RCAHMS - GENERAL Recording Event

Date 1 May 2012 - 20 August 2013

Event ID 964196

Category Recording

Type Photographic Record

Permalink http://canmore.org.uk/event/964196

Inverquharity Castle lies approximately three miles north east of Kirriemuir on an unnumbered road off the B955. It lies at the confluence of the Carrity Burn and the Prosen Water.

The castle dates from the 15th century and was restored in the 1970’s after being unoccupied for some considerable time. The grounds of Inverquharity castle were designed and planted after the restoration and as such, they do not conform to the traditional designed landscape of the 17th and 18th centuries and therefore do not fall naturally into the categories of the standard report.

The castle stands on a level raised platform or small promontory in a defensive position that would have given extensive views all round. An escarpment drops some 15m to 20m steeply on the NE and the ground below this is on the same level as the river South Esk which is less than ½ a Km away. At some time, it may have been that the river flowed much closer to the castle. On the S side, the slope drops more gradually towards the Carity burn. The drive crosses the Carity burn to the castle.

The main area of open garden is grassed to the WNW and again to the E. The slope of the escarpment to the NE has been planted in a natural way and informal paths lead down to the lower level where there is a large pond. The pond was made on a boggy area and sits in a natural setting. From the main grassed area in the WNW, there is a ‘gully’ leading to the lower level. This gully is less steep than the escarpment and, although informal in appearance, has been planted with a very specific design to complement the landscape.

Researched and visited by the Garden History Society in Scotland (Angus Landscape Survey Group), May, 2012.