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Cluny Crichton Castle is a ruined tower house dating to the second half of the 17th century. It sits on rising ground overlooking an area of extensively drained agricultural land to the north of the River Dee, and is not particularly defensive.
The castle was never completed due to mounting costs.
The tower is broadly L-shaped in plan and never contained stone vaults, with all floors supported on joists. In the angle of the L, a square tower contained a winding staircase serving all floors.
The three ground floor rooms and staircase were reached via a small hallway, and the three room plan was echoed upstairs. The lands of Cluny were part of the extensive estates of the Burnett family, based at Crathes, and were acquired by the main branch of the family after the last Burnett of Crichton fell into debt.
The lands passed to a sister of the laird of Leys, married to a
Douglas of Tilquhillie, and then to their daughter, who married George Crichton, builder of the castle. It may have then reverted to the Douglases as the Crichton family had no children, but the eventual fate of the estate is unknown. Today the castle is in a field used by livestock, meaning you need to
check that it is safe to access.
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