Fyvie Castle

Fyvie Castle is a castle in the village of Fyvie, near Turriff in Aberdeenshire, Scotland. The earliest parts of the castle date from the 13th century, and it later passed through the hands of several prominent families, including the Prestons, Setons and Gordons. Since 1984 it has been owned and managed by the National Trust for Scotland.

The earliest parts of Fyvie Castle date from the 13th century – some sources claim it was built in 1211 by William the Lion. Fyvie was the site of an open-air court held by Robert the Bruce, and Charles I lived there as a child for 4 years. Following the Battle of Otterburn in 1388, it ceased to function as a royal stronghold when it was granted to Henry Preston by Robert III. Instead, it fell into the possession of five successive families – Preston, Meldrum, Seton, Gordon and Forbes-Leith – each of whom added a new tower to the castle. The oldest of these, the Preston Tower (located on the far right as one faces the main facade of Fyvie), dates to between 1390 and 1433. The Seton tower forms the entrance and was erected in 1599 by Alexander Seton. He commissioned the wheel staircase several years later. The Gordon Tower followed in 1777, and the Leith in 1890.

Inside, the castle stronghold features a wheel stair, a display of original arms and armour, and a collection of portraits, from artists such as Henry Raeburn, Pompeo Batoni and Thomas Gainsborough.

Manus O'Cahan and Montrose fought a battle against the Covenant Army at Fyvie Castle on 28 October 1644. The battlefield was added to the Inventory of Historic Battlefields in Scotland on 30 November 2011. Anne Halkett stayed at the castle from 1650 to 1652 with the Countess of Dunfermline. During her stay, she treated wounded soldiers and local illnesses, and negotiated with the English major of a company of Commonwealth soldiers, as well as with three colonels, Lilburne, Fitts, and Overton.

The grounds and adjoining Fyvie Lake were landscaped in the 18th century by Col. William Gordon.

The Scottish industrialist Alexander Leith (later Baron Leith of Fyvie) bought the castle in 1885. His descendants sold it to the National Trust for Scotland in 1984.

To the east there is a walled garden where Scottish fruits are currently cultivated. There is evidence for two other walled gardens closer to the castle itself to its west and south.

Text adapted from “Fyvie Castle” on Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0.

Fyvie Castle ranks #1,717 of 7,738 worldwide in the atlas's castle fame ranking, and #61 of the 167 mapped in Scotland. Founded 1300, it is older than 63% of the atlas's dated landmarks — one of 825 atlas entries founded in the 13th century. Its Wikipedia articles were opened 2,933 times in the last 60 days, more than 74% of the atlas. 4 more atlas landmarks stand within 25 km. The nearest day-trip guide is Aberdeen, 37 km away. It is one of the 22 landmarks on the atlas's regional map of Aberdeenshire. See how Scotland compares in the castle statistics.

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