Ancient Monuments

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Banff Castle

A Scheduled Monument in Banff and District, Aberdeenshire

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Coordinates

Latitude: 57.6665 / 57°39'59"N

Longitude: -2.5225 / 2°31'20"W

OS Eastings: 368927

OS Northings: 864191

OS Grid: NJ689641

Mapcode National: GBR N84G.74C

Mapcode Global: WH8LW.7K2M

Entry Name: Banff Castle

Scheduled Date: 2 October 1970

Last Amended: 25 October 2001

Source: Historic Environment Scotland

Source ID: SM2927

Schedule Class: Cultural

Category: Secular: castle

Location: Banff

County: Aberdeenshire

Electoral Ward: Banff and District

Traditional County: Banffshire

Description

The monument consists of the remains of a medieval castle. The monument was first scheduled in 1970; it is being rescheduled to exclude modern structures better protected by their listed status.

Banff Castle is thought to date from the 12th century and was originally essentially a timber and earth structure. This was later strengthened by the construction of a massive curtain wall, part of which survives forming the east, west and north walls of the courtyard behind Banff Castle House. There are numerous other buildings on the site which post-date the medieval use of the site. The large earthworks associated with the castle are still apparent beyond the defensive wall, particularly to the north and east of the castle mound.

The area to be scheduled is irregular in plan. It includes the earthworks and upstanding medieval masonry. To the east, south and west it is defined by, but does not include, property boundaries. To the north it is defined by the south and east walls of the walled garden and a line struck from the NE corner of the garden to the break in line of the east boundary. This area is showen in red on the accompanying map. However, excluded from the schedule are all standing structures (the house, its flanking pavillions, the gatehouse, the walls of the walled garden, the superstructure of the well and the indoor shooting range) other than the massive stone wall referred to above. Also excluded is the top 30cm of ground surfaces beneath existing buildings, roads and paths.

Source: Historic Environment Scotland

Sources

Bibliography
No Bibliography entries for this designation

Source: Historic Environment Scotland

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