Beldorney Castle

Beldorney Castle is a courtyard castle, likely dating to around 1550 and before 1575, with subsequent alterations. The castle comprises a Z-plan tower house, with a square, northwest Dog Tower and a larger, circular tower to the southeast. The exterior is harled.

The Dog Tower features a very finely detailed, moulded, square-headed door with late Gothic bases and sunk panels above. A rich gothic ogee panel, now empty, is set into the west wall of the central section. Other sculpted details appear in the angles, and a dog finial adorns the Dog Tower.

The interior ground floor is vaulted. The first-floor hall was divided in the late 17th century into a dining and drawing room, featuring bolection moulded chimney pieces and coved ceilings at a lower level than the original, which retains joists resting on carved corbels. The interior has been painted and is largely renewed. The top of the house was remodelled in the late 17th or early 18th century with straight skews and a wall head gable. A later 18th-century architraved doorpiece is found on the west wall.

A northwest wing was probably originally 17th century, remodelled or rebuilt in the early 19th century, and subsequently extended. Further additions, remodelling, and repairs were undertaken by A. Marshall Mackenzie in 1890. A southwest wing was remodelled or rebuilt in the second half of the 18th century.

The west gate and courtyard wall include a gate dated 1673 on its east face, featuring arched Renaissance detail and a semi-circular tympanum above an entablature, finished with ball finials.

The initials 'GG' on the southeast tower are believed to be those of George Gordon, son of Adam Gordon, Dean of Caithness, who purchased Beldorney in 1545 and obtained Crown confirmation in 1550 and died in September 1575. While a previous theory suggested a construction or completion date after 1627, the late Gothic detailing indicates an earlier origin, potentially making it the oldest surviving Z-plan house after Huntly. The castle's details suggest that it predates Terpersie.

The stables, which are not part of this listing, were designed by R. Duncan of Huntly in 1889. Supplementary information and sketches are documented within the J.M. Bulloch Gordon Mss. at Kings College Library, Aberdeen, and notes on the interior were provided by Dr. Simpson.