Castle Fraser

Originally known as Muchall-in-Mar, the five-storey Z-plan castle was begun in 1575 by Michael Fraser, 6th Laird of Fraser, around an earlier tower — archaeological evidence points to a square tower of around 1400 or 1500 within the present fabric — and completed in 1636. A panel on the northern side is signed "I Bel", believed to be the mark of the master mason John Bell of Midmar, and the building is a joint creation over several decades with another master mason of the period, Thomas Leiper.

The result is considered one of the most elaborate Z-plan castles and one of the grandest of the "Castles of Mar". It is contemporary with the nearby Craigievar, Crathes and Midmar castles, all believed to have been designed by the Bell family of master masons.

In the late 18th century the castle was modernised in a classical style, with a new entrance inserted in the south side and sash windows throughout. The work was supervised by Elyza Fraser, the lady laird, assisted by Mary Bristow; Elyza also relandscaped the grounds, sweeping away the remains of the original formal gardens and orchards, and built the octagonal stable block.

Between 1820 and 1850 Charles Fraser had the interiors entirely reconstructed by the architects John Smith and William Burn. The Library is a fine example of Smith's regency style with Tudor detailing; many of Burn's more extravagant Gothic designs for the principal rooms were never carried out, though a Gothic-style pipe organ was installed, since removed to St Anne's Scottish Episcopal Church in Kemnay. The same period produced the twin gatehouses, which survive, and a grand domed stair with loggias in the courtyard, which do not. Around 1950 the architect and antiquary Dr William Kelly supervised a partial restoration that stripped away much of the 19th-century work to reveal the earlier fabric.

Castle Fraser was built as the home of the Frasers of Muchalls, later Frasers of Castle Fraser, and passed down through the Lords Fraser and the Frasers of Inverallochy to the Mackenzie family, who took the name Mackenzie Fraser. In 1897 the last male Fraser of the direct line, Frederick Mackenzie Fraser, died childless, and in 1921 his widow Theodora, lacking a suitable heir and facing mounting financial difficulties, sold the castle to Weetman Pearson, 1st Viscount Cowdray, who gave it to his son Bernard Clive Pearson for restoration.

The castle then passed to Lavinia Pearson and her husband Major Charles Michael Smiley, and in 1976 the Pearson family gave it to the National Trust for Scotland. It retains the atmosphere of a family home, still holding its original contents — Fraser family portraits, furniture and collections — within over 300 acres of landscaped grounds, woodland and farmland that include a 19th-century walled kitchen garden. The castle appeared as a backdrop in the 2006 film The Queen, and in 2019 the site received 56,822 visitors.