Fyvie Castle facts for kids
Quick facts for kids Fyvie Castle |
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| Near Turriff in Aberdeenshire | |
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| Coordinates | 57°26′36″N 2°23′42″W / 57.4433°N 2.3949°W |
| Site information | |
| Site history | |
| In use | 13th Century |
Fyvie Castle is a famous old castle located in the village of Fyvie. You can find it near Turriff in Aberdeenshire, Scotland. It's a really impressive building with a long and interesting past!
The Long Story of Fyvie Castle
The very first parts of Fyvie Castle were built a long, long time ago, in the 13th century. Some people even say it was built in 1211. Imagine, that's over 800 years ago!
Many important people have visited or lived at Fyvie Castle. Robert the Bruce, a famous Scottish king, once held a court meeting right here. Later, Charles I, who would become a king, lived at the castle when he was a child.
After a big battle called the Battle of Otterburn in 1390, Fyvie Castle stopped being a royal place. Instead, it was owned by five different families over the years. These families were the Preston, Meldrum, Seton, Gordon, and Leith families. Each family added their own tower to the castle, making it bigger and grander.
The oldest tower is the Preston Tower, built between 1390 and 1433. The Seton tower is very grand and forms the main entrance. It was built in 1599 by Alexander Seton. He also added the amazing staircase a few years later. The Gordon Tower was built in 1778, and the Leith Tower was the last addition in 1890.
Inside the castle, you can see a huge spiral staircase. There's also a collection of old weapons and armor. You can even see many portraits (paintings) of people who lived there long ago.
A small but important battle happened at Fyvie Castle on October 28, 1644. It was fought between Manus O'Cahan and Montrose against another army. This battlefield is now recognized as a historic site in Scotland.
From 1650 to 1652, a woman named Anne Halkett stayed at the castle. She helped care for injured soldiers and local people who were sick.
In the 1800s, during the Victorian era, the castle's gardens and nearby Loch Fyvie were beautifully designed. In 1885, a Scottish businessman named Alexander Leith bought the castle. His family later sold it to the National Trust for Scotland in 1984. This means it's now looked after for everyone to enjoy.
To the east of the castle, there's a special walled garden. Today, this garden grows many different Scottish fruits. There were also other walled gardens closer to the castle in the past.
Spooky Stories and Mysteries
Like many old castles in Scotland, Fyvie Castle has some famous ghostlore or ghost stories!
One story says that in 1920, during some repair work, a woman's skeleton was found hidden behind a bedroom wall. When the skeleton was buried in the local cemetery, strange noises and unexplained things started happening at the castle. The owner of the castle thought he had upset the dead woman. So, he had the skeleton dug up and put back behind the bedroom wall. After that, the strange happenings stopped!
People also say there's a secret room in the castle's south-west corner. It's believed that this room must stay sealed. If anyone enters it, something bad will happen. It's not clear if this is the same room where the skeleton was found.
There's also a blood stain that supposedly can't be removed, two ghosts, and two curses linked to Fyvie Castle.
One curse is said to come from a wise man named Thomas the Rhymer. This curse involves three "weeping stones" that were taken from the castle's boundary. The curse says that until all three stones are brought back together, the first sons of the families living at Fyvie will never inherit the castle. Only one weeping stone is known to exist and is kept at the castle. The other two have never been found.
The second curse is about a hidden room in the charter room. This curse is very specific: if anyone disturbs the room, the lord of the castle will die, or his wife will become blind.
Fyvie Castle in Books and on Screen
Fyvie Castle has appeared in many British television shows. It was featured in Living TV's Most Haunted series and stv's Castles of Scotland.
The castle was also the setting for a children's game show on CBBC called Spook Squad in 2004. In 2009, a children's fantasy novel called The Time-Tailor and the Fyvie Castle Witch Trials was published, which was written by Deborah Leslie. The castle was also shown in a BBC documentary called Castle Ghosts of Scotland.
In recent years, the castle grounds have hosted a music festival called Fyvie Live in the summer. Famous singers like Beverley Knight and Sophie Ellis-Bextor have performed there. More recently, bands like The Shires and Ward Thomas have headlined the event.
Today, Fyvie Castle is open for visitors during the summer months. You can explore its history and perhaps even feel a little bit of its mystery!
