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Craigievar Castle
Engraving: from 'The Baronial and Ecclesiastical Antiquities of Scotland', R.W. Billings (1845)
Source: RIBA British Architectural Library

Despite Stirling Castle’s delightful blend of Scottish and Renaissance forms, this architectural style was little copied. Instead, Scottish barons chose earlier Scottish castles to act as their model in the building boom that followed the Scottish Reformation (1560). The tower-house was born, and one of the most splendid surviving examples is Craigievar Castle, built between 1610 and 1626 for the merchant William Forbes.

Like most tower houses, Craigievar’s plan is relatively simple. Essentially an L-shape, this architecture grabs attention through a crescendo of decoration. Starting from its square base, the castle organically grows up and out. Low down, bare walls dominate. Higher up, however, there is a profusion of ornament. Turrets with their spiky roofs mark the corners. Crow-step gables, gargoyles, and chimneys are added, creating a wonderfully jagged profile.

In this engraving, Billings concentrates on the great height of Craigievar, its solidity, and its sculptural qualities. From this angle, the wonderful sense of movement of its upper storeys can best be appreciated. Top-heavy, its myriad forms cast deep shadows, making its sharp architecture appear even more dramatic. This is contrasted with the surrounding landscape, the trees misshapen, bent by the harsh climate. With the loss of the low walled courtyard that once surrounded the tower-house, the scene looks even starker.