Description

The monument consists of the remains of a substantial fortified mansion built for the Lindsay earls of Crawford in the fifteenth, sixteenth and seventeenth centuries. The principal remains comprise the lower part of a rectangular tower house, on the north side of which a chamber tower and stair tower were later added, and around which there are traces of extensive courtyards. After passing to Lord Spynie in 1625, and later to the earls of Kinnoul and of Northesk, there is said to have been a catastrophic collapse in the mid-eighteenth century, after which it was uninhabitable.

The monument was first scheduled in 1964, but the area then afforded protection was largely limited to the upstanding remains. The present proposal to re-schedule affords protection to an area thought to cover the site of the main nucleus of buildings and courtyards of the castle.

The area to be scheduled is a rectangle measuring 120m from west to east and 65m from north to south, and is marked in red on the accompanying map extract.

Source: Historic Environment Scotland

Statement of Scheduling

The monument is of national importance as a particularly good illustration of how an extensive post-medieval mansion and its ancillary courtyards could develop around the core of a substantial tower house. The importance is enhanced by the survival of an inventory of its furnishings drawn up in 1712, some decades before its final collapse.

Source: Historic Environment Scotland

Sources

Bibliography

References:

Simpson, W. D. (1955-56) 'Finavon Castle', Proc. Soc. Antiq. Scot., 398-416.

Source: Historic Environment Scotland