Balfluig Castle facts for kids
Balfluig Castle is an old castle in Scotland. It is a special type of castle called a tower house. This castle was built in the mid-1500s. You can find it about a mile south of Alford in Aberdeenshire. The castle stands out in the area. You can visit it if you arrange a time.
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History of Balfluig Castle
The first people to own Balfluig Castle were part of the Clan Forbes. Stones above the main door show the year 1556. This means the castle was built around that time.
The castle was burned during a big fight called the Battle of Alford in 1645. Later, in 1753, a family called Farquharson of Haughton bought it. For a while, the castle was used as a farmhouse. By the 1960s, it was falling apart.
A new owner, Mark Tennant, helped fix it up. This restoration was one of the first times the Historic Buildings Council for Scotland helped save an old building. A person named W. Douglas Simpson was very important in getting this help.
It is interesting that the castle was built in the 1500s. This was a time when not many private buildings were being constructed in Scotland.
What Balfluig Castle Looks Like
The way Balfluig Castle is built is quite special. The main part of the castle has three floors. It also has a top floor called a garret. A smaller part, called a wing, sticks out from the main building. This wing is one floor taller and has a watch-tower on top.
The outside corners of the castle are rounded at the bottom. They become square near the roof. The walls have many small openings called gun-loops. These were used to shoot from. There is a very large chimney on the south side of the castle.
A courtyard leads to the main entrance. This entrance is an arched doorway. It was protected by more gun-loops.
Inside the main part of the castle, the basement has two rooms with arched ceilings. These were the kitchen and the wine cellar. There is a private staircase that leads up to the main hall. The hall has a special room attached to it.
In the basement of the wing, there is a guardroom with an arched ceiling. Below a spiral staircase, there is even a small prison!
The castle is built from rough stones and boulders. The special parts, like around the windows and doors, are made from sandstone and granite. The wooden roof was probably added after the castle was fixed up following the battle in 1645.
Today, Balfluig Castle is a "Category A listed building." This means it is a very important historical building in Scotland.
Old Stories About the Castle
There is an old story about Balfluig Castle. People say there was another castle nearby. The owners of the two castles were rivals. They would shoot at each other from their watch-towers. The story says that one owner eventually killed the other. The person who survived then felt very sad about what happened.
Images for kids
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Balfuig Castle, shown in 2007
