Fraser Castle
Fraser Castle is near Kemnay in the Aberdeenshire region of Scotland. In the 16th century, the 6th Laird, Michael Fraser, had the five-story Z-plan castle built around a 1450s fortified three-story tower house. The castle was modernized in the classical style in the late 18th century, while a new entrance was added. The interiors were reconstructed again in the 19th century with Regency, Tudor, and Gothic styling. The Fraser family held onto the property for more than four-hundred years, until 1921, when with no heirs and faced with financial difficulties, the property was sold. The new buyer restored the castle into a shooting lodge and gave it to The National Trust of Scotland in 1976. Many of the Fraser family’s furniture, collections, and portraits remain. The castle has some interesting features like trapdoors, a spy hole, and secret staircases, along with its Medieval stone vaulted great hall and Regency dining rooms. The castle has one large central tower and two smaller towers, while the exterior carries decorative motifs. The 300-acre property has a 19th century walled garden, twin gatehouses, an octagonal stable block, a flight pond, farmland, woodland, and walkways. There’s also a shop and a tearoom.
