Rosehearty, Aberdeenshire, Scotland. Modified in the 1570s by the Forbes of Druminnor, it was described by W. Douglas Simpson as one of the nine castles of the Knuckle, referring to the rock ...

Rosehearty Rosehearty ( gd, Ros Abhartaich) is a settlement on the Moray Firth coast, four miles west of the town Fraserburgh, in the historical county of Aberdeenshire in Scotland. The burgh has a population of approximately 1,300 with about 25 per cent 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 ...

. It is a

scheduled monument In the United Kingdom, a scheduled monument is a nationally important archaeological site or historic building, given protection against unauthorised change. The various pieces of legislation that legally protect heritage assets from damage and d ...

. Built by the

Frasers of Philorth The Frasers of Philorth are a Scottish lowland family, originally from the Anjou region of France. Castle Fraser, their family seat, is in Sauchen, Aberdeenshire, Scotland. Since the time of Alexander Fraser, 11th Lord Saltoun, the heads of the ...

, it was described by

W. Douglas Simpson William Douglas Simpson CBE (2 August 1896 – 9 October 1968) was a Scotland, Scottish academic and writer who focused on the study of medieval architecture and archaeology. Career Simpson was appointed Assistant in History at the Univers ...

as one of the

nine castles of the Knuckle The nine castles of the Knuckle are a group of ancient castles found in Aberdeenshire in the Buchan area of Scotland. The term was used by historian William Douglas Simpson, who described the promontory between the Moray Firth and the North Sea a ...

, referring to the rocky headland of north-east Aberdeenshire.

History

The present castle probably replaces a previous castle on the site. It is thought that the castle was built for the marriage of Alexander

Fraser Fraser may refer to: Places Antarctica * Fraser Point, South Orkney Islands Australia * Fraser, Australian Capital Territory, a suburb in the Canberra district of Belconnen * Division of Fraser (Australian Capital Territory), a former federal ele ...

and Margaret Abernethy of

Saltoun East Saltoun and West Saltoun are separate villages in East Lothian, Scotland, about 5 miles (8 kilometres) south-west of Haddington and 20 miles (32 kilometres) east of Edinburgh. Geography The villages of East Saltoun and West Saltoun, toge ...

in 1596. This marriage led to the Frasers inheriting the Saltoun peerage. The Cumines acquired and enlarged the property. It was purchased by

Sir William Forbes, 6th Baronet Sir William Forbes, 6th Baronet of Monymusk and Pitsligo, usually known as William Forbes of Pitsligo (1739–1806), was a Scottish banker. He was known also as an improving landlord, philanthropist, and writer. Life and career He was born i ...

, towards the end of the 18th century, but subsequently abandoned.

Structure

The castle comprises an oblong block, which has a square tower at the corner to the north-east. There are angle turrets, where are notably low, on the gables to the south-east and south-west. The main tower has two storeys and an attic. It is decorated with

armorial A roll of arms (or armorial) is a collection of coats of arms, usually consisting of rows of painted pictures of shields, each shield accompanied by the name of the person bearing the arms. The oldest extant armorials date to the mid-13th centur ...

panels, a

pediment 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 pedimen ...

above the main door and two "beautifully constructed"

oriel window An oriel window is a form of bay window which protrudes from the main wall of a building but does not reach to the ground. Supported by corbels, bracket (architecture), brackets, or similar cantilevers, an oriel window is most commonly found pro ...

s. The main stair only reaches the first floor. From the hall a turreted stair on the north front rises higher. A turreted stair,

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 out from the second floor, leads to the upper floors. Originally the entrance was by the north front.

References

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External links

Pittulie Castle Virtual Tour
Castles in Aberdeenshire 1596 establishments in Scotland Scheduled Ancient Monuments in Aberdeenshire

History

Structure

See also

References

External links