Qualla: Broughty Castle

Broughty Castle: Introduction

Sat, 30 May 2026 00:00:00 GMT

Photo credit Mark Wrycraft, CC BY-SA 2.0. The English commander who held Broughty in 1547 wrote to his masters in London that his garrison was "never man had so weak a company, given all to eating and drinking and slothfulness" - though, he conceded, "the house stands well." The house has been standing well for over five centuries now. It has hosted Italian engineers, Spanish soldiers, French gunners, Victorian artillerymen, submarine miners, and most recently, the council debates that may decide whether it stays open. Few small Scottish castles have lived more lives than this one.

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Image: Mark Wrycraft | CC BY-SA 2.0

Broughty Castle: A Fortress at the Mouth of the Tay

Sat, 30 May 2026 00:00:00 GMT

Photo credit TimVickers, Public domain. Broughty Castle stands on a rocky promontory at the mouth of the River Tay, on what is now the Broughty Ferry edge of Dundee. George Douglas, 4th Earl of Angus, received permission to fortify the site in 1454, but the tower house that survives was built by Andrew, 2nd Lord Gray, ...

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Image: TimVickers | Public domain

Broughty Castle: The Rough Wooing

Sat, 30 May 2026 00:00:00 GMT

Photo credit Mat Fascione, CC BY-SA 2.0. After the Scottish defeat at the Battle of Pinkie in September 1547, Lord Gray of Foulis simply sold Broughty to the English. The garrison that occupied it included Italian and Spanish soldiers under Sir Andrew Dudley, brother of the Duke of Northumberland. They were besieged rep...

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Image: Mat Fascione | CC BY-SA 2.0

Broughty Castle: Monck Walks In

Sat, 30 May 2026 00:00:00 GMT

Photo credit Otter, CC BY-SA 3.0. A century later, in 1651, Broughty's military life took a stranger turn. General George Monck and his Parliamentary army arrived as part of the campaign that would end with the sack of Dundee. The castle's Royalist defenders, by then, had no will for another long siege. They fled...

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Image: Otter | CC BY-SA 3.0

Broughty Castle: Victorian Guns and Submarine Miners

Sat, 30 May 2026 00:00:00 GMT

Photo credit Bob Embleton, CC BY-SA 2.0. The Edinburgh and Northern Railway bought the castle in 1846 to build an adjacent ferry harbour. The War Office took it over in 1855, initially against the threat of a Russian attack. Renewed fears of a French invasion in 1860 prompted a major rebuilding by the architect Robert R...

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Image: Bob Embleton | CC BY-SA 2.0

Broughty Castle: Save the Castle

Sat, 30 May 2026 00:00:00 GMT

Photo credit TimVickers, Public domain. The most recent chapter has been a battle of a different kind. In February 2024, Broughty Castle was named on a list of Dundee venues facing closure due to council budget cuts. Public outcry forced a reprieve, but proposals returned in May 2024, and in December the council voted ...

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Image: TimVickers | Public domain