The castle was probably built in the mid-13th century under Gilbert de Moravia. It has been posited that siting of Kildrummy Castle was influenced by the location of the GrampianMounthtrackway crossings, particularly the Elsick Mounth and Cryne Corse Mounth.[3] Kildrummy Castle underwent siege numerous times in its history, first in defence of the family of Robert the Bruce in August–September 1306 (leading to the executions of Nigel Bruce and many other Scots),[4] and again in 1335 by David of Strathbogie. On this occasion Christina Bruce held off the attackers until her husband Sir Andrew Murray came to her rescue.[5] In the reign of David II, Walter Maule of Panmure was warden of Kildrummy Castle.[6]
In 1538 the castle was raided by John Strachan, the young laird of Lenturk, who took furnishings and fixtures. Strachan brought a blacksmith to remove the ironwork from the windows and doors. Some of the metal was turned into horseshoes and used to mend ploughs at the Kirktoun of Glenbuchat.[9]
Kildrummy Castle is "shield-shaped" in plan with a number of independent towers. The flat side of the castle overlooks a steep ravine; moreover, on the opposite side of the castle the walls come to a point, which was once defended by a massive twin-towered gatehouse. The castle also had a keep, called the Snow Tower, taller than the other towers, built in the French style, as at Bothwell Castle. Extensive earthworks protected the castle, including a dry moat and the ravine. Most of the castle foundations are now visible, along with most of its lower-storey walls. Archaeological excavations in 1925 uncovered decorative stone flooring and evidence of battles.
Today
The castle was given into the care of the Ministry of Works in 1951,[12] and is now owned by its successor organisation, Historic Environment Scotland. The castle and its gardens, in the quarry used to excavate stone for the castle, are both open to the public.[13][14][15]
A hotel (the Kildrummy Castle Hotel) has been built on the old estate, overlooking the ruins.
Kildrummy Castle was the venue for the Scottish Sculpture Open, sometimes known as the Kildrummy Open, organised by the Scottish Sculpture Workshop from 1981 to 1997.[16]
^Maule, Harry (1874). Stuart, John (ed.). Registrum de Panmure. Records of the families of Maule, De Valoniis, Brechin, and Brechin-Barclay, united in the line of the Barons and Earls of Panmure. Edinburgh: Fox Maule-Ramsay.
^George Burnett, Exchequer Rolls of Scotland, vol. 7 (Edinburgh, 1884), pp. 559-61.
^HMC 9th Report: Lord Elphinstone (London, 1884), p. 190 no. 34.
^Margaret Sanderson, A Kindly Place? Living in Sixteenth-Century Scotland (East Linton: Tuckwell, 2002), p. 184.
^Joseph Bain, Hamilton Papers, vol. 2 (London, 1896), p. 643.