Forest of Birse, Birse Castle, Including Boundary Walls and Cheese Press

Circa 1600; restored George Bennett Mitchell, 1905; E wing and SE angle turret by Dr William Kelly, 1930. 3-storey and attic, Z-plan tower house. Pink granite rubble finely finished to margins. Boarded timber doors; long and short dressings; key corbelling to angle turrets; roll-moulded eaves course to turrets; crowstepped gables.

S ELEVATION: asymmetrical; 3-bay; small bipartite window to centre of ground floor, flanked to left by arrow-slit opening, regular fenestration to ground and 1st floors of 2 bays to left, with round-arched niche to centre, angle turret to outer left with window and 3 elliptical openings below eaves course; circular angle tower corbelled to square to bay to right, dated "19 AC 30" (Annie Cowdray), door to ground floor surmounted by heraldic panel bearing thistle, rose and crown, irregularly placed arrow-slits with leaded diamond-pane glazing, regular fenestration to 2nd and attic floor; irregular fenestration to gabled right return, cheese press to ground floor; angle turret to re-entrant angle to right with regular fenestration and elliptical openings below eaves. 1930 addition adjoining to outer right (see below).

E ELEVATION: 1905 restoration obscured by 1930 wing; near symmetrical; advanced gabled 2-bay wing; single window off-centre to right of ground floor, regular fenestration to ground floor; tooled heraldic panel to centre of 3rd floor, window set in centre of gablehead, 2-storey angle turrets to left and right; left return 3-bay regular fenestration to ground, 1st and 2nd floors; Single storey addition to outer right with 2-leaf door, flanked by narrow openings, gabled to outer right with steps leading to rear.

N ELEVATION: asymmetrical; gabled bay to outer right; irregular door and window openings; single storey addition to N adjoining boundary walls (see below), with covered porch adjoining main block, irregular window and door openings.

W ELEVATION: asymmetrical; 4-bay; 2 gabled bays to right: panelled timber door flanked to left by window to bay to outer right at ground floor; regular fenestration to 1st floor, window off-centre to left of gablehead, symmetrically placed angle turrets to left and right. 2 recessed bays to left: near-regular fenestration to ground 1st and 2nd floors; 2-pane skylight to attic.

Variety of small-pane replacement timber sash and case windows. Grey slate roofs with stone ridges; conical roofs with lead spherical finials to turrets; decorative ironwork weathervane to re-entrant turret to S. Coped gablehead stacks with circular cans. Cast-iron rainwater goods.

INTERIOR: not seen 1999.

BOUNDARY WALLS: battered granite rubble boundary walls to N, S and E, decorative angle bastions to S wall, stone steps to S and E.

B-Group with Birse Castle Kennels (see separate listing). The Forest of Birse was originally Royal hunting forest. Sir William Gordon of Cluny feued the forest from the Bishop of Aberdeen in 1585 and built the original castle as a hunting seat or summer retreat; in 1636 it passed to Sir William Douglas of Glenbervie, then in 1666 to the Earl of Aboyne. The original castle was thought to have been "a plain keep in plan, with the addition of a round tower at one angle only" (M & R, p49), however its condition in 1892 was "a fragmentary ruin" (M & R, p49) with only E and N side walls surviving, and remained as such until it was restored by George Bennett Mitchell for J R Heaven, then Dr William Kelly for Annie, Lady Cowdray.

What is a listed building?

Designation is the legal recognition of some of Scotland’s most important historic sites and places. Historic Environment Scotland (HES) designates scheduled monuments, listed buildings, historic battlefields, and gardens and designed landscapes.

HES makes recommendations to the Scottish Government about historic marine protected areas, and the Scottish Ministers decide whether to designate.

Listing is the process that identifies, designates and provides statutory protection for buildings of special architectural or historic interest as set out in the Planning (Listed Buildings and Conservation Areas) (Scotland) Act 1997.

HES list buildings which are found to be of special architectural or historic interest using the selection guidance published inDesignation Policy and Selection Guidance (2019) - external link.

About listed building records

Listed building records, like this one, provide an indication of the special architectural or historic interest of the listed building which has been identified by its statutory address. The description and additional information provided are supplementary and have no legal weight.

These records are not definitive historical accounts or a complete description of the building(s). If part of a building is not described it does not mean it is not listed. The format of the listed building record has changed over time. Earlier records may be brief and some information will not have been recorded.

Legal requirements

The legal part of the listing is the address/name of site which is known as the statutory address. Other than the name or address of a listed building, further details are provided for information purposes only.

HES does not accept any liability for any loss or damage suffered as a consequence of inaccuracies in the information provided. Addresses and building names may have changed since the date of listing. Even if a number or name is missing from a listing address it will still be listed.

Listing covers both the exterior and the interior and any object or structure fixed to the building. Listing also applies to buildings or structures not physically attached but which are part of the curtilage (or land) of the listed building as long as they were erected before 1 July 1948.

While HES is responsible for designating listed buildings, the planning authority is responsible for determining what is covered by the listing, including what is listed through curtilage. However, for listed buildings designated or for listings amended from 1 October 2015, legal exclusions to the listing may apply.

If part of a building is not listed, it will say that it is excluded in the statutory address and in the statement of special interest in the listed building record. The statement will use the word ’excluding’ and quote the relevant section of the 1997 Act. Some earlier listed building records may use the word ’excluding’, but if the Act is not quoted, the record has not been revised to reflect subsequent legislation.

Planning and consents

Listed building consentis required for changes to a listed building which affect its character as a building of special architectural or historic interest. The relevant planning authority is the point of contact for applications for listed building consent.

Further information

Searchtrove.scot for information on scheduling andother designationsor visitHistoric Environment Scotland - external link.

You can also contact us on 0131 668 8914 ordesignations@hes.scot - external link