Leslie Castle

57°18′45″N 2°39′59″W / 57.3125°N 2.666389°W / 57.3125; -2.666389BuiltAround 1661Built forWilliam Forbes of MonymuskRestored1989Current useOperates as a GuesthouseOfficial nameLESLIE CASTLEDesignated24 November 1972Delisted4 September 1989Reference no.LB9239

Leslie Castle is a castle in Aberdeenshire, Scotland, the historical seat of Clan Leslie, located just to the west of Auchleven, or about 45 kilometres (28 mi) northwest of Aberdeen.

It was an L-plan castle and featured a unique staircase in the square tower which made use of lamps in a central column with openings into the stairwell itself for illumination. The lamps could be raised and lowered by a chain.^[1] The castle was three storeys with a garret.^[2] The basement was vaulted, and it also had a drawbridge with gatehouse.^[3]

It was built for William Forbes of Monymusk on the site of a former castle (probably a wooden motte and bailey) around 1661^[4][1][5][6] as "the last fortified house in Scotland".^[7] There is an inscription on the wall dated 17 June 1661.^[8][9]

Following the death of Forbes in 1670 it fell into the possession of Leiths of Leith Hall.^[2]

By 1820 the last resident of the castle, Captain Stewart, had died and the castle itself had lost its roof and became a ruin.^[8][5]

It became a category B listed building on 24 November 1972, when it was recorded it was ruinous, the interior filled with debris, and the floors gone.^[2]

In 1980, the castle and estate were purchased for about $25,000 and restored by the City of Aberdeen architect David Carnegie Leslie at a cost of about $1 million. The castle's walls had collapsed and there were piles of rubble up to 8 feet (2.4 m) high, and tons of carved stone had been stolen over the years. A full-sized tree had also grown inside a collapsed parapet. The castle was restored using stone from 300-year-old cottages on a neighbouring estate that had also collapsed.^[10] In July 1989, it was opened as a hotel with five bedrooms.^[11] It was delisted in September 1989.^[2]

In 1995, a Leslie Clan Gathering was held at Leslie Castle.^[5]

In 2016 the castle opened again as Leslie Castle B&B and was listed for sale in 2017 when it was described by The Scotsman as a "fairytale castle" with 1.9 acres of land. The original kitchen was being used as a breakfast room with a large fire place, the second and third floor were the guest bedrooms, whilst the owner's rooms were on the fourth floor.^[12]

Since 2018, the castle has been operating as a guesthouse run by John Andrea, but is also available for exclusive hire for events.^[5][13]

• Leslie, Charles Joseph (1869). Historical Records of the Family of Leslie from 1067 to 1868–9. Vol. 1. Edinburgh: Edmonston and Douglas. pp. 129–131 – via archive.org.
• MacGibbon, David; Ross, Thomas (1887). The castellated and domestic architecture of Scotland (PDF). Vol. 2. Edinburgh: David Douglas. pp. 198–200 – via electricscotland.com.
• Cruden, Stewart (1960). The Scottish Castle. Nelson – via archive.org.
• Coventry, Martin (1997). The Castles of Scotland (2nd ed.). Edinburgh: Goblinshead. p. 238. ISBN 1899874100.
• Inglis, Janet (2011). Scotland's Castles rescued, rebuilt and reoccupied, 1945 - 2010 (PDF) (PhD thesis). University of Dundee.
• Dakin, Audrey; Glendinning, Miles; MacKechnie, Aonghus, eds. (2011). Scotland's Castle Culture. Edinburgh: John Donald. pp. 52, 168, 180. ISBN 978-1-906566-33-3.

Primary settlementsOther settlementsPlaces of interest