Old Slains Castle

Slains Castle (otherwise known as Old Slains Castle) is a ruined castle near Collieston in Aberdeenshire, Scotland. It is not to be confused with New Slains Castle, a separate building located five miles (eight kilometres) northeast. Originally built in the 13th century, with the surviving remains largely dating from the 15th century, it was partly destroyed in 1594.

The castle was originally built in the 13th century as a fortress and was the property of the Comyn, Earl of Buchan, with the surviving tower-house largely dating from the 15th century. After the forfeiture of the Comyns in the 14th century it was given to Sir Gilbert Hay by Robert the Bruce in recognition for his support against the English.

Slains Castle next comes into prominence when Francis Hay, 9th Earl of Erroll took part in a Catholic Rebellion in the north of Scotland. King James VI came to Abedeen in April 1589 and placed a garrison of soldiers at Slains Castle. In January 1593, the Earl of Erroll was said to have welcomed so many English and Scottish Catholics in a tower at Slains that he was put to great expense. The rebellion culminated in the Battle of Glenlivet in 1594, which left the Catholic army substantially weakened, and the rebellion collapsed.

James VI marched north with an army intent on capturing the leaders of the rebellion, including Francis Hay, however they evaded capture. He then proceeded to blow up their castles, including Old Slains Castle. At the king's request, Aberdeen Council provided 20 stone (130 kilograms) weight of gunpowder together with pickaxes and other tools, required for ‘demolishing and casting down of houses and fortalices to the sum of 548 pounds six shillings’. The castle was destroyed with gunpowder and cannon on 1 November. Aberdeen town council sent the stonemason John Fraser and other workmen to the demolition work at Huntly Castle and Slains, equipped with new shovels. Two walls meeting at a corner survived the explosion.

Next year, Elizabeth Douglas, Countess of Erroll, a friend of Anne of Denmark, hired masons to repair the building. However, it was beyond saving. She then moved into the farmhouse of Clochtow, 1⁄2 mile (800 metres) northwest of the ruined castle. She remained in this ‘mean abode, and continued there sometime after 1597, when the honours and estates were restored...

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

Old Slains Castle ranks #5,103 of 8,764 worldwide in the atlas's castle fame ranking, and #177 of the 207 mapped in Scotland. Founded c. 1250, it is older than 70% of the atlas's dated landmarks — one of 906 atlas entries founded in the 13th century. Its Wikipedia articles were opened 1,535 times in the last 60 days, more than 61% of the atlas. 2 more atlas landmarks stand within 25 km. The nearest day-trip guide is Aberdeen, 26 km away. It is one of the 27 landmarks on the atlas's regional map of Aberdeenshire. It is stop 20 of 21 on the Aberdeenshire castle trail, Stonehaven to Aberdeen. See how Scotland compares in the castle statistics.

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