Ravenscraig Castle Peterhead

Ravenscraig Castle is a ruined L-shaped tower and irregular courtyard built upon a craggy outcrop and set within a ditch at the edge of the River Ugie, a few miles upstream of Peterhead. The site is accessed via a footpath, which is not well maintained or signposted, and has a dilapidated post and wire fence around it. It is heavily overgrown with trees and bushes.

The tower is massively built, and was built for the Keith family, who had acquired the lands from the Cheynes by marriage a century or more previously. A license was granted to built a castle in 1491, but the castle may be older than this in origin, and the license referring to the tower only. The history of Ravenscraig is virtually unknown, but a nearby motte probably represents the earliest fortification of the Cheynes, who may well have erected a courtyard castle here by the 13th century that was sacked during the herschip of Buchan in 1307, and brought back into repair later. It was probably abandoned in the 17th or 18th century.

HES Canmore database entry