Cluny Castle

Cluny Castle was originally built c.1604 as a Z-plan castle replacing either a house or small peel tower. Sited in the parish of Cluny, it is south of Monymusk and north of Sauchen in Aberdeenshire, north-east Scotland. Owned by three separate branches of Gordon families over the centuries, it was used to shelter Jacobite rebels in the mid-18th century. Extensive additions were made in 1820 to the design of architect John Smith when it was in the ownership of Colonel John Gordon. Two wings of the castle and the adjoining private chapel were destroyed by fire in 1926, but the damage was restored.

It is a Category A listed building and has been used as a film setting. The grounds are included on the Inventory of Gardens and Designed Landscapes in Scotland.

As of 2016[update] it remains privately owned by the Baron of Cluny who has employed craftsmen to complete extensive renovations. It is not open to the public but corporate events are hosted there and weddings are held in the chapel.

History

On an unknown date prior to 1325 King Robert the Bruce granted the lands of Cluny (Gaelic meaning meadow or "meadows interspersed with rising grounds") to his sister Mary's husband, Alexander Fraser. The lands passed down through the family, via Adam Gordon of Huntly and the Earls of Huntly, to John Gordon, a younger son of the 3rd Earl. His son Sir Thomas Gordon (d. 1607) built the castle to replace an earlier house or peel tower.[a] The lands were inherited by his son, Alexander Gordon, who became the fourth laird of Cluny. By 1636 the cost of building the castle combined with other financial difficulties caused ownership of the lands to be transferred. The castle had various owners, probably creditors, until 1680, when it became the property of Robert Gordon, of the Gordonstoun branch of the family. It remained in the hands of this family until the mid-18th century.

The Gordons of Cluny were implicated in the Jacobite Rising of 1745, and had also incurred debts. This resulted in the castle passing to a third branch of the Gordon family around 1753, although the exact...