Fyvie Castle is a Grade A listed building in the Aberdeenshire local planning authority area, Scotland. First listed on 16 April 1971. 4 related planning applications.
Fyvie Castle
- WRENN ID
- noble-dormer-hawthorn
- Grade
- A
- Local Planning Authority
- Aberdeenshire
- Constituency
- Gordon and Buchan MP: Harriet Cross (Con)
- Country
- Scotland
- Date first listed
- 16 April 1971
- Address
- Fyvie Castle, AB53 8JS
- OS grid reference
- NJ 763 393
- Coordinates
- 57.44344, -2.39499
- Source
- Historic Environment Scotland listing
Description
Fyvie Castle is a large, complex L-plan building, originally quadrangular but with ruinous north and east sides. The southern range, 147 feet long, has origins in the 15th century, incorporating Preston Tower (circa 1400) at the southeast and Meldrum Tower (built symmetrically) at the southwest. A pair of D-plan towers flanking the original entrance, known as The Seton Tower, were widened and the upper parts of the Preston and Meldrum Towers added in 1599, dated for Alexander Seton, Earl of Dunfermline. The north wall was demolished and rebuilt, and the range was widened again between 1777 and 1793, although not to its original 1599 width. Further remodelling of the north wall occurred, with a clock tower added in 1899 by A.A. Marshall Mackenzie. The castle is three storeys and an attic, with the towers rising four storeys and an attic and featuring angle turrets. The exterior is largely harled with richly detailed red sandstone dressings.
The west range, 137 feet long and three storeys and an attic, dates from 1603, potentially incorporating earlier fabric. It features a great wheel stair measuring 20 feet 4 inches by 18 feet 6 inches at the north end. A Gordon Tower was erected in 1777 on the site of a former chapel, designed to match the original Seton work. Buttresses were added around the same time. A single-storey, crenellated vestibule was added on the east side after 1816. Originally, the circular turrets had conical roofs. Further alterations, including the addition of a squinch turret, were made by A. Marshall Mackenzie in 1913 and 1920. The Leith Tower, at the northwest corner, adjoins the Gordon Tower and was built in 1890 by John Bryce. This tower is three storeys and an attic, with Huntly-type oriels, and incorporates a former butler's house originally constructed circa 1816/20 but remodelled in 1890 at the rear. The interior contains fine work throughout, including a panelled charter room and fine plasterwork by Robert Whyte from 1683, notably in what is now the morning room (formerly the old dining room).
The Raquets Court, a detached structure on the west side, is listed separately.
Local climate
Fyvie Castle receives an average of 860 mm of rain a year. This makes it wetter than 60% of listed buildings in the UK. Its exposure to wind-driven rain is lower than that of 96% of listed buildings.
It experiences an average of 46 freeze-thaw cycles a year, more than 87% of listed buildings. Of these, 31 follow at least 1 mm of rain in the preceding 48 hours. Average temperatures at this location have risen by 0.3°C per decade since 1991.
Averages for 1991–2020; temperature trend 1991–2025. Figures describe the wider area (a grid cell of roughly 10 km), not the individual site. Contains modified Copernicus Climate Change Service information 2026.
More on this building
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- Full EPC report — heating system, energy costs, size, glazing, construction etc.
- No sale records on file
- Related listed building consents — 4 applications
- Detailed attributes — period, style, materials, features
- Flood risk assessment
- Radon risk assessment
- Weather exposure and heating demand — rain and frost month by month and year by year, wind direction, solar and humidity
Matched applications, energy data and sale records are assembled automatically and may contain errors. Flag incorrect data.