Ethie Castle is a 14th Century castle

Castle

A castle is a type of fortified structure built in Europe and the Middle East during the Middle Ages by European nobility. Scholars debate the scope of the word castle, but usually consider it to be the private fortified residence of a lord or noble...

, situated around 3 miles north of the fishing town of Arbroath

Arbroath

Arbroath or Aberbrothock is a former royal burgh and the largest town in the council area of Angus in Scotland, and has a population of 22,785...

 in Angus

Angus

Angus is one of the 32 local government council areas of Scotland, a registration county and a lieutenancy area. The council area borders Aberdeenshire, Perth and Kinross and Dundee City...

, Scotland

Scotland

Scotland is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Occupying the northern third of the island of Great Britain, it shares a border with England to the south and is bounded by the North Sea to the east, the Atlantic Ocean to the north and west, and the North Channel and Irish Sea to the...

.

Ethie Castle dates to around 1300, when the monks at nearby Arbroath Abbey

Arbroath Abbey

Arbroath Abbey, in the Scottish town of Arbroath, was founded in 1178 by King William the Lion for a group of Tironensian Benedictine monks from Kelso Abbey. It was consecrated in 1197 with a dedication to the deceased Saint Thomas Becket, whom the king had met at the English court...

 built a sandstone

Sandstone

Sandstone is a sedimentary rock composed mainly of sand-sized minerals or rock grains.Most sandstone is composed of quartz and/or feldspar because these are the most common minerals in the Earth's crust. Like sand, sandstone may be any colour, but the most common colours are tan, brown, yellow,...

 keep

Keep

A keep is a type of fortified tower built within castles during the Middle Ages by European nobility. Scholars have debated the scope of the word keep, but usually consider it to refer to large towers in castles that were fortified residences, used as a refuge of last resort should the rest of the...

. The castle passed through the hands of the de Maxwell family and into the ownership of Scotland's last Cardinal

Cardinal (Catholicism)

A cardinal is a senior ecclesiastical official, usually an ordained bishop, and ecclesiastical prince of the Catholic Church. They are collectively known as the College of Cardinals, which as a body elects a new pope. The duties of the cardinals include attending the meetings of the College and...

, David Beaton

David Beaton

The Most Rev. Dr. David Cardinal Beaton was Archbishop of St Andrews and the last Scottish Cardinal prior to the Reformation.-Career:...

 who was murdered in St. Andrews in 1546. The castle was purchased in 1665 by the Carnegie family, who later became the Earls of Northesk

Earl of Northesk

Earl of Northesk is a title in the Peerage of Scotland. It was created in 1662 for John Carnegie, who notably served as Sheriff of Forfarshire. He was given the subsidiary title of Lord Rosehill and Eglismauldie at the same time. Carnegie had already been created Earl of Ethie and Lord Lour in...

, and was owned by them through to 1928 until it was bought by William Cunningham Hector.

The castle is reputed to be the basis for the fictional Castle of Knockwhinnock in Sir Walter Scott's

Walter Scott

Sir Walter Scott, 1st Baronet was a Scottish historical novelist, playwright, and poet, popular throughout much of the world during his time....

 novel The Antiquary

The Antiquary

The Antiquary is a novel by Sir Walter Scott about several characters including an antiquary: an amateur historian, archaeologist and collector of items of dubious antiquity. Although he is the eponymous character, he is not necessarily the hero, as many of the characters around him undergo far...

. Sir Walter Scott was a close friend of William Carnegie, 8th Earl of Northesk

William Carnegie, 8th Earl of Northesk

William Hopetoun Carnegie, 8th Earl of Northesk was born the son of Admiral William Carnegie, 7th Earl of Northesk and Mary Ricketts on 16 October 1794. He died on 5 December 1878 at age 84....

 and frequently stayed at Ethie Castle.

The castle was restored by the chief of the Forsyth Clan

Clan Forsyth

Clan Forsyth is one of Scotland's wealthiest clans.The name Forsyth derives from the Gaelic 'man of peace'...

, Alistair Forsyth and it now serves as the clan's seat. The castle is presently owned, however, by the de Morgan family and has been converted for use as a hotel

Hotel

A hotel is an establishment that provides paid lodging on a short-term basis. The provision of basic accommodation, in times past, consisting only of a room with a bed, a cupboard, a small table and a washstand has largely been replaced by rooms with modern facilities, including en-suite bathrooms...

.

Ghosts

The castle is said to be haunted by a Grey Lady spectre as well as by David Beaton

David Beaton

The Most Rev. Dr. David Cardinal Beaton was Archbishop of St Andrews and the last Scottish Cardinal prior to the Reformation.-Career:...

 who was Abbot of Arbroath

Abbot of Arbroath

Abbot of Arbroath was the head of the Tironensian Benedictine monastic community of Arbroath Abbey, Angus, Scotland, founded under the patronage of King William of Scotland from Kelso Abbey and dedicated to St Thomas of Canterbury. The abbot, John Gedy, was granted the mitre on 26 June 1396...

in the 16th Century.

External links

• Ethie Castle Home Page