Glenbuchat Castle
Glenbuchat Castle is a Z-plan castle
built for John Gordon of Cairnburrow,
and Helen Carnegie, his wife, in 1590.
In 1701 it was bought by a different
branch of the Gordon family and
became the home of another John
Gordon who came to be known as
'Old Glenbucket' (an older spelling of
Glenbuchat). He was a prominent
supporter of the Jacobite cause and a
hero of the Jacobite Risings of 1715
and 1745. Such was his infamy that
he is said to have haunted the dreams
of King George II. By 1738 the castle had been abandoned as the Gordon family
home and was already partly unroofed when it was sold to the Duff Earl of Fife.
The castle consists of a rectangular central tower with two square towers at
diagonally opposing corners. There are two stair turrets that rise from the first floor
level and are unusually supported by flying arches. The main entrance was
protected by a wooden door that could only be opened if the iron yett (gate) behind
it was opened first. There were cellars and a kitchen on the ground floor and the
laird's hall and accommodation above. The interior was remodeled, probably soon
after 1701, when the laird's hall was divided into two rooms and the ceiling lowered
in order to fit in another floor above.
