Near Banchory, in Aberdeenshire, Crathes Castle is a harled sixteenth-century tower house that holds one of the summits of the Scottish Renaissance: sumptuous painted ceilings, long hidden, rediscovered in the twentieth century.
The tower of the Burnetts
The lands were given to the Burnetts of Leys as early as 1323, but the present tower was begun in 1553 and completed in 1596 by Alexander Burnett of Leys. It is a classic north-eastern tower house: a tall harled silhouette (rough-cast render), corbelled turrets, the heart of the life of a rising Scottish gentry family.
The treasure of the painted ceilings
The exceptional thing about Crathes lies in its interiors. Three Jacobean rooms preserve painted ceilings of the Scottish Renaissance: the Chamber of the Muses, the Chamber of the Nine Worthies, the Chamber of the Green Lady, adorned with figures and mottoes in bright colours. Covered with plaster in the eighteenth century, they were only rediscovered in 1913. The period furniture — a carved bed and two 'caqueteuse' chairs dated 1597 — extends this rare interior ensemble, which makes Crathes a first-rate witness of the Scottish decorative art of the time.
What to see
- The painted ceilings (Muses, Nine Worthies, Green Lady).
- The carved bed and the caqueteuse chairs of 1597.
- The harled tower house and the walled yew gardens.
Did you know?
The painted ceilings of Crathes, hidden beneath a Georgian plastering that judged them out of fashion, slept concealed for nearly two centuries: they were only brought back to light in 1913, during works. A masterpiece saved by chance from the changing taste of the ages.
Practical information
Crathes Castle lies near Banchory, in Aberdeenshire; in the care of the National Trust for Scotland, with its gardens. Hours liable to change; check against the official sources.
Quiz
- Which treasure do the interiors of Crathes hold?
- Painted ceilings of the Scottish Renaissance
- A collection of Roman armour
- Byzantine mosaics
- When were the painted ceilings rediscovered?
- In 1913
- In the Middle Ages
- Never
- From when do the carved bed and caqueteuse chairs date?
- From 1597
- From 1850
- From the year 1000