Knockhall Castle (Scotland)
Aberdeenshire See list of castles in Scozia
Knockhall Castle is built on low ground between Tarty Burn and the River Ythan, northwest of the village of Newburgh. To the west the ground rises slightly, but the site offers a good view in the other directions. Ythan has now widened to become an estuary, and the slope to Tarty Burn is not particularly steep, but to the north and east the approach is well protected by these natural features. Because it is neglected, the site is not defensively strong, but has a dominant position in the landscape.
The castle is a rather simple tower house of three floors and an attic, built on an L-shaped plan and with a NW projecting square tower that contains a spiral staircase that serves all floors. Inside, the dividing wall between the atrium block and the wing is all that remains above the vault of the atrium block; the rest of the castle is a shell. Faint traces of a courtyard including the foundations of a circular tower extend south and east. The bare appearance of the tower is emphasized by the fact that the lower openings in the wall have been blocked off and the heraldic panel above the door has been removed. The basement layout is unusual; the door is narrow in the recessed corner and leads to a passage of irregular width which curves to the right at the end to provide access to the stairwell. To the left (SW) is the kitchen, and to the right is the vaulted basement of the entrance block; the bottom staircase and the basement are equipped with vents and slits, and the kitchen has small window openings that overlook the courtyard and towards NW; the chimney and bread ovens occupy the end of the SW gable. MacGibbon and Ross help that the upper rooms all have wardrobes and that the staircase has been completely demolished. The date 1565 is carved into the damaged lintel of the entrance door.
Being on the southern side of Ythan, Knockhall was located just outside Buchan County proper, but was almost certainly dominated by the counts of that province, the Comyn from the first half of the 13th century. Technically it was within the area known as Formartine, which made up the southern parts of the wider Buchan area. Knockhall was originally known as the Barony of Newburgh, held by Sir William Sinclair of Rosslin and Earl of Orkney in the late 14th century. When Sir William died, Newburgh was granted to his second son David, who died childless, and in 1411 to his third son John, who also died childless. The 1411 charter was issued by Henry Earl of Orkney and confirmed by the Duke of Albany. Upon John's death, Newburgh returned to William, the 3rd Earl of Orkney, and Earl William granted the Newburgh lands to his eldest son and heir William Sinclair, and his wife Elizabeth Leslie. The sasine was dated November 6, 1459 and was released at Knockhall. This is the earliest mention of Knockhall, and although none of the surviving buildings are expected to date from this period, clearly the seat of the barony was here then. William died in 1505 and was followed by his son Henry, Lord Sinclair of Newburgh. Henry was killed at Flodden in 1513 and was followed by his son William and William by his son William in 1545. This second Lord Henry was at Knockhall in 1565 when Knockhall Castle is said to have been built - the date of the lintel of the door. Henry was followed by his three sons in succession, Henry, James and Patrick. In James's time, the lands of Newburgh had a wadset against them issued by George Hamilton of Blackburn, and Hamilton exercised lordship rights over the Knockhall estates accordingly, until 1632, when John, son of Patrick and 7th Lord Sinclair , managed to redeem the wadset. To John Udny of Belhelvie.
John Udny succeeded his brother at Udny's main estate in 1636, and was a strong supporter of the Gordons against the Covenant. On May 27, 1639, Knockhall fell into the hands of the Covenanters under Count Marischal, who likely suffered damage as a result. The following year he was again attacked by a group from Aberdeen, who were given free access to the castle by Mrs. Udny, the laird being absent. John Udny was followed by his son Alexander in 1665, and by his son Giovanni and his grandson, another Alexander. In 1734 a fire broke out in Knockhall which gutted the property, which was abandoned in favor of the family headquarters in Udny, never to be rebuilt.
The floor plan of Knockhall Castle gives no indication that any part of it dates from the 15th century, and it seems likely that according to these data the castle was probably a moated feudal site rather than a tower. As MacGibbon and Ross noted, the windows of the castle