Huntly Castle

Huntly Castle from the front.

Huntly Castle is what remains of the house of the chief of Clan Gordon, Earl of Huntly.  The original castle was burned in 1452, but a bigger one took its place.  You can see the foundations of the original.

Artists rendition of the inside of the castle, with information taken from an old inventory.

Small scale of the original tower and out buildings.

Even though it is a ruin, it is still magnificent to see.  Because the wooden floors rotted, access to the upper areas of the castle was not easily available, which saved several of the elegant carvings from vandals over the centuries.

View from the top.

The small room at the top of the highest tower has a wonderful view.  It's thought this was a library.  I can visualize sitting near one of the windows and reading for hours.

Him and Her on either side of a smaller fireplace in a sitting room.

The Grand fireplace; built to impress.

The Gordons had wealth, which is shown by the lavish carvings on two of the remaining fireplaces. The outside of the house is also carved with a statement to let all know that the first Earl lived here.

When Mary of Guise, the mother of Queen Mary of Scots, visited, she referred to the 4th Earl as "The Cock of the North", for his lavish lifestyle and flaunting of his wealth.  It would come back to haunt him in 1562, when royal forces defeated in battle and claimed the inventory of the castle for the crown.

The 4th Earl died from a seizure during the battle, but his corpse was tried for treason. It's interesting to note that the Gordon Highlanders still march to "The Cock of the North".

The outbuilding where ale was brewed.  The staff drank ale, while the owners had wine as well.

Everyone drank ale, for it was safer than the water.  The brew master was a woman, who was responsible for keeping the castle folks supplied with their gallon of beer a day.

The Castle, with the visitors center below. The window in the tallest tower shows, too.

There were two prisoners in the bottom of the prison tower.  It would take a long ladder to get them in or out.

More medieval stairs; we're not dead yet!

While the Gordons are my ancestors, my great grandparents would have lived in the original building, while the ones in the "modern" castle are cousins, many time removed.  It doesn't change who I am, but it's fun to walk in their footsteps.