Inverugie Castle

Inverugie Castle or Cheyne's Tower is the ruins of a motte-and-bailey castle in Aberdeenshire, Scotland.

Location

Inverugie Castle is located two miles from Peterhead on the north east coast.^[1] The ruins are a small mound only three metres high above the River Ugie.^[2] This is all that remains of a wooden motte-and-bailey castle of Inverugie built by the Cheynne family in the 12th century. The stone ruins date from later than the original building on the site.

Original Structure

The location of the motte relative to the river at Inverugie suggests it was built to protect the ford at this point and that the bailey ditch (moat) would have been filled with water from the Ugie for additional defence.

Later Structure

In the basement of the oblong tower house there was the storage area and kitchen. The next level contained the hall used for entertaining guests. In the north and south corners of the hall were small turnpike stairs accessing both round towers. On the middle of the west side was a third tower with the main staircase. This faced into the cobbled courtyard with its wall beside the river Ugie.

History

The castle of Inverugie was first raised by the Cheynne family in the 12th century. By the mid-14th century the estate of Inverugie had passed to the Keith Earl Marischals who had their main seat at the coastal fortress of Dunnottar Castle. They built the current (ruined) stone castle of Inverugie south of the original wooden motte in around 1660. In the 19th century an oak heraldry shield was found in a local cottage with the arms of William Keith, 7th Earl Marischal and its date was carved as 1660. Some time within the early 19th century the Inverugie estate passed from the Keiths to one James Ferguson who kept the building in a perfect state until he died in 1820. The empty structure was then looted with the roof and flooring stolen. In 1899, Inverugie castle was blown up. The reasons for this are unknown.

References