Craigston Castle

{{Short description| Scottish castle}}

{{Use dmy dates|date=April 2022}}

{{Use British English|date=August 2022}}

{{Infobox building

| name = Craigston Castle

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| image = File:Craigston_Castle_-_Self_Catering,_Bed_&_Breakfast_Accommodation,_Aberdeenshire_Scotland.jpg

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| image_caption = Craigston Castle from the west lawn

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| map_caption = Location of Craigston Castle

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| former_names =

| alternate_names = Craigfintray Castle

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| status = Complete

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| building_type = Country House

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| classification =

| address = Craigston Castle
AB53 5PX

| location_town = Turriff, Aberdeenshire

| location_country = Scotland

| coordinates = {{coord|57|35|4|N|2|23|56|W|type:landmark|display=inline,title}}

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| start_date = {{Start date and age|14 March 1604}}

| completion_date = {{Start date and age|8 December 1607}}

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| owner = William P. Urquhart of Craigston

| height = {{convert|67|ft|m|abbr=off}}

| architectural =

| material = Rubble, sandstone

| size =

| floor_count = 6 (central tower block)

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| grounds_area = {{convert|250|acre|ha|abbr=off}}

| architect = John Bell

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| developer = John Urquhart of Craigfintry

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| website = {{URL|https://www.craigston-castle.co.uk}}

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{{Infobox designation list

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| designation1 = Category A Listed Building

| designation1_offname = Craigston Castle

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| designation1_date = 24 November 1972

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| designation1_number = LB9392

}}

| references = {{cite web|url=https://canmore.org.uk/site/19228 |title=Craigston Castle| publisher=www.canmore.org.uk| access-date=24 August 2022}} {{cite web|url=http://www.scottisharchitects.org.uk/building_full.php?id=213121 | title=DSA Building/Design Report Craigston Castle| publisher=Dictionary of Scottish Architects| access-date=25 August 2022}} {{cite web|url=https://online.aberdeenshire.gov.uk/smrpub/master/detail.aspx?tab=main&refno=NJ75NE0002 | title=Aberdeenshire HER - NJ75SE0023 - CRAIGSTON CASTLE ESTATE| publisher=Aberdeenshire Council| access-date=25 August 2022}}

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Craigston Castle is a 17th-century country house located about {{convert|4|mi|km|abbr=off}} north-east of Turriff, Aberdeenshire, Scotland, and is an historic home of the Urquhart family. The U-plan castle is composed of two main wings flanking the entrance and connected by an elevated arch, and surmounted by a richly corbelled parapet. There are bases for corner turrets near the top corner of each wing, but the turrets themselves do not appear to have ever been completed. The wood carvings in the drawing room depict biblical themes and Clan Urquhart heraldic artefacts.

Craigston Castle belongs to the "Bell group" of Scottish castles, designed by masons of the Bell or Bel family, and which, according to H. Gordon Slade, "together form perhaps Scotland’s finest and the most distinctive contribution to Western architecture".{{cite journal |url=https://archaeologydataservice.ac.uk/archiveDS/archiveDownload?t=arch-352-1/dissemination/pdf/vol_108/108_262_299.pdf |title=Craigston Castle, Aberdeenshire |journal=Proceedings of the Society of Antiquaries of Scotland |volume=108 |year=1977 |last=Slade |first=H. Gordon |pages=262–299}} The castle is still owned and lived in by the Urquhart family, who trace their descent back to Adam Urquhart, 14th-century sheriff of Cromarty, although according to Sir Thomas Urquhart, translator of Rabelais, the family can be traced back to Adam and Eve through "Termuth", who he states found Moses in the rushes, as well as many other fantastic ancestors.{{cite web |url=http://www.scotsman.com/lifestyle/the-curious-case-of-thomas-urquhart-1-1588551 |title=The curious case of Thomas Urquhart |work=The Scotsman |date=18 April 2011}}

File:Craigston Castle - Drawing Room.jpegFile:Craigston Castle Grounds.jpg

John Urquhart of Craigfintry (1547-1631), known as the "Tutor of Cromarty", built the castle from 1604 to 1607,{{Historic Environment Scotland |num=LB9392 |desc=CRAIGSTON CASTLE |access-date=24 August 2022 |fewer-links=yes}} and the design of the castle appears to show his influence as compared with other examples of the "Bell group". It was sold by the Urquharts in 1657, but bought back in 1739 by Captain John Urquhart, known as "the pirate", great-grandson of the builder. The new owner built the flanking wings, and laid out new gardens, though apparently not to the designs prepared in 1733 by William Adam, the foremost architect of the time. In the 1830s, John Smith, the architect of Balmoral Castle, prepared designs for an extensive remodelling, though only a new entrance doorway was built. Craigston Castle is now a category A listed building. The Urquhart family retain possession of the castle, and have recently started to host weddings and other events, as well as letting it out as accommodation.