Kinnaird Head facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Kinnaird Head
Kinnaird Head, showing the lighthouse, formerly Kinnaird Castle, and the Winetower
Kinnaird Head Location in Aberdeen
Country	Scotland
County	Aberdeenshire
Town	Fraserburgh

Kinnaird Head is a piece of land that sticks out into the North Sea. You can find it in the town of Fraserburgh, Aberdeenshire, on the east coast of Scotland. What makes Kinnaird Head special is its old 16th-century castle. This castle was turned into the Kinnaird Head Lighthouse in 1787. It was the very first lighthouse in Scotland to be lit by the Northern Lighthouse Board. Both the lighthouse and a nearby building called the Winetower are important historical sites. The lighthouse is a special "category A listed building," and the Winetower is a "scheduled monument," meaning they are protected for their history.

Kinnaird Castle: From Home to Lighthouse

The building we now know as the Kinnaird Head Lighthouse was once a castle called Kinnaird Castle. It was also known as Fraserburgh Castle. Construction on this castle began in March 1570. The person who started building it was Sir Alexander Fraser, who was the 8th laird of Philorth. He also helped turn the small fishing village of Faithlie into the town of Fraserburgh in the 1590s.

Building the castle cost a lot of money. Because of the high expenses, Sir Alexander Fraser had to sell his family's main home, Philorth Castle. Later, another family member, Alexander, 10th of Philorth, fought in a big battle called the Battle of Worcester in 1651. Even though he was badly hurt, he lived to be over eighty years old. He later inherited the title of Lord Saltoun and had rooms at Kinnaird Castle.

The last people to live in the castle were Henrietta Fraser and her husband John Gordon. In 1787, the castle was rented out to the Northern Lighthouse Board. They decided to turn it into a lighthouse. The famous engineer Thomas Smith designed the changes. The lighthouse's lamp was first lit on December 1, 1787. The structure was updated in the 1820s. A new lighthouse was built nearby in 1991, taking over its duties.

Today, the old Kinnaird Castle is home to the Museum of Scottish Lighthouses. This museum shows off the original lighthouse and has a modern building. Inside, you can see many different lenses and other items from lighthouses all across Scotland.

The Mysterious Wine Tower

The Winetower

The Wine Tower is a small, three-story building. It is located about 50 meters away from the Kinnaird Head Lighthouse. This tower was also built in the 16th century, around the same time as Kinnaird Castle. It might have gotten its name because it was used as a storage building for the castle, perhaps even for wine.

You enter the tower on the second floor. Inside, you can see fancy carved stone decorations hanging from the ceiling. There's a local story about the Wine Tower. It is said that a member of the Fraser family once imprisoned his daughter's boyfriend in a cave below the tower. The story claims the daughter then jumped from the roof of the tower. Some people say there is red paint on the rocks below to show where she landed. According to local tradition, many people believe the tower is haunted.