An outstanding family home in a magical setting.

Description

The castle is an L-plan tower house and although of incredible historic stature has been a much-loved and cherished family home for over 50 years for the Ellington family. Displayed in the vestibule is a coat of arms of the Barclay family. Just inside the front doors is a shot hole for defending the castle against attackers with a stone pillar in front of it behind which the defenders could hide between pot shots. The ceiling is barrel-vaulted as in the kitchen and dining room. Within the staircase are small spy holes or ‘laird’s lugs’ for listening to conversations in the passageway. There is a hatch in the wall facing the passageway where food would have been passed through to be taken into the dining room. The painted panel is of the Last Supper and is 16th century Italian. The utterly outstanding room of the castle is the Great Hall; its rib and groin vaulted ceiling is quite unique and displays the Royal Coat of Arms of Scotland (near the fireplace) and the Coat of Arms of the Barony (near the gallery). The gallery is unaltered since the 16th century but was laterly used as a secret chapel enclosed by curtains.

History
Towie Barclay Castle, Aberdeenshire, has been the historic seat of the Barclay Clan since 1136. The present structure, which dates from the 15th century, was in ruin and dereliction until its restoration by the present owners.

It is understood that the majority of the present footprint of the Castle was built around 430 years ago (1593), that the upper two storeys and gable of the east wing were demolished 231 years ago (1792), that the east gable and battlemented parapet were added around 149 years ago (1874) and that by the mid 20th century the castle had fallen into disrepair and neglect. The lower two floors were completely restored and renovated 53 years ago (1973) and the upper two storeys were added 47 years ago (1976).

The castle possesses the best preserved late medieval hall north of York and now appears much as it would have been during the 16th century. The castle was described by Marcus Binney in 1989 in Country Life magazine as possessing ‘perhaps the richest interior of any building in Scotland’. The building contains an important collection of contents including early Aberdeenshire oak furniture, and a number of items historicallyassociated with the castle. The restoration was the subject of two major television documentaries: Grampian Television with Selina Scott in 1988 and CBS ‘60 Minutes’ with Harry Reasoner in 1989. Many architectural articles have appeared in books and academic periodicals, with Towie Barclay Castle internationally recognised as one of the finest domestic restorations to have taken place in Scotland this century.

Accommodation
The property comprises: Towie Barclay Castle, which is part 4 storey and part 2 storey, with a linked row of outbuildings off its north side; an L shaped 1.5 storey building, which is divided between Gardener’s Cottage and The Carriage Rooms; and The Stables – a 1.5 storey building in which the ground floor accommodates garages, former stables and stores and the upper floor which has been converted into a billiard room. Original features include stone flagged floors, wooden floors and two spiral staircases, both with stone steps.

While the castle property reflects centuries of history, it is also very functional as a wonderful permanent residence. At ground floor level, the heart of the home is the kitchen with its casual dining space and two oven scarlet AGA adding a welcoming and cheerful note. More elegant and formal dining is opposite in the intimate dining room. Two further rooms are extremely versatile and can be used either as connecting bedrooms or a bedroom with an adjacent dressing room or even as a home office or playroom. This level has a cloakroom with WC. The curved stone staircase leads to the first floor. Simply breathtaking is the Great Hall. This room is full of ambience and character and along with the minstrels’ gallery is the most fabulous entertaining reception room. More relaxed space is catered for with the adjacent drawing room. An inner hallway leads to a bedroom and bathroom. Located on the second floor is the library as the ultimate peaceful retreat. There is an en suite bathroom completing this level. The third, top floor is worth the effort as it is here that the roof space and commanding views can be accessed. There are two well proportioned bedrooms on this level, one with a dressing room.

Gardener’s Cottage is very flexible and could be used for multi-generational living or for generating holiday let income: it was previously listed by the National Trust For Scotland as 4.5 star rated accommodation.

In terms of the Carriage Room, only the imagination restricts its potential. In the relatively recent past, the owners used this as a corporate meeting venue with an adjacent recreational room which includes the historic collection of Barclay portraits dating from the 18th century. There is a further first floor room and cloakroom with WC. The former stable block provides extensive and comprehensive storage space and the former hayloft above has been converted to a generous multi purpose space, used originally as a billiard room.

Outside
Off the north side of the Castle and adjoining, is a utility room, laundry room with a large sandstone fireplace with an oven each side and three store rooms.

The Castle grounds, including those of Gardener’s Cottage, Carriage Rooms and Stables extend to approximately 2.7 acres. Significant features of the grounds include thick pink gravelled drives and footpaths allowing parking and turning for numerous vehicles. An utterly charming courtyard is formed by Gardener’s Cottage, Carriage Rooms, and Stables buildings. Stone steps lead down from the Castle to the beautiful formal garden which provides wonderful blooms of colour throughout the season. It is sheltered and bounded on three sides by stone walls. At its centre is a circular stone feature, pink gravel paths, shaped lawns, fine local corrennie gravel paths and cultivated flower beds. There is a lean-to glasshouse in the formal garden along with a circular stone garden shed, kitchen and soft fruit gardens, potting shed and timber garden shed for storage. At the south side are large areas of lawn, bounded externally by a metal fence and a selection of planted trees. Gardener’s Cottage at the front has its own private and almost secret garden area.

Garage
Timber garage with up and over vehicular door.

Location

While the surrounding Aberdeenshire area comprises rolling farmland, this part of the northeast of Scotland is famed for its outdoor pursuits. There are extensive opportunities for field sports, including driven and walked up pheasant, partridge and grouse shooting, roe and red deer stalking, and fishing on the rivers Dee, Don, Deveron and Ythan. There are numerous golf courses in the area including Turriff, Duff House Royal and Tarlair near Banff, Newmachar, Fraserburgh, Trump International at Menie and the world renowned Royal Aberdeen, host to The 2005 British Senior Open, The Walker Cup in 2011 and, most recently, The Scottish Open in 2014. The nearby coast offers sailing and sandy beaches. Apart from its rich agricultural heritage, the area is steeped in historical interest, being in the heart of ‘Castle Country’. Towie Barclay Castle is situated a short distance from the village of Auchterless, which has a small primary school, parish church and village hall. The local health centre is in Turriff 4 miles away. In the village of Fyvie there are shops for everyday essentials. Turriff offers a wider range of shopping, business and leisure facilities, together with a sports centre with swimming pool, community centre, cottage hospital, primary and secondary schooling. A regular bus service runs from Turriff to Dyce and Aberdeen city centre and there are also connections to Inverurie, Elgin and Banff.

Inverurie is a prosperous and expanding market town, situated in the valley of the River Don with good road and rail links to Aberdeen, Dyce, Huntly and Inverness. There is a wide range of amenities and services, including several large supermarkets. The A96 and A947 provide easy access to Aberdeen and its international airport, which offers regular flights to London and other UK and European cities. The Aberdeen Western Peripheral Route has improved travel in and around Aberdeen and a quicker and more direct route south. There are regular train services from Aberdeen, including a sleeper to King’s Cross, London. Private schools include Robert Gordon’s Collage, St Margaret’s and The Albyn as well as the International School of Aberdeen. Gordonstoun School lies some 50 miles to the northwest.

Square Footage: 3,379 sq ft


Acreage: 2.7 Acres

Additional Info

Council Tax :-
Castle - Band H
Cottage - Band B