Asloun Castle

Asloun Castle stands in Aberdeenshire, 3.2 kilometres south-west of Alford. It is the remains of a 16th-century Z-plan castle, of which only one tower survives. The tower sits just east of Castleton of Asloun and north of the Strow burn. The castle is also known as Asloon Castle and is protected as a scheduled monument. The castle was built by the Calder family and later passed to the Forbes family. On the night before the 1645 battle of Alford, the Marquess of Montrose stayed there. The Aberdeenshire Historic Environment Record notes that the remains are being restored by the present owners. The surviving tower rises three storeys high and has its entrance on the south side. A turnpike stair leads to the first floor, and the ground floor is stone-vaulted. Round gun loops appear in the basement, while quirked roll mouldings frame openings on upper levels. The upper floor provided private accommodation, lit by a large window, and two recesses for armorials remain above the entrance and a first-floor slit window.