Balnagown Castle

Balnagown Castle is a 16th and 17th century L-plan tower house, significantly altered and extended in the 18th and 19th centuries. Around 1820, James Gillespie Graham is said to have designed the infilling of the angle of the L-plan and the east wing. The castle is now a 3 and 4-storey castellated mansion constructed of red coursed rubble with tooled ashlar dressings, with some rendering to simulate coursed rubble. The main entrance is within the southeast re-entrant angle and is concealed by a glazed porch. A deep, 5-sided portico, supported on painted columns with crenellated finials, shelters a further entrance in the centre of a wide, bowed bay that rises the full height of the south elevation; decorative cast-iron spandrel-tracery masks the entrance. The west elevation is wide, with 3 bays, the middle bay being offset, and flanking turrets that rise above the crenellated wallhead. The north elevation exhibits varied window arrangements and includes a central shaped gable in the 4-storey section, alongside a battery of apex stacks. The east wing, built in a Gothic Revival style, is 3 storeys high, with a single wide, south-facing bay flanked by angle turrets that also rise above the crenellated wallhead. An unusual large oval window with cross tracery is found on the ground floor. A hoodmoulded and traceried window at the first floor (lighting the dining room) is accompanied by a smaller window above with similar detailing, while Gothic lancets are present in the turrets. The return east elevation features asymmetrical fenestration, including one oriel, and a prominent northeast tower with Gothic detailing. Various bartizans, ridge, end, and wallhead stacks, and crowsteps are incorporated into the design, all topped by slated roofs.

The interior is ornate and includes two 17th century chimney pieces, one from Meikle Daan, Edderton, dated 1690. The "Trophy Room" contains primitive painted figures, while the east wing retains original vaulted ceilings, doors, chimney pieces, and wallpaper. Various marriage stones are visible, alongside a 1672 datestone near the main entrance. The statutory address is Balnagown Castle.