Gordon Castle
Gordon Castle is a historic country house and former ducal seat near Fochabers in the parish of Bellie in Moray, Scotland. Originally built in the 1470s by George Gordon, 2nd Earl of Huntly, as a fortified tower known as the Bog o’ Gight, it evolved over the centuries into one of the largest and most distinguished houses in Scotland. Rebuilt on a monumental Neoclassical scale in the late 18th century by Alexander Gordon, 4th Duke of Gordon, the castle served as the principal residence of the Dukes of Gordon and later of the Gordon-Lennox family, Dukes of Richmond and Gordon.
At its height, Gordon Castle was celebrated for its vast façade—over 170 metres long—and for its social prominence under Jane, Duchess of Gordon, who made it a centre of political and cultural life in the Highlands. Much of the house was demolished in the 1954 after wartime deterioration, but the surviving east wing and medieval tower remain as part of a private residence owned by the Gordon-Lennox family. The surrounding Walled Garden, among the largest in Britain, has been restored as a major heritage and horticultural attraction.
History
Origins and Early Development
The origins of Gordon Castle reach back to the 12th century, when the Gordon family took its name from lands near Kelso in the Scottish Borders. By 1296, Sir Adam Gordon had gained royal favour under Robert the Bruce, who granted him extensive territories in Aberdeenshire, Banffshire, and Moray—including the Forest of Enzie and the old castle of Strathbogie at Huntly. His descendants rose to become Lords of Gordon, then Earls of Huntly, one of the most powerful families in northern Scotland.In 1479, George Gordon, 2nd Earl of Huntly, began building a new stronghold in the Forest of Enzie known as Bog o’ Gight, the site that would later evolve into Gordon Castle. Over time, this six-storey tower house became the family’s northern seat and symbol of their growing dominance. George Gordon, 4th Earl of Huntly remodelled it into a Renaissance Z-plan mansion, celebrated by contemporary engravings such as John Slezer’s 1672 view and praised by Richard Franck for its “lofty and majestic towers and turrets that storm the air and seemingly make dents in the very clouds.” An inventory of the contents from November 1648 mentions lavish beds and a "hen house", a parrot cage in the long gallery.
Through the 16th and 17th centuries the Gordons’ fortunes were intertwined with Scotland’s turbulent politics. They remained one of the few great families loyal to the Roman Catholic faith during the Reformation and supported the House of Stuart during the Jacobite uprisings. George Gordon, 4th Marquess of Huntly was elevated to 1st Duke of Gordon by Charles II and became a prominent Jacobite after the Glorious Revolution of 1688. Under his descendants, the family gradually aligned with the Protestant Crown, particularly after the Jacobite rising of 1745, when the widowed Henrietta Mordaunt, Duchess of Gordon, publicly brought her children to the parish church, marking the family’s reconciliation with Hanoverian rule.
The Georgian Rebuilding
By the early 18th century, Gordon Castle and Fochabers had become the family’s principal seat. The Dukes of Gordon—often styled the Gudeman o’ the Bog or more grandly the Cock o’ the North—were among Scotland’s foremost magnates. The first major phase of expansion was undertaken in the 1720s by Alexander Gordon, 2nd Duke of Gordon, who greatly enlarged the footprint of the original medieval tower house. Alexander Gordon, 4th Duke of Gordon, who held the title for seventy-five years, transformed both the estate and its surroundings. He rebuilt the castle on a monumental scale, laid out the new planned village of Fochabers, and established the great Walled Garden that survives today.His marriage to Jane Maxwell, the brilliant and tempestuous society hostess, brought glamour and political influence. Their union was famously stormy—ending in estrangement—but during their years together they turned Gordon Castle into a centre of Highland culture and fashionable society. Among the guests was Robert Burns, who composed the poem “Castle Gordon” in gratitude for their hospitality.
Architect John Adam was commissioned, alongside the exiled Huguenot architect Abraham Roumieu, to redesign the castle in 1764, but this did not come to fruition. Eventually the commission fell to the lesser-known Edinburgh architect, John Baxter, who started to rebuild the castle in 1769. He incorporated the six-storey medieval tower called the Bog-of-Gight into central four-storey block, which was flanked by a pair of two-storey wings. As a result, an immense classical mansion was created —the south façade alone extending nearly 173 metres. The principal reception rooms, including the Drawing Room and Dining Room, occupied the first floor of the central block, while a chapel and conservatory filled the east wing. In 1827 the Aberdeen architect Archibald Simpson was commissioned to redesign the east wing after it was destroyed by fire.
The 4th Duke’s son, George Gordon, 5th Duke of Gordon, inherited the estate and furthered his father’s ambitions. He raised the regiment that became the Gordon Highlanders and is credited, with his father, for legalising whisky production for their tenant George Smith of Glenlivet, paving the way for the modern Glenlivet distillery. George’s marriage to Elizabeth Brodie produced no heirs, and on his death in 1836 the Dukedom became extinct.
Victorian and Edwardian Splendour
The castle and estates passed to his nephew Charles Lennox, 5th Duke of Richmond, whose principal seat was Goodwood House in Sussex. To reflect the inheritance, he added the name Gordon to his own, founding the Gordon-Lennox line. Under his successors, the castle entered a period of extraordinary splendour.The 6th and 7th Dukes of Richmond and Gordon presided over the estate from 1860 to 1928. During their tenure, Gordon Castle became a centre of late-Victorian and Edwardian society; the Prince of Wales was a frequent guest, and the family hosted the celebrated Gordon Castle Highland Games, drawing crowds of up to thirty thousand. The 7th Duke of Richmond also encouraged local industry, assisting William Baxter in establishing what became the Baxters of Speyside food company.
War, Decline, and Demolition (1914–1950s)
The First World War brought both service and loss. Gordon Castle was converted into a military hospital, treating many wounded Gordon Highlanders. The 7th Duke’s son, Lord Bernard Gordon-Lennox, wwas killed in action during the First Battle of Ypres in November 1914, aged 36, and his grandson, Lord Settrington, died in action in Russia in 1919, during the North Russia intervention. Though the family continued traditional gatherings such as the Highland Games, the social world of the pre-war estate never fully returned.Charles Gordon-Lennox, 8th Duke of Richmond and Gordon attempted to modernise the estate, but his premature death and double death duties forced his heir, Frederick, 9th Duke of Richmond and Gordon, to surrender Gordon Castle and its grounds to the Crown Estate in 1938. The majority of the contents of the castle were sold in 1938, although some family portraits and furniture were removed to Goodwood House.
During the Second World War, the castle was occupied by troops; the years of military use and harsh winters left the main structure gravely decayed. By the late 1940s, the central block suffered from dry rot and damp. In the early 1950s, Sir George (“Geordie”) Gordon-Lennox, son of Lord Bernard, repurchased the property from the Crown. He and his wife Nan made the painful decision to demolish the ruined central block, converting the east wing and medieval tower into a family home.
In the decades that followed, the family restored the link between castle and lineage. Sir George’s descendants—Major-General Bernard Gordon Lennox and later Angus and Zara Gordon Lennox—have continued the legacy, reviving the estate as a living enterprise centred on heritage, conservation, and the remarkable Walled Garden that once again forms the heart of Gordon Castle.
Walled garden
A walled garden has existed for centuries at Gordon Castle. The current one, built 1803–1804, replaced the old village of Fochabers, which was relocated southwards to open up the castle’s parkland. Built of stone brought from Burghead, it became one of the largest walled gardens in Scotland.In the 19th century, under head gardeners John and Charles Webster, the garden achieved national fame for its orchards, espaliers, soft fruits, and flowers. A 1903 Gardeners’ Magazine article praised its abundance and “skilful management.” The Websters introduced varieties like The Gordon Castle Plum, Warner’s King, and Beauty of Moray, while glasshouses from Mackenzie & Moncur of Edinburgh produced exotic fruits.
After 1938, under Crown ownership, the garden was used for raspberry farming, then as low-maintenance grounds. When Sir George Gordon Lennox bought back the estate, he and his wife Nan continued market gardening until the 1980s.
Since 2008, Angus and Zara Gordon Lennox have led a major restoration with designer Arne Maynard, turning the garden into a productive and educational visitor attraction. It now combines heritage planting with contemporary design—vegetable and herb beds, fruit tunnels, children’s play areas, and a café—reviving its role as the heart of the estate. Produce from the garden now features in the estate’s restaurant and luxury product line, including the renowned Gordon Castle Gin.