Huntlywood

Local traditions and observations of the late eighteenth century describe the remains of walls, perhaps belonging to a castle, near the hamlet of Huntly.

Although no traces of a castle can be seen today, several fragments of worked stone have been recorded at Upper Huntlywood steading, situated about 2.5km west of Gordon village, and thought to stand on or near the site of the medieval settlement of Huntly. The most distinctive piece is a fragment of an armorial panel built into the gable of the farmhouse itself. The central part of the panel has been badly eroded, although part of an inscription reading '?OFA?' can be seen below.

As the Gordon family owned the surrounding land, it has been suggested that this was the site of a tower-house or other fortified place they had built.

Text prepared by RCAHMS as part of the Accessing Scotland's Past project

NT64SW 19 61 42.

For armorial panel at Upper Huntlywood (NT 6177 4326), see NT64SW 48.01.

Approximately NT 618 429. The remains of a castle were said to be still visible 'at Huntly' at the beginning of the 19th century. (Nether Huntlywood: NT 618 492; Upper Huntlywood: NT 617 431)

RCAHMS 1980; OSA 1793; G Chalmers 1810.

Previous accounts of Nether Huntlywood have identified it as the site of a possible medieval castle or 16th century tower largely on the basis of the presence of an armorial panel and architectural fragments at another steading, Upper Huntlywood, some 200m to the NNW. Accordingly, the classification attached to this record has been changed to a nineteenth century farmstead.

Information from HES Survey and Recording (JRS) 22 September 2020.