Glenbuchat Castle

Glenbuchat Castle Details

Glenbuchat Castle, a ruined C16 tower house of the Gordons abandoned C18 and currently closed for repairs after masonry falls.

  • Closest To: Strathdon, Kildrummy
  • Access: Free Public Access
  • Grid Reference: NJ397149

Glenbuchat Castle is a ruined Z-plan tower house that is in surprisingly excellent condition despite being unroofed. It is open to the public at all times, although currently awaiting stabilisation work to unsafe masonry at a high level, so fenced off for safety reasons at the time of writing. One wing contained the main stair and entrance hall which accessed the basement cellars and a corridor to the kitchen in the other wing; upstairs was the great hall, and two winding turret stairs leading to the chambers above.

Historically part of the earldom of Mar and Barony of Kildrummy, Glenbuchat was claimed by the Crown in 1457 and then granted to Lord Elphinstone, who sold it to John Gordon of Cairnborrow in 1572. Gordon was the builder of the tower, recording his marriage in datestones of 1590. The castle remained in the hands of his descendants until 1701, when it was sold to the Gordons of Knockespock. In 1730 it was roofless and sold to Duff of Braco by the famous Jacobite “Old Glenbucket”.

Official Historic Scotland page

HES Canmore database entry

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