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Dunnottar Castle is a ruined medieval fortress located upon a precipitous rocky headland on the north-east coast of Scotland, about two miles south of Stonehaven. Its surviving buildings are largely of the 15th-16th centuries, but an important fortress certainly existed on this site from Dark Age times. Dunnottar played an important role in the history of Scotland from the Middle Ages through to the Enlightenment, due to its strategic location overlooking the shipping lanes to northern Scotland and also being situated on a fairly narrow coastal terrace that controlled land movements, particularly the land access to the ancient Causey Mounth, the only medieval route from the coastal south via Portlethen Moss to Aberdeen.[1] The site, now owned by private interests but open to the public, is visited by hundreds of thousands of tourists annually. Image File history File links DUNNOTTAR_CASTLE_Large. ...
Image File history File links DUNNOTTAR_CASTLE_Large. ...
The Middle Ages formed the middle period in a traditional schematic division of European history into three ages: the classical civilization of Antiquity, the Middle Ages, and modern times. ...
Fortifications (Latin fortis, strong, and facere, to make) are military constructions designed for defensive warfare. ...
Motto (Latin) No one provokes me with impunity Cha togar mfhearg gun dioladh (Scottish Gaelic) Wha daur meddle wi me?(Scots)1 Anthem (Multiple unofficial anthems) Scotlands location in Europe Capital Edinburgh Largest city Glasgow Official languages English (de facto)1; Gaelic[1]2 and Scots3 (recognised minority...
Market Square, Stonehaven Stonehaven (Steenhive in the Doric dialect of Scots) and Cala na Creige in Gaelic is a town with around fourteen thousand inhabitants (9,577 in 2001 (census)) on the North-East coast of Scotland. ...
Stirling Castle has stood for centuries atop a volcanic crag defending the lowest ford of the River Forth. ...
The Middle Ages formed the middle period in a traditional schematic division of European history into three ages: the classical civilization of Antiquity, the Middle Ages, and modern times, beginning with the Renaissance. ...
The Age of Enlightenment (French: ; German: ) was an eighteenth century movement in European and American philosophy, or the longer period including the Age of Reason. ...
Ruined Episcopal chapel from 18th century south of the Portlethen Moss along the Causey Mounth The Causey Mounth is an ancient drovers road over the coastal fringe of the Grampian Mountains in Aberdeenshire, Scotland. ...
True heather, a common plant on the Portlethen Moss The Portlethen Moss is an acidic bog nature reserve in the coastal Grampian region in Aberdeenshire, Scotland. ...
Aberdeen (IPA: ; Scottish Gaelic: ) is Scotlands third largest city with a population of 202,370. ...
Tourists on Oahu, Hawaii Tourism is travel for predominantly recreational or leisure purposes or the provision of services to support this leisure travel. ...
The ruins of the castle are spread over a three acre area virtually surrounded by sheer cliffs which drop to the North Sea 50 metres below. This L plan castle is accessed via a narrow strip of land joining the mainland and a steep path leading up to the massive gatehouse. The cliffs and headland formations which extend miles to the north and south are home to tens of thousands of pelagic birds, making this stretch of Scottish coast a notable bird sanctuary of northern Europe from the standpoint of total bird populations and diversity of species. The 1990 film Hamlet starring Mel Gibson and Glenn Close was shot there. Rocky landscape with ruins, by Nicolaes Berchem, ca. ...
The North Sea is a sea of the Atlantic Ocean, located between the coasts of Norway and Denmark in the east, the coast of the British Isles in the west, and the German, Dutch, Belgian and French coasts in the south. ...
Muchalls Castle, Scotland L Plan Castle is straightforwardly enough a castle or towerhouse in the shape of an L, typically built in the 13th to the 17th century. ...
A gatehouse is a feature of European castles and mansions. ...
Hamlet is a 1990 film based on the Shakespearean play of the same name. ...
Mel Columcille Gerard Gibson AO (born January 3, 1956) is an American born Australian actor, director, and producer. ...
Glenn Close (born March 19, 1947) is a five time Academy Award-nominated American film and stage actress. ...
The extant complex
The Dunnottar site comprises eleven distinct buildings ranging from 13th to 17th century construction. There are two theoretical accesses to Dunnottar Castle. The first was via the well defended main gate set in a cleft in the rock where attackers could be assaulted by defenders from all directions. At this location is the imposing gatehouse with apparent medieval defensive devices lurking for attackers treading up the cobblestone entrance road. The second access is through a rocky cove, the aperture to a marine cave on the north side of the Dunnottar cliffs. From here a steep path leads to the cliff atop which is the well fortified postern gate. The most dominant building viewed from the land approach is the 14th century keep or tower house, somewhat distressed from Cromwell's cannon bombardment. Other principal buildings are the 17th century chapel and an extensive quadrangle structure on the east side, below which is the infamous "Whigs Vault", a barrel vault design, the setting of an 18th century mass imprisonment. Postern, Manila. ...
The keep of Scarborough Castle Rochester Castle featuring a massive turreted keep Early 13th century keep (Rouen, France) The 14th century residential keep at Largoët A keep is a strong central tower which normally forms the heart of a castle. ...
Clononey castle in Co. ...
A chapel is a private church, usually small and often attached to a larger institution such as a college, a hospital, a palace, or a prison. ...
Barrel vault In architecture, a barrel vault is an extrusion of a single curve (or pair of curves, in the case of a pointed barrel vault) along a given distance. ...
The Annals of Ulster record a siege of Dún Fother in 681, the earliest (probable) written reference to the site. Dunnottar is also a mentioned site for a battle between King Donald II and the Danish Vikings in 900 AD, and a raid into Scotland via land and sea by King Aethelstan of Wessex in 934 included an attack on Dunnottar. William the Lion used Dunnottar as an administrative complex. King Domnall II was the first man to have been called rí Alban (i.e. King of Alba), when he died at Dunnottar in 900 AD. All his predecessors styled themselves as either King of the Picts or King of Fortriu. Such an apparent innovation in the Gaelic chronicles is construed by some to spell the birth of Scotland. The Annals of Ulster are a chronicle of medieval Ireland. ...
// Events August 9 - The Bulgars win the war with the Byzantine Empire; the latter signs a peace treaty, which is considered as the birth-date of Bulgaria Wilfrid of York is expelled from Northumbria by Ecgfrith and retires into Sussex Births Deaths January 10 - Pope Agatho Ebroin, Mayor of the...
Donald II of Scotland (Domnall mac CausantÃn) was King of Scotland from 889 to 900. ...
The term king commonly denotes the ship-borne warriors, pirates and traders of Norsemen (literally, men from the north) who originated in Scandinavia and raided the coasts of britain and ireland as far east as the Volga River in Russia from the late 8–18th century. ...
Athelstan (c. ...
Map of the British Isles circa 802 Wessex was one of the seven major Anglo-Saxon kingdoms (the Heptarchy) that preceded the Kingdom of England. ...
William I (William the Lion, William Leo, William Dunkeld or William Canmore), (1142/1143 - December 4, 1214) reigned as King of Scotland from 1165 to 1214. ...
Donald II of Scotland (Domnall mac Causantín) was king of Scotland from 889 to 900. ...
William Wallace is said to have led the Scots to victory over the English at Dunnottar in 1296. The outcome was completed by Wallace's imprisonment and incineration of the defeated English soldiers in the castle church. The brutality of this treatment may be understood in the context of then recent massacres committed by English troops against Scottish civilians in the Borders area. For other persons named William Wallace, see William Wallace (disambiguation). ...
March 30 - Edward I stormed Berwick-upon-Tweed, sacking the then Scottish border town with much bloodshed. ...
By 1336 the resources of Edward III of England were stretched thinly in his battles with the Scots. The King ordered Rosslyn to sail eight ships to the still partially ruined Dunnottar for the purpose of rebuilding and fortifying to use as a forward resupply base for the northern campaign. Rosslyn took 160 soldiers, horses, as well as a corps of masons and carpenters.[2] All this work of the English was undone later the same year when the Scottish Regent Sir Andrew Moray led a Scottish force that captured and once more destroyed the defences of Dunnottar. By the close of the 14th century Dunnottar was firmly under Scottish control. The casle was rebuilt and augmented over sevral generations by the Earls Marischal of Scotland, including the 5th Earl, George Keith (d. 1623), founder of Marischal College, Aberdeen (1593). This article is about the King of England. ...
Rosslyn is the name of municipalities in the U.S. state of Virginia, and Ontario, Canada: Rosslyn, Virginia Rosslyn, Ontario see also: Roslin, Rosslyn Chapel. ...
Sir Andrew Moray of Petty and Bothwell was the son of Andrew Moray of Petty, who had been joint-commander with William Wallace of the victorous Scottish army at the Battle of Stirling Bridge on 11th September 1297. ...
Year 1623 (MDCXXIII) was a common year starting on Sunday (link will display the full calendar) of the Gregorian calendar (or a common year starting on Wednesday of the 10-day slower Julian calendar). ...
Marschal College viewed from Upper Kirkgate Marischal College was founded in 1593 in Aberdeen by George Keith, 5th Earl Marischal of Scotland. ...
Events May 18 - Playwright Thomas Kyds accusations of heresy lead to an arrest warrant for Christopher Marlowe. ...
Sixteenth and Seventeenth centuries
 The castle, viewed from below Early in the 16th century the Scots added a new block to the east of the keep. Mary Queen of Scots visited Dunnottar in the years 1562 and 1564. In 1575 a substantial stone gatehouse was constructed, which serves as the imposing present day visitor's entrance. James VI stayed during part of the year 1580. From 1580 to 1650 the Earl Marischals converted a medieval style fortress into an opulent castle, constructing ranges of edifices around a quadrangle on the northeast. These resulted in arguably the most luxurious living quarters in Scotland in that era. Between 1582 and 1584 a west wing to the fortress was erected. Also, during the 16th century, a new chapel was introduced. Then, early in the 17th century two other wings to the chapel were added. Image File history File links Size of this preview: 450 × 599 pixelsFull resolution (461 × 614 pixel, file size: 147 KB, MIME type: image/jpeg) File history Legend: (cur) = this is the current file, (del) = delete this old version, (rev) = revert to this old version. ...
Image File history File links Size of this preview: 450 × 599 pixelsFull resolution (461 × 614 pixel, file size: 147 KB, MIME type: image/jpeg) File history Legend: (cur) = this is the current file, (del) = delete this old version, (rev) = revert to this old version. ...
Mary I of Scotland; known as Mary, Queen of Scots Mary I of Scotland (Mary Stuart or Stewart) (December 8, 1542 – February 8, 1587), better known as Mary, Queen of Scots, was the ruler of Scotland from December 14, 1542 – July 24, 1567. ...
James Stuart (19 June 1566 – 27 March 1625) was King of Scots as James VI, and King of England and King of Ireland as James I. He ruled in Scotland as James VI from 24 July 1567, when he was only one year old. ...
In 1639 the owner of Dunnottar was the Seventh Earl Marischal, who that year joined the Covenanters, a movement opposing the established Episcopal Church and hence Charles I himself. James Graham, 1st Marquess of Montrose, earlier an ally of Mariscal, tried to convert Mariscal back to the Royalist cause; being unsuccessful in that exercise, Montrose turned on his former friend and attacked the fortress, laying waste by fire to expansive grain fields all about. Nonetheless, Mariscal held the fortress, in spite of considerable structural devastation. At about this same time in history Covenanters, who had been opposing the Bishops of Aberdeen, held a conference in nearby Muchalls Castle. Events at Dunnotar and Muchalls Castles were to prove a pivotal turning point in the English Civil War, and to promote willingness of the monarchy to come to terms with the ideals of the Covenanters. In Scotland, the office of Great Marischal of Scotland, which was granted to the Keith family as Knight Marischal and later on changed to Lord Marischal and later on again to Earl Marischal of Scotland, died out when a member of the family of Keith forfeited it by being part...
The Covenanters, named after the Solemn League and Covenant, were a party that, originating in the Reformation movement, played an important part in the history of Scotland, and to a lesser extent in that of England, during the 17th century. ...
The neutrality of this article is disputed. ...
Charles I (19 November 1600 – 30 January 1649) was King of England, King of Scotland and King of Ireland from 27 March 1625 until his execution in 1649. ...
James Graham, 1st Marquess of Montrose James Graham, 1st Marquess of Montrose (1612 - 21 May 1650), was a Scottish nobleman and soldier, who initially joined the Covenanters in the Wars of the Three Kingdoms, but subsequently supported King Charles I as the English Civil War developed. ...
Prince Rupert of the Rhine Cavaliers was the name used by Parliamentarians for the Royalist supporters of King Charles I during the English Civil War (1642–1651). ...
Muchalls Castle, Kincardineshire Muchalls Castle stands overlooking the North Sea in the countryside of historic Kincardineshire, Scotland. ...
The English Civil War consisted of a series of armed conflicts and political machinations that took place between Parliamentarians (known as Roundheads) and Royalists (known as Cavaliers) between 1642 and 1651. ...
King Charles II was received warmly in a visit to Earl Mariscal in 1650; however as the pendulum swung again, in 1651 the English General Overton began a siege of Dunnottar seeking the prize of Scotland's Regalia, the royal crown, sword and sceptre used in the coronation of Charles II at Scone Palace. The Dunnottar fortress was defended bravely by a small garrison of approximately 70 men. Ultimately the then governor Sir George Ogilvy of Barras surrendered to Overton's predecessor, General Morgan; however, the English were denied the Regalia, which was smuggled out during the siege.[3] The successful smuggler has been identified as four different persons including Anne Lindsay, a relative of Ogilvy's wife. Charles II (29 May 1630 – 6 February 1685) was the King of England, Scotland, and Ireland. ...
To meet Wikipedias quality standards, this article or section may require cleanup. ...
The Honours of Scotland The Honours of Scotland, also known as the Scottish regalia and the Scottish crown jewels, dating from the fifteenth and sixteenth centuries, are the oldest set of Crown Jewels in the British Isles and are the second oldest in Europe. ...
Scone Palace. ...
Barras may mean: Paul François Jean Nicolas Barras (1755-1829), a French revolutionary and the main executive leader of the Directory regime of 1795 - 1799 Inhabitant of Ovifat, a Belgian town. ...
In 1685, during the rebellion of Argyll and Monmouth, 125 men and 42 women were herded into the dungeon known as the "Whigs Vault" within the Dunnotar fortress. Many of them perished in this dank, crowded and squalid setting. The remainder were deported to the West Indies. Events February 6 - James Stuart, Duke of York becomes King James II of England and Ireland and King James VII of Scotland. ...
The Monmouth Rebellion of 1685, also known as the Pitchfork Rebellion, was an attempt to overthrow the King of England, James II, who became king when his elder brother, Charles II, died on 6 February 1685. ...
The dungeons of Blarney Castle. ...
The Whigs (with the Tories) are often described as one of two political parties in England and later the United Kingdom from the late 17th to the mid 19th centuries. ...
The Caribbean or the West Indies is a group of islands in the Caribbean Sea. ...
Jacobite era Both the Jacobites and Hanoverians used the Dunnottar Fortress as the pendulum of battle success swung. In 1689 during Viscount Dundee's campaign, fourteen suspected Jacobites from Aberdeen were held in the fortress for about a year, among whom was George Liddel, professor of mathematics. In 1715 the Dunnotar cannons were utilized by the Jacobites; following this uprising all the possessions of the Earl Mariscal were forfeit, and finally the fortress was dismantled three years later. This article is not about the Jacobite Orthodox Church, nor is it about Jacobinism or the earlier Jacobean period. ...
The House of Hanover (the Hanoverians) were a German royal dynasty which succeeded the House of Stuart as kings of Great Britain in 1714. ...
The titles of Viscount of Dundee and Lord Graham of Claverhouse in the Peerage of Scotland were created on 12 November 1688 for John Graham. ...
Access and local setting There are two access trails to Dunnottar. The first is an 800 metre partially steep earthen trail connecting the castle to a car park along the coastal highway (that connects to the A92). The other is a three kilometre hike which begins from a backstreet behind the harbour in Stonehaven and heads south along the blufftop to the castle. This trail is mostly narrow and is sometimes steeply inclined, but offers expansive marine views. The A92 is a major road in Scotland. ...
The castle is open to the public on the following days.
- April (Easter weekend) to October: Monday to Saturday 9:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m., Sunday 2:00 p.m. to 5:00 p.m.
- June (3rd Sunday) to September (3rd Sunday): Monday to Sunday 9:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m.
- November to April (Easter weekend): Friday to Monday 9:30 a.m. to dusk
Another nearby local feature of interest for hikers is the cliff top trail of Fowlsheugh Nature Preserve about four kilometres south. Fowlsheugh has been designated as a Site of Special Scientific Interest due to its prolific seabird breeding activity. Fowlsheugh cliffs in breeding season. ...
A Site of Special Scientific Interest or SSSI is a conservation designation denoting a protected area in the United Kingdom. ...
See also Stonehaven Tolbooth The Stonehaven Tolbooth is a late sixteenth century stone building originally used as a prison and a courthouse in the town of Stonehaven, Aberdeenshire, Scotland. ...
References A map of Europe in the 1430s, at the height of the Hundred Years War The Hundred Years War is the name modern historians have given to what was actually a series of related conflicts, fought over a 116-year period, between the Kingdom of England and France; beginning in...
Nigel Tranter (November 23, 1909 – January 9, 2000) was a Scottish historian and author. ...
The Fortfied House in Scotland is a five-volume book by the Scottish author Nigel Tranter. ...
External links Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Dunnottar Castle Coordinates: 56°56′46″N, 2°11′45″W Image File history File links Commons-logo. ...
Map of Earth showing lines of latitude (horizontally) and longitude (vertically), Eckert VI projection; large version (pdf, 1. ...
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