Dundarg Castle
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Dundarg Castle is a ruined castle about Script error: No such module "convert". north-northeast of New Aberdour, Aberdeenshire, Scotland, built within the ramparts of an earlier Iron Age promontory fort.Template:Sfn It was described by W. Douglas Simpson as one of the nine castles of the Knuckle, referring to the rocky headland of North-East Aberdeenshire,[1] and by Charles McKean as "Scotland's answer to Tintagel".[2] It became a small Celtic monastery for a period.[3]
Structure
The site consists of a triangle of gently sloping ground flanked by steep slopes on all sides, linked to a flat-topped elongated promontory extending to the north-east, surrounded by Script error: No such module "convert". high sandstone cliffs.Template:Sfn Its name comes from the Gaelic dun dearg, meaning red fort or castle, referring to the colour of the sandstone.Template:Sfn
History
The 10th-century Book of Deer records the existence of a cathair or fortified place at Aberdour.Template:Sfn
It was built in the 13th century by the Comyn family, but was dismantled, probably by Robert the Bruce, in 1308. It was rebuilt in 1334 by Henry de Beaumont, but slighted almost immediately, after a famous siege by Sir Andrew Moray. Many medieval objects providing evidence of this double destruction were found in excavations in 1911-12 and 1950-51, led by W. Douglas Simpson.
The only substantial part of the castle remaining is the inner gatehouse, which survives to a height of about Script error: No such module "convert".. The upper part was rebuilt in the middle of the 16th century, probably following the Coastal Defence Commission of 1550, and there is some evidence that it was provided with gunloops at that time. The site was finally abandoned in the mid-17th century. A house was built on part of the site in 1938, reputedly by and for Wing Commander David Vaughan Carnegie, using stone from the former Aberdour Free Church.[4][5]
The castle and promontory fort are protected as a scheduled monument,[6] while the modern house is a category B listed building.[5]
References
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Bibliography
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- Simpson, W. D. (1954) Dundarg Castle. Aberdeen University.
- Simpson, W. D. (1960) 'Dundarg Castle reconsidered', Transactions of the Buchan Field Club 17(4), pp. 9–25.
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- History of Aberdeenshire
- Castles in Aberdeenshire
- Promontory forts in Scotland
- Former castles in Scotland
- Category B listed buildings in Aberdeenshire
- Listed houses in Scotland
- Ruined castles in Aberdeenshire
- Former Christian monasteries in Scotland
- Scheduled monuments in Aberdeenshire
- Clan Comyn