Fordyce Castle is a T-plan castle, its oldest part dating from 1592, about three miles south-west of

Portsoy Portsoy ( gd, Port Saoidh) is a town in Aberdeenshire, Scotland. Historically, Portsoy was in Banffshire. The original name may come from ''Port Saoithe'', meaning "saithe harbour". Portsoy is located on the Moray Firth coast of northeast Scotlan ...

, in the village of

Fordyce, Aberdeenshire Fordyce is a village in Aberdeenshire, Scotland that is slightly inland from the point where the Burn of Fordyce meets the sea between Cullen and Portsoy. It has existed since at least the 13th century. In 1990, Charles McKean wrote that Fordyce ...

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. p 249,

History

The castle was built by Thomas

Menzies Menzies is a Scottish surname, with Gaelic forms being Méinnearach and Méinn, and other variant forms being Menigees, Mennes, Mengzes, Menzeys, Mengies, and Minges. Derivation and history The name and its Gaelic form are probably derived f ...

of Durn and Cults, a former Provost 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 ...

, as an

L-plan 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 location ...

tower house. In 1700 it was extended to the present T-plan. The north wing was used as a parish school between 1716 and 1789. After years of neglect, the tower has now been restored. The house has been altered internally. Thomas Menzies was knighted by

James VI and I 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 ...

in 1620. He gave

a valuable pearl found in the Kellie burn, a tributary of the River Ythan, and the pearl was said to have been set in the crown.

Structure

The main part is an

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 ...

; the 1700 addition was the west wing, at the north gable, which has two storeys and an attic. The original house has three storeys and a circular stair tower. This tower is corbelled out heavily in the re-entrant angle from the second floor. It is topped with an oversail from the roof of the south wing. There are angle turrets with conical caps on the top storey. Variations of cable moulding in diminishing courses terminating as foliated stop decorate the corbelling. At the foot of the circular wing, in the re-entrant angle, is the entrance. There is a

vaulted In architecture, a vault (French ''voûte'', from Italian ''volta'') is a self-supporting arched form, usually of stone or brick, serving to cover a space with a ceiling or roof. As in building an arch, a temporary support is needed while ring ...

basement. The stair in the main wing rises only to the first floor, ascent to the upper levels is by the south wing stair. Another entrance, in the main front, and flanked by slit vents, gives access to the basement. There are four different types of shot holes, providing a wide range of fire angles. In the front elevation, there is an enlarged first-floor window under relieving arch which lights the first floor hall. A similar window in the south gable has been blocked. There is a second-floor window in the front elevation, while other windows are very small and are randomly sited. The monogram of Thomas Menzies of Durn is carved on the south-west turret. The 1700 addition has three entrances, the main one being on the first floor, approached by an external forestair. The roof is of Banffshire slate. It is a category A

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 ...

References

{{coord , 57.6609, N, 2.7474, W, display=title Castles in Aberdeenshire Category A listed buildings in Aberdeenshire Listed castles in Scotland Lowland castles Tower houses in Scotland Banff and Buchan