Description
Burgie Castle consists of a single corner tower of a large-scale Z-plan fortified house, together with an adjoining portion the main block. The rest of the castle has been demolished, but is known from a drawing by John Claude Nattes of 1799. Between the tower and surviving fragment of the main block is a corbelled-out spiral stair that gives access to the upper floors.
The six-storeyed tower has a crenellated and turreted wall head with water spouts in the form of cannon. At first floor level, within the surviving fragment of the main block, is the hall fireplace which has a joggled lintel decorated with the arms of the Dunbar family and the date 1602.
Each storey in the tower has a single room, of these the basement, the two upper storeys and the apex of the stair tower are all vaulted. Although only a fragment of the castle survives, what remains demonstrates workmanship of the highest quality. The section of the castle which has escaped demolition has also retained a number of important details and finishes. Extensive areas of plaster remain on the internal walls, while timberwork, including floors, cornice, doors and a shuttered window, also survive. Surviving ironwork includes a wrought iron yett and window grills at first floor level.
History
The castle was built for Robert Dunbar in about 1602. The majority of the castle, apart from the tower and fragment of the main block, was demolished in 1802 and its building materials re-used elsewhere. The Dunbar family also constructed nearby Blervie Castle around the same time, and almost to the same plan. Again, only a fragment of that castle survives and it has recently suffered a major collapse.
Status
The tower survives to the wall head and is still roofed. However, it is currently structurally unstable and is now supported by scaffolding. The Burgie Castle Trust are working with the Highland Building Preservation Trust in an attempt to ensure the preservation of the castle, and are contemplating a range of proposals for re-use.
Conservation Options
A scheme of adaptive re-use could offer a sustainable future for the tower. However, despite being complete to the wallhead, the tower is suffering from significant structural movement, which is currently kept in check with scaffolding.
The re-use of the building does therefore involve challenges. Apart from the structural issues, access between the floors is limited: consisting of six chambers stacked upon each other, with a first floor entrance approached by a narrow later staircase, the ground and first floor have no internal communication with either each other or the upper floors. The surviving portions of the main block would presumably have to be conserved as a ruin.
Bibliography
D. MacGibbon and T. Ross, The castellated and domestic architecture of Scotland, Edinburgh, vol. 2, 1887, pp 260-263
N. Tranter, The fortified house in Scotland: North East Scotland, Edinburgh, vol. 5, 1970, p 120.