Castles · Scottish Highlands
Birse Castle
In or near Aboyne.
Birse Castle is located in the Forest of Birse, Aberdeenshire, Scotland. Originally a square tower house, it was rebuilt in the first decade of the 20th century into an L-plan structure. The 1930 addi
Colin Smith — CC BY-SA 2.0 via Wikimedia Commons licence
Plan your visit
- Typical visit
- 1.5 h–3 h
- Family-friendly
- Limited wheelchair access
About
Birse Castle is located in the Forest of Birse, Aberdeenshire, Scotland. Originally a square tower house, it was rebuilt in the first decade of the 20th century into an L-plan structure. The 1930 addition of a new wing gave it a Z-plan. The building was designated a category B listed building in 1971.
Photo gallery
From the Wikipedia article
Birse Castle is located in the Forest of Birse, Aberdeenshire, Scotland. Originally a square tower house, it was rebuilt in the first decade of the 20th century into an L-plan structure. The 1930 addition of a new wing gave it a Z-plan. The building was designated a category B listed building in 1971.
Excerpt from Wikipedia under CC BY-SA 4.0. See the source article linked in Sources below.
Background
History
The Forest of Birse was originally a royal hunting forest Sir William Douglas of Glenbervie acquired the house in 1636 and it passed to Charles Gordon, 1st Earl of Aboyne, in 1666. By 1887 it was in ruins with only the north and east walls still standing. The property is owned by Viscount Cowdry.
Architecture
The original tower house was a square, rubble-built, three storeys with attic tower house with turrets and a circular tower corbelled to square at the south-east corner. Mitchell added north and west wings to give it a L-shaped plan and added one-storey angle turrets on the corners. Kelly's 1930 addition added the east wing at the north end of the north wing to create the Z-plan. Very sympathetic to Mitchell's work, Kelly's angle turrets were slightly larger to add windows at the third-storey level and he added a one-storey northern extension and entrance. Above the main ground-floor entrance in the tower is a heraldic panel bearing a thistle, rose and crown. It is inscribed 19 AC 30 for…
Sourced from Wikipedia under CC BY-SA 4.0.
- Coordinates
- 57.0039, -2.7914
- Address
- | location_town =
Sources
- wikipedia: Birse Castle (CC BY-SA 4.0)
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Frequently asked questions
- Where is Birse Castle?
- Birse Castle is in the Scottish Highlands, United Kingdom.
- What is Birse Castle?
- Birse Castle is located in the Forest of Birse, Aberdeenshire, Scotland. Originally a square tower house, it was rebuilt in the first decade of the 20th century into an L-plan structure. The 1930 addi
- How do I get to Birse Castle?
- Its coordinates are 57.0039°, -2.7914°.
- Does Birse Castle charge admission?
- Birse Castle typically charges admission. Check the official site for current ticket prices and opening hours.