Scottish Baronial is a style of architecture found in Scotland which draws on Gothic Scottish designs.

Scottish Baronial architecture is best identified by its medieval or even fairy-tale like look. It draws its inspirations and design fundaments from the Scottish Renaissance period. Appropriately the buildings completed in this style are adorned with many decorative but limited in it functionality elements. These include towers with off-shooting turrets. Often times there are crenellated battlements adorning walls (the rectangular cut outs at the top of walls). Portcullises were not an uncommon feature (mechanically raised iron wrought gates).

The Scottish Baronial style is often now considered to be an architectural folly. Architecturally speaking this means that the architectural style is designed for looks as opposed to utility. While this does comment on the relatively superfluous nature of the design, folly does not necessarily comment on the design as a derogative but a light hearted assessment.

Currently the Scottish Baronial is considered to be the inspiration for the following buildings:

Abbotsford House,
Balmoral Castle,
Balmoral Hotel,
Belfast Castle,
Blarney Castle,
Castle Leslie,
Castle Oliver,
Drummond Castle,
Dunrobin Castle,
Fettes College,
Glenveagh Castle,
Helen's Bay railway station,
Larnach Castle,
Wilson Castle,
Skibo Castle and
Torosay Castle.

The Black House is a rather interesting past architectural design of Scotland.

The Black House is a somewhat curious yet surprisingly plain type of housing found commonly in Scotland, the Hebrides and even Ireland, in fact in many places of Gaelic settlement. The simplest of the Black house design looks like a rectangular stone house with a thatch roof. The walls of the black house were constructed out of a double wall of dry-stone wall with an insulation interior of earth or wooden rafters. The interior floor was typically flagstone. Hearths in the center were common, for heating. Although it must be mentioned that chimneys were not part of the design and smoke was meant to dissipate through he thatch roof. Often there were partitions in the black house to separate the living space of people and their animals.

The design of the Black House was altered depending on the location that it was erected. For instance, any example of a black house in the Outer Hebrides will have evidence of an intricate system of ropes along the thatch and pillar roof system, to combat and resist the intense winds found in the area.

The Black House remains to be a relative archeological mystery as some evidence indicates that it is only 150 years old by design. This is based on the fact that there is no evidence of any black houses before this time. Although, theories have been raised claiming that this is because the black house is a design which quickly deteriorates without maintenance, so any examples from before this time period could have been destroyed beyond recognition. Supporting evidence of this can be found near the village of Arnol, Lewis. These examples of the black house design were roofed and intact until the 1970s, a time span of less than 40 years has seen them deteriorate to the level of ancient ruins. Making the idea of actual ancient examples being destroyed beyond identification plausible.

Cawdor Castle is a castle in Scotland, often popularized for the name it shares with the Shakespeare castle of the same name.

Cawdor Castle is located near Inverness and Nairn Scotland. Or 16 kilometers and 8 kilometers from each, respectively. In terms of historic documentation, the earliest record of Cawdor Castle is in 1454 when a building license was granted to it. Although, archeological study puts the date of the castle at 1380. One unique aspect of Cawdor Castle is that it is built around a holly tree, studies estimate that the tree died in 1372, which lends credence to the idea that the castle, or an earlier incarnation of it was present before the building license was issued.

Cawdor Castle shares a name with the Cawdor Castle in Shakespeare’s Macbeth. Although since the play and the castle do not seem to coincide in terms of time, it can only be assumed that this was either a planned or an accidental coincidence. Either way, it should not be thought that they are the same.

Cawdor Castle has further claims to fame, as with many similar buildings, it is said to be haunted. Apparently, a lady in a blue has been sighted, although no credible historic theories have been formed as to who exactly it is. John Campbell, 1st Lord Cawdor has also been reputed to haunt the building.

Castle Stalker is a small castle in Scotland, it holds it fame from being featured in the movie “Monty Python and the Holy Grail”.

Castle Stalker is located a mere 2.5 kilometers from the small Argyll village of Port Appin, Scotland. It can also be described as being mid-way between Oban and Glen Coe. Castle Stalker itself is set on a small islet of Loch Laich, which is in itself an inlet of Loch Linneh.

Castle Stalker is thought to have been built in 1446 by Lord of Lorn, Sir John Stewart. Its name comes from the Gaelic term “Stalcaire”, which can be translated to either hunter or falconer. As such, while it may look like the name should be pronounced in the typical English way, it is actually “stal-ker” with full pronunciation of the “l”.

Currently Castle Stalker is a fully restored castle, and has been so since the mid 70’s. Previous to this, the exact nature of the castle and its ownership are not fully known due to lackluster and often inconsistent record keeping.

Though, in modern times, Castle Stalker has received much fame and attention. It has been a center point in the movies “Highlander”, “Highlander: Endgame” and “Monty Python and the Holy Grail”. Due to its picturesque location of a lake with a backdrop of Scottish mountains, it has been featured on countless post-cards, calendars and other objects of Scottish Highlands tourism.

The Nine Castles of Knuckle is a set of nine castles located in an area that used to be called Knuckle.

The Nine Castles of Knuckle are located in an area that no longer is referred to as Knuckle. It can be simply described as being in the far north-east corner of Aberdeenshire, specifically in the Buchan region.

The Nine Castles of Knuckle consist of Cairnbulg Castle, Dundarg Castle, Inverallochy Castle, Kinnaird Castle, Castle of Lonmay, Pitsligo Castle, Pitullie Castle, Castle of Rattray and Winetower. Of these castles, four are considered to be ruins, one is destroyed, one is buried underneath local sand dunes, one remains as a castle and the last one is still inhabited privately.

The Nine Castles of Knuckle are littered with history and interesting stories. It is said that Winetower, near Kinnaird Castle, is a marker which indicates a cave where the lord of the Fraser Family at one point imprisoned her daughter’s boyfriend. He eventually drowned as it is a tide affected cave, he is said to haunt the site to this day. Other peculiarities are the likes of Lonmay Castle which is buried under the sand dunes of the local beach, and what aspects of it did remain on the site are thought to long ago have been taken to be used for the construction of local farms.

Knock Castle is a good example of the residence of a Scottish laird.

Knock Castle stands just less than 10 kilometers to the east of Balmoral Castle and one kilometer west of the town of Ballater. While it is under the care of Historic Scotland, Knock Castle is still considered to be a ruin of a castle. Currently the remains feature all four walls of the original building, a vaulted basement, the remains of a spiral staircase, a room at the top of the staircase and certain interesting defensive features. No roof remains on Knock Castle.
Knock Castle is somewhat unique in its defensive structuring. There are grates on all the windows and holes underneath so that pistols can be shot at any attackers.

Knock Castle was built sometime in the 17th century. There is archeological and historical evidence to suggest that there was a building inhabiting the site earlier, but the one seen today is not it. According to records of the Royal Commission of Ancient and Historical Monuments the previous building was destroyed in 1590, to be replaced the one that exists now. There is still archeological evidence of a corn-drying kiln from the previous building, underneath the current building.

There are six castles in Orkney, Scotland.

While the Orkney Isles are a relatively small area of Scotland, there are still a number of significant castles in Orkney. The total number of castles in Orkney is six. There are currently three which are under the care of Historic Scotland, and all of these are considered to be ruins. The castles are Balfour Castle, The Bishop’s Palace, the Earl’s Palace in Birsay, Earl’s in Kirkwall, Kirkwall Castle and Noltland Castle.

Arguably the most notable castles in Orkney are Balfour Castle, the Earl’s Palace in Birsay and the Earl’s Palace in Kirkwall.

Of the three Historic Scotland castles in Orkney, all are ruins. Of these three, Earl’s Palace in Kirkwall is arguably the one with the most colorful history. Its construction was begun in 1607, reputedly under slave labour, commanded by Lord Orkney and his father, Robert Stewart, 1st Earl of Orkney. Also the surrounding lands of the castle were not purchased but claimed, when Lord Orkney accused the actual owner of the field of theft.

Another interesting point about the castles of Orkney is the fact that the afore mentioned Earl’s Palace in Kirkwall was only built after Lord Orkney decided that all the potential of his previous castle, The Bishop’s Palace was exhausted.

Muchalls Castle is a castle famed for its intricate plasterwork and decoration.

Muchalls Castle is located in the Kincardine and Mearns area of Aberdeenshire, Scotland. It lies on the Causey Mounth road that links Stonehaven and Aberdeen. The position of Muchalls Caslte atop a hill affords it reputedly splendid views of the North Sea.

Muchalls Castle owing largely to its location is flanked by many interesting archaeological locations and pieces. But the interest extends to the interior of the building. The plasterwork of the main drawing room is considered to be one of the three best examples of plasterwork in Scotland. It is described as being biblical iconography along side a number of heraldic items for the Burnett of Leys family and their friends. This flare for decoration extends further to other aspects of the house, like the main fireplace which is flanked on either side by impressive Egyptian themed figures.

Muchalls Castle, in its current form, is built upon other structures which are in turn built upon other structures. The most prominent building whose influence can be seen in the present day is the L-plan castle design built around a Clan Fraser tower house in the 14th century. Many of the features associated with this, like a dungeon and hidden stair case are still visible to this day.

Corgaff Castle is a castle in Scotland, known for its history as a significant strategic position.

Corgaff Castle, like many other castles, is built upon the previous site of other structures. In this case it was a defensive tower enclosed within a wall, built in 1550 by John Forbes of Towie. It was burned down by Adam Gordon of Auchindoun in 1571. All but one person is said to have escaped the blaze. Subsequently it is believed that the castle grounds are now haunted.

Corgaff Castle has been restored by Historic Scotland, to the design it held in 1748. But it had changed hands numerous times previous to this, currently it is under the ownership of Lonach Highland Friendly Society. Post its burning, Corgaff Castle was used by bandits who took it over and utilized it as a hideout in 1607. This lasted several years, until it was taken over by John Erskine in 1628.

Corgaff Castle was burned down yet again in 1715, after the fall of the first Jacobite Uprising. It was captured and converted in 1746, at the end of the second Jacobite Uprising. It was used as a barracks, and the design used is subsequently the one seen today.

Corgaff Castle soon came to be used a home for patrols of highlanders wearing kilts or smuggling whisky. It later came to be ruin with little use, or a hunting house.

Balmoral Castle is a large estate and castle in Scotland, and a summer residence of Queen Elizabeth II and The Duke of Edinburgh.

The roots of Balmoral Castle lie in a hunting lodge that was held on the property by Sir William Drummond, until his death in 1390. The followings years, until 1662 saw the property in the holding of Farquharsons of Invery. This continued until 1798 when it was sold to the 2nd Earl of Fife. The castle which stands on the property was begun in 1853, with Queen Victoria placing the initial foundation stone.

Balmoral Castle is located in Royal Deeside, Aberdeenshire, Scotland (which is technically the area around Braemar and Ballater ). The estate upon which Balmoral Castle stands is currently over 50,000 acres in size, or 260 square kilometers. As an estate which both caters for dignitaries and is an operational tourist attraction, Balmoral Castle and its surroundings have roughly 50 full-time staff and between 50 and 100 part-time staff.

Balmoral Castle has been featured on the Royal Bank of Scotland’s one hundred pound note since 1987. The castle and its grounds were also featured on the movie “The Queen”. It played a main roll in the movie as much of it had the Queen residing in it. The film “Mrs. Brown” also had Balmoral Castle, but only in name as it was filmed at Duns Castle.