Castle Fraser

About this place

Castle Fraser rises near Kemnay in Aberdeenshire, its core dating from around 1450.

The castle is built to a Z-plan design, one of the most elaborate of the so-called Castles of Mar.

Inside, visitors can find trapdoors, secret staircases and the Laird's Lug, a hidden listening post.

The National Trust for Scotland cares for the castle, its walled garden and over 300 acres of surrounding parkland.

History

Archaeological evidence points to an earlier square tower on the site dating from around 1400 to 1500, which was absorbed into the present castle as the Fraser family expanded and remodelled their stronghold over the following two centuries. The result is one of the grandest of the Castles of Mar, a group of fortified houses built by families across this part of Aberdeenshire. The castle is a Category A listed building, and its grounds appear on Scotland's Inventory of Gardens and Designed Landscapes.

Architecture

Castle Fraser is built to a Z-plan, with round towers set at opposing corners of the main block, a defensive layout typical of Scottish tower houses of the period. Later Fraser lairds added decorative stonework and turrets, softening the castle's earlier military character into something closer to a grand country house.

Worth knowing

The castle holds a family portrait collection that includes a work by Sir Henry Raeburn. Its best-known curiosity is the Laird's Lug, a concealed listening point where the laird could overhear conversations without being seen.

Gardens & grounds

The walled kitchen garden is planted with herbaceous borders, specimen trees and a working kitchen garden that still supplies the castle's tearoom.

Facilities