Ravenscraig Castle, Aberdeenshire

Ravenscraig Castle

Peterhead, Aberdeenshire in Scotland

Ruins of Ravenscraig Castle

Site information
Condition| Ruined
Location
Coordinates| 57°31′45″N 1°50′32″W﻿ / ﻿57.5291°N 1.8423°W﻿ / 57.5291; -1.8423
Site history
Built| 15th century

Scheduled monument

Official name| Ravenscraig Castle
Type| Secular: castle
Designated| 30 June 1964
Reference no.| SM2496

Ravenscraig Castle, also known as the Craig of Inverugie, is a ruined 15th-century L-shaped tower-house north-west of Peterhead, Aberdeenshire, Scotland.[1] It is a scheduled monument.[2]

## History

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The castle was the seat of the barony of Torthorston, held by the Cheynes family, and passed to the Keiths in the mid-14th century. A licence was granted to build a new castle in May 1491,[3] with the castle built on the banks of the Ugie and defended by a moat.

It is thought that King James VI of Scotland visited the castle in 1589 to attend the wedding of Rebecca Keith and Sir James Gordon of Lesmoir.[4] At that time, the castle belonged to John Keith of Ravenscraig, whose half-brother William Keith of Delny was a courtier and diplomat who had tried to save the life of Mary, Queen of Scots, in 1587.[5]

Most of the castle's decorative features and dressed stone have been robbed; however, the vaulted ground floor and principal apartments on the first are still visible. "A circular stair in the re-entrant angle rose originally above the wall head into a turret."[3]

## Literary inspiration

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The Mitherless Bairn by William Thom

William Thom was inspired to write this deathless poem after sighting a "pretty governess" in the castle grounds in 1844.[3]

## References

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1. ^ "Ravenscraig Castle". CANMORE. Retrieved 29 July 2013.
2. ^ Historic Environment Scotland. "Ravenscraig Castle (SM2496)". Retrieved 8 March 2019.
3. ^ a b c McKean, Charles (1990). Banff & Buchan: An Illustrated Architectural Guide. Mainstream Publications Ltd. p. 147\. ISBN 185158-231-2.
4. ^ John Alexander Henderson, Aberdeenshire Epitaphs and Inscriptions (Aberdeen, 1907), p. 165.
5. ^ Miles Kerr-Peterson, 'Sir William Keith of Delny', Innes Review 67:2 (2016), p. 157.

## External links

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* Ravenscraig Castle Virtual Tour