Abergeldie Castle

Abergeldie Castle is a four-floor tower house located in Crathie and Braemar parish, SW Aberdeenshire, Scotland. It stands at an altitude of 840 feet (260 m), on the south bank of the River Dee, 5 miles (8 km) west of Ballater, and about 2 miles (3 km) east of the royal residence of Balmoral Castle. Behind it rises Creag nam Ban, a rounded granite hill about 527 metres (1,729 ft) high, and across the river to its front is the cairn-crowned Geallaig Hill, rising to 743 metres (2,438 ft).

It is protected as a category A listed building. The castle is the home of Baron Abergeldie.

The name derives from the Pictish language, and means the "Confluence of Geldie."

(Note: attempts have been made to derive the name from Scottish Gaelic, such as "inbhir-gile" ["shining {or bright} confluence"], but while aber and inbhir both mean "confluence" the former is derived from Pictish, a P-Celtic [Brythonic] language which once dominated in Britain, while the latter is derived from Gaelic, a Q-Celtic [Goidelic] language, originating in Ireland. Since Abergeldie is in the heartland of the ancient Pictish realm, and is surrounded by other place names incorporating "aber" [including nearby Aberdeen], it is safe to assume that Pictish is the correct origin of the name.)

A late Bronze Age standing stone, about 6.5 feet high, 2.5 feet wide, and 1.25 feet thick on the lawn of the castle is one indicator of the great antiquity of this site, and its long occupation by man. It also has one of the longest unbroken records of ownership, being in the hands of the Gordon family for 600 years.

It was most likely built around 1550 by Sir Alexander Gordon of Midmar, son of the first Earl of Huntly, on grounds acquired by the Gordon family in 1482. The interior has been returned to its original state, restored by a descendant of the builder.

During the course of the first Jacobite rising in 1689-90, the castle was besieged by Jacobite forces. However, following the defeat of General Buchan's Jacobite forces by Sir Thomas Livingstone at Cromdale on 1 May 1690, General Hugh Mackay of Scourie marched with some cavalry and 1,400 Williamite Dutch infantry (probably including his own former regiment) to lift the siege.

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