Melgund Castle

Melgund Castle stands two kilometres east of Aberlemno in Angus, a 16th-century L-plan castle partly restored as a private home. It was built in imitation of a 15th-century keep with later additions and includes a four-storey main tower plus a two-storey domestic range. A stair tower rises to act as a watchtower, and the north-east corner once held a round tower. Archaeologists investigated the site between 1990 and 1996 before its conversion. Local stone from a reopened quarry was used in the restoration completed in 2002. The ruined eastern range was left as found, while the keep received a new roof. The castle passed through several owners after the Cramonds lost it by 1525. Patrick Annand held it until 1525, then it went to James Bethune, husband of his daughter Janet. James had no heirs and sold the estate in 1542 to David Beaton, who improved the castle and bought timber from William Mayne in St Andrews. After David’s assassination in 1546, his son David Beaton of Melgund inherited and may have added further work. Later it passed to the Earls of Minto, who took the title Viscount Melgund, before being sold in 1990. Visitors see a restored keep with a new roof and the original stair tower now serving as a watchtower. The domestic range to the east remains a picturesque ruin, its round tower still visible at the corner. A carved lintel above a doorway bears the initials D.B. The grounds include the site of the reopened quarry that supplied stone for the work. The restoration by Benjamin Tindall Architects was praised by the Royal Incorporation of Architects in Scotland. The castle’s setting in rolling Angus farmland adds to its quiet presence.