Tico Productions
Seaward Side of Broughy Ferry Castle
This photo features in my short film on YouTube (bit.ly/3gnSnQm) about several of the last castles that I've visited.
Broughty Castle is a historic castle on the banks of the River Tay in Broughty Ferry, near Dundee. It was completed around 1495, although the site was earlier fortified in 1454 when George Douglas, 4th Earl of Angus received permission to build on the site. His son Archibald Douglas 5th Earl of Angus was coerced into ceding the castle to the crown. The main tower house forming the centre of the castle with four floors was built by Andrew, 2nd Lord Gray who was granted the castle in 1490.
The castle saw military action during the 16th-century in the war of the Rough Wooing. After the Battle of Pinkie in September 1547 it was surrendered by purchase to the English by its owner, Lord Gray of Foulis. The castle was attacked again, in 1651, b General Monck and his Parliamentary army during the Wars of Three Kingdoms. On this occasion the Royalist defenders fled without a fight. After 1666, when the Gray family sold the castle, it gradually became more ruinous.
In 1846 the castle was bought by the Edinburgh and Northern railway Company in order to build an adjacent harbour for their railway ferry. In 1855 the castle was acquired by the war office with the intention of using it to defend the harbour from the Russians. In 1860 renewed fears of a French invasion led the War Office to rebuild and fortify the site. The site was rebuilt according to the designs o Robert Rowand Anderson. The walls of the main courtyard were rebuilt and new wing and courtyard were added to the tower. A caponier was added along the south-east side of the courtyard. Emplacements for nine large guns were also constructed. A small enclosure on the west side of the courtyard was also built.
From 1886 to 1887 a range was built to house submarine miners to the east of the castle. In an emergency these would lay mines in the Tay Estuary to damage enemy shipping. In 1889–1891 a magazine was built within the western enclosure which also led to a major remodeling of the gun emplacements. The castle remained in military use until 1932, and again between 1939 and 1949. The last defence-related alteration was made in the Second World War when a defence post was built within the top of the main tower.
The castle has been a museum since 1969.
Seaward Side of Broughy Ferry Castle
This photo features in my short film on YouTube (bit.ly/3gnSnQm) about several of the last castles that I've visited.
Broughty Castle is a historic castle on the banks of the River Tay in Broughty Ferry, near Dundee. It was completed around 1495, although the site was earlier fortified in 1454 when George Douglas, 4th Earl of Angus received permission to build on the site. His son Archibald Douglas 5th Earl of Angus was coerced into ceding the castle to the crown. The main tower house forming the centre of the castle with four floors was built by Andrew, 2nd Lord Gray who was granted the castle in 1490.
The castle saw military action during the 16th-century in the war of the Rough Wooing. After the Battle of Pinkie in September 1547 it was surrendered by purchase to the English by its owner, Lord Gray of Foulis. The castle was attacked again, in 1651, b General Monck and his Parliamentary army during the Wars of Three Kingdoms. On this occasion the Royalist defenders fled without a fight. After 1666, when the Gray family sold the castle, it gradually became more ruinous.
In 1846 the castle was bought by the Edinburgh and Northern railway Company in order to build an adjacent harbour for their railway ferry. In 1855 the castle was acquired by the war office with the intention of using it to defend the harbour from the Russians. In 1860 renewed fears of a French invasion led the War Office to rebuild and fortify the site. The site was rebuilt according to the designs o Robert Rowand Anderson. The walls of the main courtyard were rebuilt and new wing and courtyard were added to the tower. A caponier was added along the south-east side of the courtyard. Emplacements for nine large guns were also constructed. A small enclosure on the west side of the courtyard was also built.
From 1886 to 1887 a range was built to house submarine miners to the east of the castle. In an emergency these would lay mines in the Tay Estuary to damage enemy shipping. In 1889–1891 a magazine was built within the western enclosure which also led to a major remodeling of the gun emplacements. The castle remained in military use until 1932, and again between 1939 and 1949. The last defence-related alteration was made in the Second World War when a defence post was built within the top of the main tower.
The castle has been a museum since 1969.