Brodie Castle Policies

A length of haha separates Charles Park from the lawn due south of the castle which was rebuilt in 1988 to replicate a section of the haha or sunk fence that formed the bowling green (see P03) on the south-east front of the castle shown on the 1770 Brown plan. A sign gives some information but no date. On the Brown plan walls are shown as double lines, with the forecourt wall cross-hatched and the Bowling green wall unhatched, so it could be assumed that the first represents a free-standing wall and the second represents a haha. Comparison of the modern line with the 1770 line shows that while at the northwest end the two lines concur, the lines diverge towards the south end. In the geophysical survey, the line of high resistsance (A08) beside the present haha follows closely the Brown plan line, rather than the modern OS line, as seen in the overlay on page 48. The east half of the former line runs through the mature woods of P14. The 1824 plan and later maps show no indication of a haha or fence here after the area had been informalised with lawns running uninterrupted into parkland.

The 1998 HLS includes the following (p14, 9.2) …

In 1988 a grant was obtained from Countryside Commission for Scotland to restore the ha-ha. The first evidence for there being a ha-ha at Brodie is a reference to Building up to Cornours of the Sunke fenc in a mason’s account dated 1738. It appear to be indicated by a double line round the Bowling green on the south front of the castle in the 1770 Estate plan. The discussion within the Trust of the line the ha-ha was to follow throws some doubt on the authenticity of the restoration, but Alexander Bennett confirms that foundations were uncovered when work was begun and the present ha-ha was built off them.

(BRD14 B06)

Information from NTS (SCS) February 2016