Inverallochy Castle

Inverallochy Castle stands as a ruined courtyard castle in the Buchan area of North-East Scotland. It dates to 1504 and lies half a mile south of Cairnbulg Castle near Fraserburgh. The castle once overlooked the now-drained Loch of Inverallochy. W. Douglas Simpson described it as one of the nine castles of the Knuckle, referring to the rocky headland of North-East Aberdeenshire. The remains include buildings arranged around three sides of a courtyard, with a curtain wall across the south side. A tower in the north-east corner remains largely intact, while the remaining curtain wall stands up to ten metres high. Evidence of a larger outer courtyard measuring about sixty metres square to the north and east can still be seen. The ruins are protected as a scheduled monument. Architectural evidence suggests it was built all at once in the early sixteenth century, possibly by Sir William Comyn, who served as Lord Lyon from 1512 to 1519. Visitors find the ruins protected as a scheduled monument. Until the late eighteenth century, an inscribed stone above the entrance bore the sculptured arms of the Comyns. The inscription recorded that Jordan Comyn obtained the estate for building the abbey of Deer. A series of photos of the castle is available online. The site offers a glimpse into Scotland’s medieval past and the architectural style of the early sixteenth century.