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| List of names as written | Various modes of spelling | Authorities for spelling | Situation | Description remarks |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| CAIRNBULG CASTLE (In Ruins) | Castle of Cairnbulg (In Ruins) Castle of Cairnbulg (In Ruins) Castle of Cairnbulg (In Ruins) |
Rev. Dr. [Reverend Doctor] Pratt's History of Buchan. Mr Watt. Ph. [Parish] Schoolmaster Mr Murray, Redhouse. |
003 | "About two miles to the north-west we reach the bridge which crosses the water of Philorth, on the old road from Peterhead to Fraserburgh. About a quarter of a mile above the the bridge, on the east bank of the stream, stands the old Castle of Cairnbulg. (Gordon). It is placed on a Knoll, which has, at some former time, probably been surrounded by a moat, and is at the distance of about three quarters of a mile from the sea. The square tower at the west angle is nearly all that now remains of this once proud baronial stronghold. It has evidently been a structure of an imposing magnitude. The lands of Cairnbulg, with the Castle, formed part of the extensive domains of the Comyns, Earls of Buchan. and were, with the other estates of that family confiscated to the Crown in 1306. King Robert the Bruce, however, with a generosity not always the accompaniment of success, made a grant of half the territories of the proscribed Earl to John, son of the Earl of Ross, who had married Margaret Comyn, the niece of Comyn. Having no family, Ross disponed these lands, by charter, in 1316. dated at Inverness, to his brother Hugh, Earl of Ross; and failing him to Hugh his second son, and after him, to Walter Leslie, who had married the eldest daughter. They were severally designated of Philorth, until the year 1375, when that barony, including Cairnbulg, came into the possession of Sir Alexander Fraser of Cowie, by his marriage with the youngest daughter, and co-heiress of the Earl, and the sister of Euphemia, Countess of Ross. By this marriage Sir Alexander acquired the valuable estates of Philorth, Pitsligo, Aberdour, and others, in the counties of Aberdeen and Banff. The Frasers, for two centuries, seemed to have made Cairnbulg their principal residence; but whether the most ancient part of the castle - the Square Tower was erected by the Comyns, The Rosses, or the Frasers, cannot now be determined. The other portions were built about the year 1545. by Sir Alexander Fraser, the eleventh Laird of that family. whose grandson, and (Over) [Continued page 26] |
Continued entries/extra info
[Page] 25Aberdeenshire Parish of Rathen.
[Sketch of the Castle of Cairnbulg.]
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Kate51- Moderator, MaxInSpain , haggis
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