Conzie Castle (3 of 3)
So if the Crichtons were not in a position to have built Pennyburn (aka Bognie, aka Conzie), were the Morisons?
Alexander Morison, 1st of Bognie, obtained Bognie, probably from the Crichtons, in 1635. His son and heir George, married the previously referred to widow of James Crichton, 2nd Viscount of Frendraught. We know they lived at Bognie House, but is this the Bognie House they lived at or was it the farmhouse now called Mains of Bognie - a quarter of a mile east of here?
We know that George Morison and his (former) Viscountess must have lived in a fairly large house, because we have details of their household:
"The household of Bognie, besides the Laird and Viscountess, consisted of their son and two daughters - Barbara Morison, a sister of the laird's; Elizabeth Blair, his niece; and Christian Ramsay, a niece of the lady's. There was also a chaplain, a steward, the laird's page, a man cook, a footman, and a groom; likewise, a farm grieve, five male, and three female servants - in all twenty-three persons, which bespeaks the importance and affluence of the family at the close of the 17th century."
While not all of these folk would have necessarily been living under the main roof, the main roof would still have needed to have been bigger than that covering the farmhouse at Mains of Bognie these days, which might indicate that they were living at Pennyburn. But in fact they probably were living at Mains of Bognie and not at Pennyburn!
There is evidently much confusion between this Bognie House (aka Mains of Bognie) and the building now often referred to as Bognie Castle (in the photo above) - which is quite understandable, given that Mains of Bognie is not evidently a large house and that the 'castle' evidently was.
Mains of Bognie is a fairly plain but obviously old building, rubble built with crow-stepped gables and the remains of a great walled garden behind it - clues to its earlier importance. The building has undergone many changes and clearly was once much more extensive than it is now. A ruined dovecot standing forlornly in the field between it and the 'castle' (visible in the first photo) is another indication of its antiquity and former importance. The household of George Morison and Christian Urquhart evidently lived here.
If the Crichtons were not in a financial position to be building a new house here in the late 17th century, were the Morisons? A reference that suggests that they were reads as follows: "George Morison married the widowed Viscountess Frendraught, Christian Urquhart, becoming her third husband, and he redeemed the wadset of the estate." The key bit is the last bit.
A wadset was a private loan or mortgage, the security for which was nearly always land. The reference above tells us that George had enough money to be able to disencumber his property by paying off his (or his father's) loans. While the Crichtons were galloping around the country fighting the king's enemies, the Morisons were at home earning money off their land and paying off their debts!
Another small piece of evidence - although I don't know where it fits, is that in the old kirkyard at Forgue, there is an armorial panel with the initials of George Morison and the date 1674 - probably the date of his marriage. It may be that this stone, which is triangular and was therefore probably a dormer window pediment, came from the newly built house of Pennyburn, but a more likely explanation is that it was made for the part of Bognie House that has since been demolished. Another mystery, but in conclusion, it seems fairly evident to me that while the Crichtons were in no position to be building a new Cronzie Castle, George Morison clearly was in a position to be building a grander house to suit his improving position and his new Viscountess!
If that is so, why did they reportedly never move in? The answer to that is simple, the family inherited or obtained Frendraught and moved there instead. It is not immediately obvious to me why Frendraught passed to the Morisons. The link was obviously Christian Urquhart, who was the mother of both the 3rd Chrichton Viscount and 3rd Morison laird of Bognie, but this in itself is insufficient reason for the Morisons to have inherited, as she was not a blood relative of the Crichtons. It may be that there was also money involved somewhere - ie debts owed by the Crichtons to the Morisons.
The Morisons still own Frendraught and Bognie, as well Mountblairie near Turriff and much else besides! The current laird is Alexander Gordon Morison, 14th of Bognie and 13th of Frendraught. There is a nice story about how Gordon's grandfather, a younger son of the 10th laird of Bognie, emigrated to Canada at the time of the Great Depression, where the family lived in comparative poverty. They must have lost track of the senior line of the family until Gordon's father was contacted one day and told that he had inherited a wee bit of land in Scotland - which turned out to be much of Banffshire!
There is not much to say about the 'castle' building itself. It was built more in the style of a 'palace' than a castle and obviously had few if any defensive features. The shape of the surviving gable wall suggests that there may have been turrets on the angles to either side of it.
Conzie Castle (3 of 3)
So if the Crichtons were not in a position to have built Pennyburn (aka Bognie, aka Conzie), were the Morisons?
Alexander Morison, 1st of Bognie, obtained Bognie, probably from the Crichtons, in 1635. His son and heir George, married the previously referred to widow of James Crichton, 2nd Viscount of Frendraught. We know they lived at Bognie House, but is this the Bognie House they lived at or was it the farmhouse now called Mains of Bognie - a quarter of a mile east of here?
We know that George Morison and his (former) Viscountess must have lived in a fairly large house, because we have details of their household:
"The household of Bognie, besides the Laird and Viscountess, consisted of their son and two daughters - Barbara Morison, a sister of the laird's; Elizabeth Blair, his niece; and Christian Ramsay, a niece of the lady's. There was also a chaplain, a steward, the laird's page, a man cook, a footman, and a groom; likewise, a farm grieve, five male, and three female servants - in all twenty-three persons, which bespeaks the importance and affluence of the family at the close of the 17th century."
While not all of these folk would have necessarily been living under the main roof, the main roof would still have needed to have been bigger than that covering the farmhouse at Mains of Bognie these days, which might indicate that they were living at Pennyburn. But in fact they probably were living at Mains of Bognie and not at Pennyburn!
There is evidently much confusion between this Bognie House (aka Mains of Bognie) and the building now often referred to as Bognie Castle (in the photo above) - which is quite understandable, given that Mains of Bognie is not evidently a large house and that the 'castle' evidently was.
Mains of Bognie is a fairly plain but obviously old building, rubble built with crow-stepped gables and the remains of a great walled garden behind it - clues to its earlier importance. The building has undergone many changes and clearly was once much more extensive than it is now. A ruined dovecot standing forlornly in the field between it and the 'castle' (visible in the first photo) is another indication of its antiquity and former importance. The household of George Morison and Christian Urquhart evidently lived here.
If the Crichtons were not in a financial position to be building a new house here in the late 17th century, were the Morisons? A reference that suggests that they were reads as follows: "George Morison married the widowed Viscountess Frendraught, Christian Urquhart, becoming her third husband, and he redeemed the wadset of the estate." The key bit is the last bit.
A wadset was a private loan or mortgage, the security for which was nearly always land. The reference above tells us that George had enough money to be able to disencumber his property by paying off his (or his father's) loans. While the Crichtons were galloping around the country fighting the king's enemies, the Morisons were at home earning money off their land and paying off their debts!
Another small piece of evidence - although I don't know where it fits, is that in the old kirkyard at Forgue, there is an armorial panel with the initials of George Morison and the date 1674 - probably the date of his marriage. It may be that this stone, which is triangular and was therefore probably a dormer window pediment, came from the newly built house of Pennyburn, but a more likely explanation is that it was made for the part of Bognie House that has since been demolished. Another mystery, but in conclusion, it seems fairly evident to me that while the Crichtons were in no position to be building a new Cronzie Castle, George Morison clearly was in a position to be building a grander house to suit his improving position and his new Viscountess!
If that is so, why did they reportedly never move in? The answer to that is simple, the family inherited or obtained Frendraught and moved there instead. It is not immediately obvious to me why Frendraught passed to the Morisons. The link was obviously Christian Urquhart, who was the mother of both the 3rd Chrichton Viscount and 3rd Morison laird of Bognie, but this in itself is insufficient reason for the Morisons to have inherited, as she was not a blood relative of the Crichtons. It may be that there was also money involved somewhere - ie debts owed by the Crichtons to the Morisons.
The Morisons still own Frendraught and Bognie, as well Mountblairie near Turriff and much else besides! The current laird is Alexander Gordon Morison, 14th of Bognie and 13th of Frendraught. There is a nice story about how Gordon's grandfather, a younger son of the 10th laird of Bognie, emigrated to Canada at the time of the Great Depression, where the family lived in comparative poverty. They must have lost track of the senior line of the family until Gordon's father was contacted one day and told that he had inherited a wee bit of land in Scotland - which turned out to be much of Banffshire!
There is not much to say about the 'castle' building itself. It was built more in the style of a 'palace' than a castle and obviously had few if any defensive features. The shape of the surviving gable wall suggests that there may have been turrets on the angles to either side of it.