Melgund Castle: A Scottish Tower House
Site at a Glance
- Rating
- 4.7
- Popularity
- Very Low
- Country
- United Kingdom
- Primary era
- Early Modern
- Eras represented
- Early Modern
- Civilizations
- Kingdom of Scotland
- Site type
- Military
- Remains
- Castle
On this page11 sections
History
Melgund Castle is a fortified mid-sixteenth-century residence in Angus, Scotland, United Kingdom, built as a lowland Tower House, a fortified Scottish home centred on a tall tower. Located about 2 kilometres east of Aberlemno, it may incorporate elements of a fifteenth-century structure and was intended as one of Cardinal David Beaton’s residences for Marion Ogilvy and their family.
Ownership before the Beaton building work
The estate was initially held by the Cramond family. By 1525 it was in the possession of Patrick Annand, whose daughter Janet transferred it to her husband, James Bethune. Bethune, a Scottish landholder and the elder brother of Cardinal David Beaton, died childless in 1542. The estate was then sold to David Beaton, a Scottish cardinal and Archbishop of St Andrews who held major political and ecclesiastical influence in sixteenth-century Scotland.
Construction and the Beaton family
David Beaton began building work in 1543. He bought timber from William Mayne, a merchant based in St Andrews, and had it shipped to Arbroath. The work may have incorporated or remodelled an earlier building. The architectural historian Charles McKean interpreted the activity of the 1540s as an alteration to a pre-existing structure rather than the creation of an entirely new castle.
Melgund Castle was first documented on 21 April 1545 under the name “North-Melgund”. It was described again in 1547 as the manor of North-Melgund. After David Beaton was assassinated in 1546, the estate passed to his eldest son, David Beaton of Melgund, who may have undertaken further improvements.
Later ownership and modern conservation
During the seventeenth century, ownership passed through the Huntly, Maule, Murray, and Elliot families. The property later passed by marriage to the Earls of Minto, who received the title Viscount Melgund. The title is used by the heir to the earldom. The Elliot family retained the castle until it was sold in 1990.
Archaeological investigations took place around the castle between 1990 and 1996 in preparation for its partial conversion into a private residence. Restoration and conversion work by Benjamin Tindall Architects was completed in August 2002. The restored castle is partly used as a private residence, while the domestic range remains a ruin. Melgund Castle became a scheduled monument in 1971, a Scottish legal designation for nationally important archaeological or historic sites, and is also listed by Historic Scotland as a Category A historic building, the highest level of designation for buildings of special architectural or historic interest in Scotland. Local tradition holds that the ghost of David Beaton haunts the castle.
Remains
Melgund Castle is arranged on an L-shaped plan and is built mainly of rubble stone. Its form combines a tall principal block with an attached domestic range, reflecting the character of a fortified residence designed to imitate a fifteenth-century keep while incorporating sixteenth-century additions. Earlier fabric may also survive within the building.
Keep and stair tower
Four-storey keep
The principal block is a four-storey keep with an attic. Its ground floor has vaulted ceilings, and the parapet projects outward at the top of the building. A door lintel carries a carved shield bearing the initials “D.B.”, linking a surviving architectural detail with David Beaton.
Stair tower
A stair tower rises beside the principal block and appears to have been adapted for use as a watchtower. Its position contributes to the castle’s defensive character while forming part of the vertical arrangement of the keep.
Domestic range and restoration
Ruined domestic range
A two-storey domestic range is attached to the keep. A round tower stands at its north-eastern corner, and the range has been retained in a ruined condition. Together, these elements form the second arm of the castle’s L-shaped layout.
Restored keep
The 2002 restoration used mostly local materials, including stone from a nearby quarry that was specially reopened for the work. The principal external alteration was the installation of a new roof over the keep, which had previously stood partly roofless.
Nearby sites
