A must-see: high on the castle's north front, a sumptuous heraldic panel spreads the Fraser arms — and carries, discreetly, the signature "I Bel." It is the mark of John Bell of Midmar, one of the great master masons of north-east Scotland, who in the three decades before 1618 transformed this Z-plan tower into a house of display for Andrew Fraser. Under his hand the main block was heightened by a corbelled storey, dressed with carved false cannon-mouths running right around the walls. Armorial panels, decorative corbelling, carefully chosen imagery: Castle Fraser is one of the peaks of the Renaissance tower house of the Grampians, where defence has become pure ornament.
Did you know?
For a Scottish mason to sign his work was rare: the "I Bel" of Castle Fraser is one of the best-identified examples of craftsman's pride, claiming authorship of a decoration commissioned by a great landowner.
Info
- Exterior decoration; the castle survives whole and furnished (National Trust for Scotland).
- The Z-plan is characteristic of north-east Scotland.
- The sculpture / decorative dimension of Castle Fraser (see the linked monument entry).