- Finavon Castle
Finavon Castle lies on the River South Esk to the north-east of
Forfar inAngus ,Scotland . The name is applied both to a ruined 17th centurycastle , as well as the 19th century mansion house 130m to the west.History
The estate was the property of the Lindsay Earls of Crawford from 1375, who built the now-ruined castle.
David Lindsay, 10th Earl of Crawford , married Margaret, the daughter of CardinalDavid Beaton , at Finavon in 1546. [cite web| url=http://www.geo.ed.ac.uk/scotgaz/features/featurefirst10400.html| author=Gazeteer for Scotland| title=Finavon Castle| accessdate=2007-04-28]Extravagance ruined the Crawford fortunes, and in 1625 the barony of Finavon was disposed of by a forced sale to Alexander Lindsay, 2nd
Lord Spynie . It passed through the Carnegie family, the Gordon Earls of Aboyne and the Gardynes.In 1843 the Castle was bought by Thomas Gardyne of Middleton. Through an 18th-century marriage he came of the old Lindsay stock. His descendant, Col. Greenhill Gardyne died in 1953, leaving the estate to a daughter, Mrs Susan Mazur.cite journal| url=http://ads.ahds.ac.uk/catalogue/adsdata/PSAS_2002/pdf/vol_089/89_398_416.pdf| title=XV Finavon Castle| first=W. Douglas| last=Simpson| journal=Proceedings of Society of Antiquaries of Scotland| year=1956| volume=89| pages=398–416| accessdate=2007-04-28]
The castle
The castle was an L-plan tower-house of five storeys, with a garret and a courtyard. The tower visible today dates from about 1600. Excavations have revealed that the tower is an adjunct tacked on to the north-east corner of a much older, more extensive structure.
The house
The house is a
Scottish baronial style mansion built in 1856 for the then laird,David Greenhill Gardyne , by Messrs Carver and Symon ofArbroath . Part of the castle is now let as holiday accommodation.Other nearby features
The nearby
Finavon Doocot is Scotland's largest doocot, with 2400 nesting boxes. It is believed to have been built for the Earl of Crawford in the 16th Century and is now maintained by theNational Trust for Scotland . [cite web| url=http://www.angusahead.com/AngusListings/TourismAttractions/FinavonDoocotG9042.asp| title=Finavon Doocot| author=VisitAngus| accessdate=2007-04-28]On Finavon Hill, above the Castle there is a
vitrified Iron Age hillfort dating from the mid-1st millennium BC. [cite web| url=http://www.arcl.ed.ac.uk/arch/fschool/fsch99/finavon.htm| title=Finavon oblong fort| accessdate=2007-04-28]The Finavon Castle beat on the River South Esk provides salmon and seatrout fly fishing. [cite web|url=http://www.finavoncastlefishing.co.uk| title=Finavon Castle Fishing| accessdate=2007-04-28]
References
*cite book| first=Andrew| last=Jervise| title=The Land of the Lindsays| location=Edinburgh| publisher=David Douglas| year=1882 Rewritten and corrected by James Gammack
*cite web|url=http://hsewsf.sedsh.gov.uk/hslive/portal.hsstart?P_HBNUM=17722| author=Historic Scotland | title=Listed Building Report| accessdate=2007-04-30
*cite web|url=http://lmid1.rcahms.gov.uk/pls/portal/newcanmore.details_gis?inumlink=33673| author=National Monuments Record of Scotland | title=Site Reference NO45NE 18 (Old Castle of Finavon)| accessdate=2007-04-30
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