Waterton Castle

Coordinates: 57°21′48″N 2°02′48″W / 57.36338°N 2.04655°W / 57.36338; -2.04655
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Waterton Castle
Waterton Castle is located in Aberdeenshire
Waterton Castle
Waterton Castle
Coordinates57°21′48″N 2°02′48″W / 57.36338°N 2.04655°W / 57.36338; -2.04655
Site information
OwnerClan Kerr
Conditionruined
Site history
Built17th century
Materialsrubble

Waterton Castle is a ruined 17th-century tower house, about 1 mile (1.6 km) east of Ellon, Aberdeenshire, Scotland, north of the River Ythan.[1]

History[edit]

The property belonged to Kinloss Abbey; the Knights Templar acquired it, and it passed from them to the Bannermans around 1560. The Forbeses thereafter owned it until 1770 (at least).[1] It is suggested that the castle was built between 1630 and 1640.[2]

In 1652 the Kennedys of Kermuck murdered John Forbes of Waterton.[1]

Structure[edit]

Only a vaulted basement remains;[1] it measures 4.4 metres (14 ft) by 3.9 metres (13 ft), the walls being 0.7 metres (2 ft 4 in) thick and up to about 3 metres (9.8 ft) high. A sketch from 1770 showed a four-storey building comprising a central block with wings to east and west. These projected a little from the main block, and had crow-stepped gables The vaulted building bears the inscription in the inner south wall: "This stone marks the site of the ancient seat of the family of Forbes, Lairds of Waterton A.D. 1630 - 1770." In 1844 a drinking horn was dug from the castle ruins; in 1863 it was donated to the National Museum of Antiquities of Scotland.[2]

See also[edit]

References[edit]

  1. ^ a b c d Coventry, Martin (1997) The Castles of Scotland. Goblinshead. ISBN 1-899874-10-0 p.323
  2. ^ a b "Waterton Castle". Canmore. Retrieved 19 August 2021.