Fetteresso Castle
Encyclopedia
Tower house
A tower house is a particular type of stone structure, built for defensive purposes as well as habitation.-History:Tower houses began to appear in the Middle Ages, especially in mountain or limited access areas, in order to command and defend strategic points with reduced forces...
, rebuilt in 1761 as a Scottish gothic style Palladian manor, with clear evidence of prehistoric use of the site. It is situated immediately west of the town of Stonehaven
Stonehaven
Stonehaven is a town in Aberdeenshire, Scotland. It lies on Scotland's northeast coast and had a population of 9,577 in 2001 census.Stonehaven, county town of Kincardineshire, grew around an Iron Age fishing village, now the "Auld Toon" , and expanded inland from the seaside...
in Kincardineshire
Kincardineshire
The County of Kincardine, also known as Kincardineshire or The Mearns was a local government county on the coast of northeast Scotland...
slightly to the west of the A90 dual carriageway. Other notable historic fortified houses or castles in this region are Dunnottar Castle
Dunnottar Castle
Dunnottar Castle is a ruined medieval fortress located upon a rocky headland on the north-east coast of Scotland, about two miles south of Stonehaven. The surviving buildings are largely of the 15th–16th centuries, but the site is believed to have been an early fortress of the Dark Ages...
, Muchalls Castle
Muchalls Castle
Muchalls Castle stands overlooking the North Sea in the countryside of Kincardine and Mearns, Aberdeenshire, Scotland. The lower course is a well preserved double groined 13th century towerhouse structure, built by the Frasers of Muchalls. Upon this structure, the 17th century castle was begun by...
, Fiddes Castle
Fiddes Castle
Fiddes Castle is a 16th century historical national monument in Aberdeenshire, Scotland. Other castles in this region of Kincardine and Mearns are Dunnottar Castle, Fetteresso Castle, Muchalls Castle and the ruined Cowie Castle. Prehistoric features in the vicinity include Bruxie Hill...
, Cowie Castle
Cowie Castle
Cowie Castle is a ruined fortress in Aberdeenshire, Scotland. The site lies at the northern end of Stonehaven near the North Sea coast. To the immediate south is the Cowie Bridge crossing of the Cowie Water. Evidence of prehistoric man exists in the vicinity dating to the Iron Age in the form of...
and Monboddo House
Monboddo House
Monboddo House is a historically famous mansion in The Mearns, Scotland. The structure was generally associated with the Burnett of Leys family. The property itself was owned by the Barclay family from the 13th century, at which time a tower house structure was erected...
.
Prehistory
From cropmarks in the policies of Fetteresso Castle, there is evidence of a ring-ditch sited at the north end of a cursusCursus
thumb|right|250px|[[Stonehenge Cursus]], Wiltshirethumb|right|250px|[[Dorset Cursus]] terminal on Thickthorn Down, DorsetCursus was a name given by early British archaeologists such as William Stukeley to the large parallel lengths of banks with external ditches which they thought were early Roman...
. A cursus is a prehistoric set of parallel linear structures of unknown purpose that were, somewhat fancifully, considered by antiquarians as used for some type of athletic competition, possibly related to hunting or archery; this is unsubstantiated. In 1822 a cairn
Cairn
Cairn is a term used mainly in the English-speaking world for a man-made pile of stones. It comes from the or . Cairns are found all over the world in uplands, on moorland, on mountaintops, near waterways and on sea cliffs, and also in barren desert and tundra areas...
was discovered near Fetteresso Castle with some human remains inside. The burial site was clearly a Bronze Age construct by the size and shape of the chamber made of unhewn whinstone
Whinstone
Whinstone is a term used in the quarrying industry to describe any hard dark-coloured rock. Examples include the igneous rocks basalt and dolerite as well as the sedimentary rock chert....
. Some legends tell that this is the grave of Malcolm I, who is recorded to have been slain at Fetteresso in 954 AD. The burial hillock has become known as Malcolm's Mount, even though it is not likely from current archaeological analysis that the crypt could be so recent. In 1998 a burial urn
Urn
An urn is a vase, ordinarily covered, that usually has a narrowed neck above a footed pedestal. "Knife urns" placed on pedestals flanking a dining-room sideboard were an English innovation for high-style dining rooms of the late 1760s...
from the beaker people was found at Fetteresso Castle. The Roman Camp of Raedykes
Raedykes
Raedykes is the site of a Roman marching camp located just over 3 miles NW of Stonehaven, Aberdeenshire, Scotland. National Grid Reference NO 842902...
is located several miles northwest, where a full legion encamped and many archeological recoveries have been made. This location is one of a string of marching camps that connected Angus
Angus
Angus is one of the 32 local government council areas of Scotland, a registration county and a lieutenancy area. The council area borders Aberdeenshire, Perth and Kinross and Dundee City...
to Moray
Moray
Moray is one of the 32 council areas of Scotland. It lies in the north-east of the country, with coastline on the Moray Firth, and borders the council areas of Aberdeenshire and Highland.- History :...
.
Middle Ages
The property is recorded to have been owned by the Strachans, but passed by marriage in the 14th century to the Clan KeithClan Keith
Clan Keith is a Scottish clan associated with Aberdeenshire and Caithness.-Origins:It is said that a Scottish warrior slew the Danish General Camus at the legendary Battle of Barrie in 1010. For this, King Máel Coluim II of Scotland dipped three fingers into the blood of the slain and drew them...
Earls of Marischal
Earl Marischal
The title of Earl Marischal was created in the peerage of Scotland for William Keith, the Great Marischal of Scotland.The office of "Marischal of Scotland" had been held heritably by the senior member of the Keith family since Hervey de Keith, who held the office of Marischal under Malcolm IV and...
, who built the towerhouse. The Earls of Mariscal also held the nearby fortress, Dunnottar Castle
Dunnottar Castle
Dunnottar Castle is a ruined medieval fortress located upon a rocky headland on the north-east coast of Scotland, about two miles south of Stonehaven. The surviving buildings are largely of the 15th–16th centuries, but the site is believed to have been an early fortress of the Dark Ages...
.
Seventeenth and Eighteenth Centuries
In this era the characteristic Scottish designs of crow-stepped gableGable
A gable is the generally triangular portion of a wall between the edges of a sloping roof. The shape of the gable and how it is detailed depends on the structural system being used and aesthetic concerns. Thus the type of roof enclosing the volume dictates the shape of the gable...
s were introduced, and the battlement crenellation elements were introduced. A dovecote
Dovecote
A dovecote or dovecot is a structure intended to house pigeons or doves. Dovecotes may be square or circular free-standing structures or built into the end of a house or barn. They generally contain pigeonholes for the birds to nest. Pigeons and doves were an important food source historically in...
of considerable height was constructed in the seventeenth century to the south of the castle itself. In the year 1659 a woman named Jean Hunter lived at Fetteresso. From her behaviours she was accused of witchcraft and hanged at her home. An artist and wright named Alexander Charles worked at Fetteresso as an overseer. Charles flourished in the period 1671-1678 and published his drawings in at least one book. Late in the 17th century the Duff family controlled Fetteresso and expanded the building around the old towerhouse.
Twentieth century
In the 1940s the castle was owned by Maurice and Geraldine Simpson (née Pringle). Mrs. Simpson was the heir to the Pringle KnitwarePringle of Scotland
Pringle of Scotland is a luxury knitwear manufacturer and importer. The brand is worn by the likes of Madonna, DB7 , Nicole Kidman, Sophie Dahl, Claudia Schiffer, the television character Alan Partridge and British bands such as The Kooks, Dirty Pretty Things and The Twang...
fortune. Subsequently the Simpsons acquired and lived in nearby Muchalls Castle
Muchalls Castle
Muchalls Castle stands overlooking the North Sea in the countryside of Kincardine and Mearns, Aberdeenshire, Scotland. The lower course is a well preserved double groined 13th century towerhouse structure, built by the Frasers of Muchalls. Upon this structure, the 17th century castle was begun by...
. After the Simpsons' tenure at Fetteresso, the roof was off the castle for some period starting around 1954 then the castle bought by a local land owner and then left to the Don family in his will. In the latter part of the 20th century the castle was restored with great interior modification to yield seven houses, which is its present use. As of 2006 Mrs. Simpson still resides in the local area.
See also
- Allardice CastleAllardice CastleAllardice Castle is a sixteenth century manor house in Kincardineshire, Scotland. This monument is resided in by the Cowie family and is situated approximately 1.5 kilometres northwest of the town of Inverbervie...
- Kirkton of FetteressoKirkton of FetteressoThe Kirkton of Fetteresso is a well preserved village near Stonehaven, Scotland. In the planning area of Kincardine and Mearns, Aberdeenshire, this village contains many very old stone residential structures as well as the Church of St. Ciarans and its associated graveyard...
- Red CloakRed CloakRed Cloak is an industrial area of Stonehaven, Aberdeenshire, Scotland. The site's settlement history is associated with events at the nearby Chapel of St. Mary and St. Nathalan. In current times Red Cloak is primarily an industrial dominated land use that includes Aberdeenshire Council recycling...
- Stonehaven TolboothStonehaven TolboothThe Stonehaven Tolbooth is a late 16th century stone building originally used as a courthouse and a prison in the town of Stonehaven, Aberdeenshire, Scotland...
- Ury HouseUry HouseThe current incarnation of Ury House is a ruined large mansion built in the Elizabethan style in 1885 by Alexander Baird. It is situated about a mile north of Stonehaven, a town in Aberdeenshire on the North-East coast of Scotland...