Boyne Castle
{{Use dmy dates|date=April 2022}}
{{Infobox military installation
|name = Boyne Castle
|partof =
|location = East of Portsoy, Aberdeenshire
|image = Boyne Castle - geograph.org.uk - 483751.jpg
|caption = Ruins of Boyne Castle
|mapframe = yes
|mapframe-wikidata = yes
|type =
|coordinates = {{coord|57.6790|-2.6530|type:landmark_region:GB|display=inline,title}}
|code =
|built = 16th century
|builder =
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|demolished =
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|open_to_public =
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|embedded = {{Infobox designation list
| embed = yes
| designation1 = Scheduled Monument
| designation1_offname = Boyne Castle
| designation1_type = Secular: castle
| designation1_date = 30 September 1933
| designation1_number = {{Historic Environment Scotland|num=SM354|short=yes}}
}}
}}
Boyne Castle (also known as the Palace of Boyne){{cite book |last1=McKean |first1=Charles |title=Banff & Buchan: An Illustrated Architectural Guide |date=1990 |publisher=Mainstream Publications Ltd. |location=Edinburgh |isbn=185158-231-2 |page=38}} is a 16th-century quadrangular castle about {{convert|1.5|mi}} east of Portsoy, Aberdeenshire, Scotland, {{convert|0.5|mi|1}} south of Boyne Bay.Coventry, Martin (2001). The Castles of Scotland. Musselburgh: Goblinshead. p. 87 {{ISBN|1-899874-26-7}}
History
Around 1320, the land was owned by Thomas Randolph, 1st Earl of Moray, but passed first to the Edmonstone family and then, by marriage, to the Ogilvies.
This castle was granted by David II to Sir John Edmonstone of Edmonstone, in the count of Edinburgh. for services rendered to the King during his captivity in England. Sir James Edmonstone, son of Sir John, married the widow of Douglas, the sister of Robert III, and the Wolfe of Badenoch.Banffshire Reporter, Wednesday, August 26, 1903
When Mary, Queen of Scots came to the area, James Ogilvie of Cardell recorded in the household book that she stayed at the "Craig of Boyne" on 19 September 1562.Alistair Tayler, "Ogilvies of Boyne", Banffshire Field Club Transactions, 12 (1933), p. 22. This may have been a different site nearer the sea, occupied before the present castle was built.Alister Tayler and Henrietta Tayler, The Ogilvies of Boyne (Aberdeen, 1933), pp. 12, 72. Some objects were recovered from a kitchen midden at the Craig of Boyne in 1869, including bone sewing needles, brass pins, and a lead tag that served as a quality mark on imported cloth.Robert Garland, "Notice of a Kitchen-Midden at Craig of Boyne, Banffshire", Proceedings of the Society of Antiquaries of Scotland, 8 (1869), 290–292. {{doi|10.9750/PSAS.008.290.292}}
Sir George Ogilvy of Dunlugas (a son of Walter Ogilvie of Dunlugas) is sometimes said to have built the castle in the late 16th century, although it is unclear if he was the owner.Alistair Tayler, "Ogilvies of Boyne", Banffshire Field Club Transactions, 12 (1933), p. 25. Charles McKean suggested that the building was slightly earlier, constructed by Alexander Ogilvy of Boyne before 1575 for his bride, Mary Beaton, a companion of Mary, Queen of Scots, brought up at the French royal court.Charles McKean, Scottish Chateau (Stroud, 2001), p. 177.
James VI of Scotland stayed at the castle in July 1589. His ambassadors Andrew Keith, Lord Dingwall, George Young, and John Skene brought him news from Denmark of the progress of his marriage negotiations and preparations of ships, jewels, and a silver coach for Anne of Denmark.Calendar State Papers Scotland, vol. 10 (Edinburgh, 1936), pp. 117, 124. Occupation continued until after 1723.
The Ogilvie family obtained this castle by marriage in 1437. The legend attached to it is that while the nurse was amusing the heir, a mere child, at an open window, he jumped from her arms and fell into the gulf below. The girl jumped after the child, but both were soon lost in the abyss. It is said that after this the family lost all taste for the castle and it began to decay. Banffshire Reporter Wednesday, August 26 1903
Structure
The site of Boyne castle is naturally fortified, above the steep gorge of the Burn of Boyne, or Boyne Water, which protects it on three sides, while on the south there is a dry moat, nearly {{convert|60|ft}} wide.
It has been said that Boyne Castle "was once a splendid place with fine rooms, above vaulted basements, and had large windows". The remains are overgrown and ruinous, although the walls to the west, and the towers, still stand to about {{convert|33|ft}}.{{cite web |url=https://canmore.org.uk/site/18436/boyne-castle|title=Boyne Castle |publisher=Royal Commission on the Ancient and Historical Monuments of Scotland |accessdate=2016-08-23}}
The four corner towers are round, and about {{convert|22|ft}} in diameter. There is a twin-turreted gatehouse to the south. Entrance is by a causeway, which is raised and walled. There are remains of two walled gardens.
The castle ruin is a Scheduled Ancient Monument.{{Historic Environment Scotland|num=SM354|desc=Boyne,castle|access-date=2019-03-08}}