FYVIE CASTLE, ABERDEENSHIRE

Five Towers

Five Families

And a few ghosts too.

Is there any other way to accuratly describe the beautiful building which is Fyvie Castle. Actually, there is. It only has four Towers, though a lot of historians say Five, there are four towers and one "Projecting Wing" built in 1890. Traditionally (though not accurately) each Tower was designated to one of the families who have called Fyvie their home, a home which has one of the richest histories of all Scottish Castle.

First Built on Royal Land in 1211 it would have been little more than a wooden fort, however it was substantial enough for the then King of Scotland, William the First (also known as the Lion), to stop there in 1214. Built into a defensive area inside a bend of the River Ythen the only real way to attack the castle would have been a treacherous assault across boggy marshland. This never occured, no armies have ever clashed over the property, leaving in place its heritage and splendour.

The Second Royal Visitor was Alexander the Second, he visited (you won't believe this) on the 2nd February 1222 (thats a lot of two's). The next King to visit was none other than Edward the First, Longshanks and hammer of the Scots on 21st July 1296. He did not burn Fyvie to the ground however, he simply left his customary "Edward I was Here" plaque and left the castle alone. Robert the Bruce made Fyvie a place where he dispensed justice through an open-air court in the early part of the 14th century, at this time the first of the castles stonework defences would have been built.

Fyvie stayed in the Royal holdings until 1370, Robert II of Scotland granted it to his son, the Earl of Carrick, he then became King Robert III but had no use for Fyvie and so passed it off to his Cousin, Sir James Lindsay. Around this time both England and Scotland were fighting each other in what many historians call the 400 years war, in 1388 at Otterburn the Scottish army was retreating back north laden with loot taken from Northern England, the English had been safe inside Newcastle and when the Scots passed by they planned to attack them from the rear, not for any nationalistic pride, but to take the loot which the Scots had taken in the first place. At Otterburn both sides clashed, the Scots held the advantage however and forced the English back, though made famous for the Death of the Earl of Douglas, (both the Douglas' and Percy's fought each other either side of the border for years) the battle also saw the capture of Ralph de Percy by none other than James Lindsay's Brother-in-law Sir Henry Preston.

Catching the enemy in battle, especially such a powerful enemy as a Percy family member, meant that you would gain a hansome amount of money in a ransom. With fyvie still in Royal hands the King saw a chance at gaining the ransom of Ralph de Percy by giving ownership of Fyvie to Sir Henry Preston. This deal was brokered in 1390, however it took 12 years for Lindsay to finally move out, and Preston to move in. Sir henry preston had no male heir and so passed to his eldest daughter. She had married into the Meldrum family, where Fyvie stayed until 1596. When it was sold to the Seton family.

It was Sir Alexander Seton, the 1st Earl of Dunfermline and Chancellor of Scotland who transformed Fyvie into the building it is today, this is why the Seton Tower is the one in the centre, standing between the Lindsay and Preston Towers, he also built the West Range where the other towers would be built, and he added to the upper works (projecting Bartizans) to the three towers too. Charles I stayed here during part of his childhood, he was a sickly child and being second in line to the throne his parents wanted him away from his other siblings and so he came to Fyvie, though his health got better he still retaind a slight stutter for the rest of his life. His elder brother died and Charles became Charles I, until his war with Parliament.

Fyvie stayed with the Earls of Dunfermline until 1694, after Alexander came Charles (1622-1672), then Another Alexander (1672-1677) and finally James Seton (1677-1694). he lost Fyvie because of his faith, he was a Jacobite and had taken an active part in the 1689 revolt against the new King and Queen William and Mary. He died in exile in Paris and so Fyvie was confiscated, along with the lands, plaicing its care and maintenence into the hands of Royalty once again.

The 2nd Earl of Aberdeen, William Gordon bought Fyvie in 1733 and gave it to his eldest son, also called William. He was the General the Honourable William Gordon who was one of Sir Arthur Wellesley's most trusted Generals during the fighting with Napoleon. During this time the Gordon's Highlanders won many accolades and became known as "those devils in dresses" by Napoleon himself. The General left Fyvie to another William Gordon. He added to the West Range by building the last true tower and adding to its upper works the same detail that the Seton's had to the other three. William also turned the castle inside out, replacing the main entrance with one facing into the Quadrangle. Not only did the Gordon family look to the building work, but they also created the outstanding landscaped gardens.

Fyvie stayed in their possesion until 1889 when Alexander Leith bought the castle, its contents and all lands for £170'000. Alexander Leith was a local boy who ha dmoved to America to make his fortune in the steel industry, and make it he did. He bought Fyvie to house his art collection, which is still on display today. Alongside the massive amounts of Raeburn are peices by Batoni, Gainsborough, Hoopner, Opie, Lawrence and Romney. Fien furniture was bought and displayed, as well as many arms and peices of armour, giving the Castle its museum like appearance which makes it such an enigmatic focal point for tourists today.

However...

Fyvie is Cursed.

Thomas the Rhymer was a legendary prophet in the area, he had gained fmae for various things and one day he sent a note saying he wished to stay at Fyvie, however he left no date as to when he was coming. Seven years and a day passed before he finally came to Fyvie, as he neared the gate a gust of wind blew around and slammed the gate shut in his face. Quick to temper he saw this as an insult and so made a curse on Fyvie, the Curse of the Weeping Stones. Three marker stones, markign the boundary of Fyvies lands, were said to weep with tears until they were all found, one is said to have been laid within the stone work of the castle itself. Another is in the Charter room of the castle, kept within a wooden bowl it continuosly exudes water, the other stone is said to have been cast in the River Ythan, thus lost forever.

Another curse is that of a hidden room. Many of the owners have tried to find the room, but it is cursed for if you do discover the room you will die and your wife will go blind. Two of the pervious owners have suffered this fate, the last to try was Alexander Leith, as soon as he attempted to find the room he developed serious pains in his legs and his wife was afflicted with an eye condition which stayed with her to her death, he never again tried to find the room.

The Green Ghost of Fyvie is a legendary story about a woman betrayed and killed for another woman to take her place by her husbands side. When Alexander Seton bought the house in 1596 he brought with him his wife, Dame Lilias Drummond. Sadly she could not give him a male heir (like it was her fault) and could only produce five daughters! A distant relative of theirs was a young girl who had grown up within the castle household, she had blossomed into a beautiful young lady, a beauty which soon caught the eye of Alexander. They started courting in secret, but as they became more public with their affections Dame Lilias became secluded, it is not know fully what happened, however it would appear that Alexander locked his wife up in a high room of the castle and left her to die of hunger. She soon perished and it was not long after her body had been buried than Alexander and his young lover became man and wife. In the early hours of the night of their wedding the couple were in bed, all of a sudden a strange murmuring sound could be heard from outside of the window, some thirty feet up! Alexander opened the window a number of times, each time the sound dissipated but on closing the window it returned with a larger force than before. Little sleep was had that night by the pair (well it was their honeymoon). In the morning light when the sound had faded away the young bride opened the window to see to her shock and horror the words D. Lilias Drummond etched into the stone windowsill, upside down, as if written from the outside.

Her ghost has been encountered many times, on one occasion the curator of militaria at the castle, an ex army Major, was entering a room when he saw a woman walk towards him, he stepped aside thinking it were a tourist, only to notice a thick heavy scent of Roses and turn round to comment on the perfume to find the lady had disappeared! Dame Lilias likes to show herself in a mirror too, scaring more than one person with the image of her emaciated face.

Fyvie Castle is just one of the locations Paranormal Tours visits on a regular basis, as well as thousands of other people who come to enjoy its architecture, its furniture, its art, its militaria, its gardens, or even, its ghosts.

CJ Linton.