Tillycairn Castle facts for kids

Tillycairn Castle is an old castle from the 1500s. It stands on high ground about 2 miles (3.2 km) south-east of Cluny in Aberdeenshire, Scotland. It's built in a special "L" shape, which means it looks like the letter L from above.

A Look Back in Time

Early Days and Family Fights

Tillycairn Castle was likely made stronger around 1542. This was done by Matthew Lumsden. He probably wanted to protect it after some trouble with the Clan Strachan of Lynturk. This trouble happened during a big disagreement between the Clan Gordon and Clan Forbes families.

Changing Hands

In 1672, the last person from the Lumsden family line passed away. The castle then went to Thomas Burnett of Sauchen. After that, it had connections to the Forbes family for a while. Then, in the early 1700s, it became part of the Gordon family's property.

From Ruin to Restoration

By 1722, the castle had become a ruin. It was falling apart. But in 1973, David Lumsden bought it from the Cluny estate. He wanted to bring it back to life! An architect named Ian Begg helped restore the castle between 1980 and 1984. Now, it stands strong again.

What the Castle Looks Like

Outside the Walls

Tillycairn Castle has four floors. It's not a huge castle, but it has very thick walls. The bottom parts of the walls are built with large rocks. The castle has rounded corners. Almost all of its pointy roof sections (called gables) have small, round towers on them. These are called angle-turrets.

There's a half-circle shaped stair tower. It's built into the corner where the "L" shape comes together. The main door of the castle is right next to this stair tower. Long ago, there was a protective wall (a parapet) on the west side of the castle's wing. You can still see decorative stone supports (called corbelling) at the top of the walls. The wing of the castle is five stories high.

Inside the Castle

Down in the basement, there are three rooms with arched ceilings. One of these rooms was the kitchen. It has a very wide fireplace with an arch over it.

The main room, called the Hall, takes up the entire first floor. This room also has a beautiful fireplace. There's even a small sink and drain for storage. Above the fireplace, there's a secret listening spot. It's called a "Laird's Lug." This allowed the Laird (the castle's owner) to secretly listen to conversations happening in the Great Hall! The bedrooms were on the higher floors of the castle.

Tillycairn Castle is a very important historical building. It is listed as a category A building, which means it's of special architectural or historic interest.