Terpersie Castle (originally built as Dalpersie House) is a 16th-century

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 ...

Tullynessle Tullynessle is a hamlet in Aberdeenshire, Scotland, three miles NNW of Alford. The settlement contains the Category A listed Terpersie Castle, a privately owned 16th-century tower house. It formerly contained Tullynessle Tower, now gone, which ...

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, located north-west of Alford. It is protected as a category A listed building.

History

The small Z-plan manor tower house was constructed in 1561 by the Gordon family. On May 16, 1645, a Sunday, Major Baillie on campaign against Montrose, burnt the house and plundered and destroyed the surrounding area before the arrival of Lord Balcarres. Charles Gordon of Terpersie was an officer in Gordon of Glenbuchat's Regiment.No Quarter Given, The Muster Roll of Prince Charles Edward Stuart's Army 1745-45 by Livingstone, Aikman and Hart (2001) He was said to have been captured following the '45 Rising hiding in a recess in the upper part of the castle's roof. Gordon was executed at Carlisle on 15 November 1746 aged around 60 years. In 1665 it was restored after burning down. After 1885 it was abandoned, and stood in ruins during most of the 20th century. In the 1980s the castle was restored as a residence by architects William Cowie Partnership.

Characteristics

Terpersie is one of the earliest known Z-plan manor-houses, defined as a rectangular main block with towers at opposite corners. The main block of Terpersie measures around , with two round towers of in diameter.

References

External links

* {{Coord, 57.2702, N, 2.7524, W, region:GB_type:landmark, display=title Houses completed in 1561 Castles in Aberdeenshire Category A listed buildings in Aberdeenshire Listed castles in Scotland 1561 establishments in Scotland Fortified houses