Brodie Castle

Brodie Castle Details

Brodie Castle, extensive mansion built around C16 tower house and possible C15 tower, National Trust for Scotland

  • Closest To: Forres
  • Access: Chargeable Public Access
  • Grid Reference: NH979577

Brodie Castle is a large mansion with a Z-plan tower house of the 16th and 17th century at its core. It is on a small rise to the north of the Muckle Burn, a minor river which flows into Findhorn Bay, and is a few miles to the west of the town of Forres. Parts of the tower house are easily visible from the outside of the castle, but inside it is difficult to perceive the old building due to it being inhabited continuously – and altered any times in the process.

The tower house had a square tower at diagonally opposed corners of a rectangular hall block, but it is likely that one of these towers predates the rest of the castle and was once a standalone tower residence with a courtyard. This would still have been built by the Brodie family who held the lands from the Crown as early as the 13th century. The hall block and second tower were added later, in about 1567, and the west wing was probably added in 1602.

The Brodie family were strongly supportive of the Covenant, and during the Bishops Wars and Covenanting period, suffered repeated attacks, ultimately being burned out in 1645 by the Gordons. Refusing to deal with Cromwell, the laird of Brodie petitioned King Charles II for compensation for his losses, but was unsuccessful. Choosing to support the Government during the Jacobite period, the Brodies were able to recover some of their position, although the castle had been garrisoned for a while, and were able in 1727 to start extending and altering the castle. In 1824 the massive east wing was begun, which more than doubled the size of the castle.

Not only did this work almost bankrupt the family, but it became apparent in the 20th century that such a large house was beyond the means of the family to maintain in any kind of order, and an agreement was reached with the National Trust in 1980 which led to them taking over the management of the castle and estate. It is still maintained by them today, and is open to the public seasonally.

The National Trust do not permit any other party to profit from their properties, so I am unable to offer further information or merchandise.

Official National Trust for Scotland page

HES Canmore database

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