Hallforest Castle facts for kids
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Hallforest Castle is a very old stone tower, also known as a keep. It is one of the oldest castles in Scotland! This amazing building was built way back in the 1300s. You can find it about a mile and a half from a town called Kintore, in an area of Scotland called Aberdeenshire.
Sometimes, people call it Castle of Hallforrest, Hall Forest Castle, or just Hallforrest.
A Look Back in Time
People believe that Robert the Bruce, a famous Scottish king, built Hallforest Castle. He might have used it as a place to stay when he went hunting. It is said that he gave the castle to Robert II Keith, Marischal of Scotland. This person was an ancestor of the Earls of Kintore, who still own the castle today.
A very important queen, Mary, Queen of Scots, even visited Hallforest Castle in 1562!
The castle faced many attacks during the wars of the 1600s. It might have been left empty and unused shortly after these wars. Even though it is now a ruin, the Earls of Kintore still own it.
What Does It Look Like?
Hallforest Castle is a simple, long, rectangular tower. It measures about 48 feet (15 m) long and 36 feet (11 m) wide.
It used to have a parapet, which is a low wall at the top of a castle. It probably also had a stone roof. Inside, the castle had two large arched rooms, called vaults. These were separated by smaller floors in between, known as entresol floors. It seems the main entrance led to one of these middle floors.
The lowest part of the castle had small openings called gun-loops. These were for defending the castle with guns. There might have also been a special door for cattle in the basement.
Originally, the castle had six floors! Its walls were very thick, about 7 feet (2.1 m) thick. There are windows on the south side of the castle. It looks like there were no stone stairs inside. People probably used ladders and trapdoors to move between floors. Today, the inside of the castle is mostly ruined.
Outside, to the north, you can still see signs of what might have been an enclosing wall. To the northwest, there are also traces of a possible ditch or moat that would have surrounded the castle.
Hallforest Castle is a special historical building. It is listed as a category B listed building, which means it is protected because of its history and architecture.
