Qualla: Huntly Castle

Huntly Castle: Introduction

Sat, 14 Mar 2026 00:00:00 GMT

Photo credit Mike Searle, CC BY-SA 2.0. The names are carved into the facade in letters a foot high: GEORGE GORDON and HENRIETTA STEWART. The 1st Marquess of Huntly and his wife wanted everyone who approached their castle to know exactly who lived there and, by implication, who controlled the northeast of Scotland. That the King had twice ordered the castle demolished - and that Gordon had twice rebuilt it - made the inscription less a greeting than a provocation. Huntly Castle is the story of a family that refused to be brought to heel, told in stone, fire, and sheer stubbornness.

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Image: Mike Searle | CC BY-SA 2.0

Huntly Castle: Four Castles on One Site

Sat, 14 Mar 2026 00:00:00 GMT

Photo credit Mihael Grmek, CC BY-SA 3.0. The site at Huntly has hosted at least four successive fortifications, each destroyed and replaced by the next. The first was a twelfth-century motte and bailey, a Norman-style earthwork castle built by the lords of Strathbogie. The Gordons acquired the estate in 1376 and built a...

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Image: Mihael Grmek | CC BY-SA 3.0

Huntly Castle: Playing Cards with Kings

Sat, 14 Mar 2026 00:00:00 GMT

Photo credit Stanley Howe, CC BY-SA 2.0. The Gordons' relationship with the Scottish crown was one of mutual dependence and mutual suspicion. James IV played cards at Huntly Castle in 1505, a gesture of royal favour that acknowledged the Gordons' power in the northeast without exactly trusting it. When Mary Queen of Sco...

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Image: Stanley Howe | CC BY-SA 2.0

Huntly Castle: Demolished Twice, Built Thrice

Sat, 14 Mar 2026 00:00:00 GMT

Photo credit Rosser1954, CC BY-SA 4.0. James VI ordered Huntly Castle demolished in 1589 after the 6th Earl's involvement in Catholic plotting against the Protestant crown. The Earl submitted, was pardoned, and rebuilt. In 1594, after the Earl's participation in the Battle of Glenlivet - a Catholic victory that terrif...

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Image: Rosser1954 | CC BY-SA 4.0

Huntly Castle: The Ornamental Facade

Sat, 14 Mar 2026 00:00:00 GMT

Photo credit Lyall Duffus, CC BY-SA 2.0. The south front of Huntly Castle is remarkable for its concentration of decorative stonework. Above the main entrance, a sequence of heraldic panels displays the arms of the Gordon family, the royal arms of Scotland, and religious imagery that reflects the family's Catholic faith...

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Image: Lyall Duffus | CC BY-SA 2.0

Huntly Castle: A Ruin with Authority

Sat, 14 Mar 2026 00:00:00 GMT

Photo credit Rosser1954, CC BY-SA 4.0. Huntly Castle fell out of use in the eighteenth century as the Gordon family moved to more comfortable houses. The roof was stripped, the floors collapsed, and the building settled into the picturesque ruin that stands today, cared for by Historic Environment Scotland. What survi...

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Image: Rosser1954 | CC BY-SA 4.0