Banff Castle

Heritage listing

Date Added 02/10/1970 Last Date Amended 25/10/2001 Type Secular: castle Local Authority Aberdeenshire Parish Banff NGR NJ 68927 64191 Coordinates 368927, 864191 — The monument consists of the remains of a medieval castle. The monument was first scheduled in 1970; it is being rescheduled to exclude modern structures better protected by their listed status. Banff Castle is thought to date from the 12th century and was originally essentially a timber and earth structure. This was later strengthened by the construction of a massive curtain wall, part of which survives forming the east, west and north walls of the courtyard behind Banff Castle House. There are numerous other buildings on the site which post-date the medieval use of the site. The large earthworks associated with the castle are still apparent beyond the defensive wall, particularly to the north and east of the castle mound. The area to be scheduled is irregular in plan. It includes the earthworks and upstanding medieval masonry. To the east, south and west it is defined by, but does not include, property boundaries. To the north it is defined by the south and east walls of the walled garden and a line struck from the NE corner of the garden to the break in line of the east boundary. This area is showen in red on the accompanying map. However, excluded from the schedule are all standing structures (the house, its flanking pavillions, the gatehouse, the walls of the walled garden, the superstructure of the well and the indoor shooting range) other than the massive stone wall referred to above. Also excluded is the top 30cm of ground surfaces beneath existing buildings, roads and paths.

From Historic Environment Scotland under OGL v3.