Castle of Esslemont

The Castle of Esslemont is at the roadside of the A920 west of Ellon in Aberdeenshire overlooking the River Ythan but not with views of it. It is freely accessible but becomes very overgrown in summer and can be blighted with litter as well as waterlogged.

There is an L-shaped tower consistent with a late 15th century date, lying at the centre of a moated and walled courtyard which had round corner towers; the footings of another building are also clear within this courtyard. However there is a second and more impressive L-plan tower house with a round tower at the external corner extending nearly to the courtyard wall. It is likely that this tower is 17th century, and it may have been remodelled more than once. Esslemont was a property of the Cheyne family, initially rivals of, and later allies of, the Hays of Errol. Adhering to the Catholic faith during the Reformation, the financial troubles of the last Cheynes resulted in the property being sold to the Keiths of Ludquharn, and then the Forbeses of Pitsligo, before the Jameson family of Aberdeen in 1653. The later house has no architectural features enabling the construction to be dated securely, and after the civil war the Gordon family acquired it. Remodelling was abandoned and the castle itself was then abandoned in favour of the new built house of Esslemont nearby, dated to 1769.

HES Canmore database entry