Description

The monument consists of the remains of Milton Tower, the surviving part of Miltoun Keith Castle said to have been built in AD 1480 by George Ogilvie of Milton. It was repaired by Margaret Ogilvie in 1601.

Milton Tower is situated between Station Road and a light-freight railway line. The building was the home of the Ogilvie family for two hundred years. It passed through marriage to the Jacobite Oliphant family in 1707, but was neglected and fell progressively into ruin after 1715. In 1829 it was finally abandoned and used as a quarry.

Only the N portion of the castle survives; the remains of tusking stones on the exposed S face indicate that the structure extended southwards, and this extension presumably contained the great hall, only the fireplace (now with concrete lintel) and flanking aumbry of which can be seen, at first floor level. A segmental-headed opening

on the W side of the hearth has been recently blocked. An entrance to an adjoining room, a square-headed window in the second floor, and a small garret window can be seen in the S face.

The twin-gabled tower has two storeys and a garret over a vaulted ground floor. A segmental-headed entrance to the vault is in the W wall. The consolidated walls are intact to roof level and have been coped. They are constructed in rubble with tooled ashlar dressings. The tower measures 7.15m E-W by 6.4m N-S overall with walls 0.9m thick. Projecting from the tower's N wall is a fragment of walling 0.9m thick which contains a small slit window. The area to be scheduled is triangular, measuring a maximum of 25m N-S by 10m E-W, as shown in red on the accompanying map.

Source: Historic Environment Scotland

Statement of Scheduling

The monument is of national importance as an example, albeit reduced and restored, of a defensive residence built in the fifteenth century. As the oldest building in Keith it is a significant feature in the changing urban landscape as well as being an important building in the history of the development of the Burgh. In addition it provides evidence, which may be retrieved by the combined processes of excavation and historical research, for domestic architecture, social organisation and material culture in Scotland during the period of its construction and occupation.

Source: Historic Environment Scotland

Sources

Bibliography

RCAHMS records the monument as NJ 45 SW 4.

Reference:

Groome 1885, Gazeteer of Scotland, IV, 340.

Keith official guide (post-1958) The official guide to Keith, Cheltenham,10.

Source: Historic Environment Scotland