Scotland · Ruin
Balquhain Castle
Balquhain Castle is a 15th‑century ruined Scottish tower house in Aberdeenshire that served as the Leslie family stronghold. The rectangular tower stands within the remains of a surrounding barmkin and is a scheduled monument. The tower was burned and abandoned in the 18th century and survives now as a freestanding ruin in pasture beside woodland.
Its prime
1562
Today
Ruin
As it stood in 1562
What Balquhain Castle looked like in its prime.
A tall, rectangular four‑storey stone tower house measuring roughly 13.75 by 8.75 metres, built of irregular rubble with larger dressed corner stones; the main façade shows a vertical sequence of small rectangular window openings over several levels. The tower rises alone on low ground within the grassy footprint of a former barmkin enclosure, backed by a belt of trees. At its prime the roofline would have closed the tower; the masonry shows patches of lighter sandstone at the corners and coursing lines of stonework.
Its story
The story of Balquhain Castle.
Balquhain Castle was the stronghold of the Leslies of Balquhain, built in the 15th century on lands the family had held from 1340. The rectangular tower, measuring 13.75 by 8.75 metres, stands within the remains of a surrounding barmkin, four kilometres west of Inverurie.
The castle was sacked during a feud with the Forbes family in 1526, a dispute later settled by James VI and the Earl of Huntly, and in March 1563 Queen Mary forgave William Leslie of Balquhain for his dealings with George Gordon, 4th Earl of Huntly. In 1746 the castle was burned by the forces of Prince William, Duke of Cumberland, and abandoned; it survives as a freestanding ruin in pasture beside woodland, protected as a scheduled monument.
Step inside
5 places to explore in 1562.
The record describes 5 distinct spots at Balquhain Castle, including the full exterior approach. Create your own photoreal reconstruction and explore every one, more scenes means more rooms, more angles, and more of the place to stand in.
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Clans who held Balquhain Castle.
The families that held Balquhain Castle for a decade or more across its history, follow a name to its clan.
Stronghold of the Leslies of Balquhain, on lands held by the family from 1340; burned in 1746 and abandoned.
From the archive
Balquhain Castle on paper: the measured plan and period views.
The survey plan and photographs below are the ground truth this page's reconstructions are checked against, drawn and photographed while the castle was still a working garrison. Every image is public-domain or openly licensed, with its source named.
Fig. 259.—Balquhain Castle. View from the South-East.
1887 · MacGibbon & Ross, Castellated and Domestic Architecture of Scotland, vol. 1 (1887)
Public domain
Fig. 260.—Balquhain Castle. Plan.
1887 · MacGibbon & Ross, Castellated and Domestic Architecture of Scotland, vol. 1 (1887)
Public domain
