Pitmedden Castle

Pitmedden Castle Details

Pitmedden House, an altered C17 house next to ?site of tower house, with restored C17 gardens. National Trust for Scotland.

  • Closest To: Pitmedden, Ellon
  • Access: Chargeable Public Access
  • Grid Reference: NJ884281

Pitmedden Castle was a castle which stood on or about the site of Pitmedden House today, justly famed for its gardens. The site is to be found on low lying land overlooking the Bronie Burn, a tributary of the River Ythan in Buchan, and is overlooked by Tolquhon Castle a mile to the west, and on a much stronger site. It was replaced or absorbed by Pitmedden House in the 17th century.

Pitmedden was granted to Alexander Panton of Pitmedden and his son John by William, Lord Hay, in 1421. The fact that Alexander already bore the designation “of Pitmedden” suggests that he was already in occupation of the lands, and this is probably indicating his entering into the lands of his late father. The Pantons retained Pitmedden until the mid 16th century, when the heiress Marjorie married John Seton, of the Meldrum family. In 1619 Either John or his son William sold Pitmedden to James Seton, his uncle/great-uncle who was considered to be the first Seton laird of Pitmedden. The castle of Pitmedden was most likely of the tower and courtyard type, the tower may have only been a hall-house, we don’t know.

John Seton was succeeded by his son Alexander in 1628 and his grandson John in 1637. After John was killed by a cannonball at the Battle of the Brig of Dee in 1639, aged only 28, he left two infant children to succeed him, a disaster in the turmoil of the Covenanting period. Pitmedden was targeted by Covenanters as John had been the bearer of the Royal Standard at the battle, and plundered. It is very likely that the castle was burned down at the same time. James, the elder son, was not served as her to Pitmedden until 1655, and died of wounds received in a naval battle off Chatham in 1667. His younger brother Alexander succeeded him, and was made a Baronet in 1684. It was Alexander who was responsible for the rebuilding of Pitmedden as a country house – and the setting out of the spectacular Great Garden in 1674.

Pitmedden House remained the residence of the Seton family and their descendants, and fades from history apart from records of a fire in the early 19th century. Archaeological surveys have suggested that although there are traces of an older building at the north end of the house, and the uppermost terrace of the Garden may have been the site of an earlier building still, perhaps the house of the Pantons. Today the Gardens are maintained by the National Trust and are open to the public, but the house is not.

Official National Trust for Scotland page

HES Canmore database entry

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