Farnell 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 ...

dating from the late 16th century four miles south of

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.Lindsay, Maurice (1986) ''The Castles of Scotland''. Constable. p.241

History

The present castle replaces a previous castle on the site, in existence in 1296. King

Edward I of England Edward I (17/18 June 1239 – 7 July 1307), also known as Edward Longshanks and the Hammer of the Scots, was King of England and Lord of Ireland from 1272 to 1307. Concurrently, he ruled the duchies of Aquitaine and Gascony as a vas ...

stayed one night in 1296 at the castle during his invasion of Scotland, before travelling to

Brechin Castle Brechin Castle is a castle in Brechin, Angus, Scotland. The castle was constructed in stone during the 13th century. Most of the current building dates to the early 18th century, when extensive reconstruction was carried out by architect Alexan ...

.Prestwich, Michael (1997). ''Edward I''. New Haven, US: Yale University Press. {{ISBN, 0-300-07209-0 The castle originated as the Bishop's palace of the Bishop of Brechin. Bishop Meldrum called it ‘Palatium Nostrum’ in 1512. It was disposed of in about 1566, supposedly by

Donald Campbell Donald is a masculine given name derived from the Gaelic name ''Dòmhnall''.. This comes from the Proto-Celtic *''Dumno-ualos'' ("world-ruler" or "world-wielder"). The final -''d'' in ''Donald'' is partly derived from a misinterpretation of the ...

. It was turned into a secular castle by Catherine, Countess of Crawford. Subsequently, the

Earl of Southesk Earl () is a rank of the nobility in the United Kingdom. The title originates in the Old English word ''eorl'', meaning "a man of noble birth or rank". The word is cognate with the Scandinavian form ''jarl'', and meant "chieftain", particular ...

purchased the castle. It was an alms house in the 19th century.

Structure

The castle is a three-storey structure, built from rubble and slate. The east section, which was the bishop's residence, has

crow-stepped gable A stepped gable, crow-stepped gable, or corbie step is a stairstep type of design at the top of the triangular gable-end of a building. The top of the parapet wall projects above the roofline and the top of the brick or stone wall is stacked in ...

s. On the north are a projecting

garderobe Garderobe is a historic term for a room in a medieval castle. The ''Oxford English Dictionary'' gives as its first meaning a store-room for valuables, but also acknowledges "by extension, a private room, a bed-chamber; also a privy". The word der ...

, with sanitary flues. On the east gable, at the level of the floors, there is a double row of corbels, and corbels which appear to have been for the purpose of supporting a roofed gallery. On the northern skewpots are small carved shields. One has the initial M, and a crown above; the other I.M., thought to stand for ‘Jesu Maria’ There is a circular stair tower in front. It is a category A listed building. There is ruined rectangular lean-to dovecot with rubble walls supported by later buttressing in the castle grounds.

References

Castles in Angus, Scotland Category A listed buildings in Angus, Scotland Listed castles in Scotland Episcopal palaces in Scotland Lowland castles