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Part of my 'Duffus Castle through the seasons' project.
The castle is situated on the Laich of Moray, a fertile plain that was once the swampy foreshore of Spynie Loch. This was originally a more defensive position than it appears today, long after the loch was drained.
The motte is a huge man-made mound, with steep sides and a wide ditch separating it from the bailey. The whole site is enclosed by a water-filled ditch, which is more a mark of its boundary than it is a serious defensive measure.
Duffus Castle was built by a Flemish man named Freskin, who came to Scotland in the first half of the 1100s. After an uprising by the ‘men of Moray’ against David I in 1130, the king sent Freskin north as a representative of royal authority.
Part of my on-going project 'Duffus Castle' through the seasons.
Duffus Castle was a motte-and-bailey castle in use from c.1140 to 1705. At the time of its establishment, it was one of the most secure fortifications in Scotland.
At the beginning of the 12th century Moray was ruled by Angus, grandson of Lulach Macgillecomgan, who had succeeded Macbeth as King of Scots in 1057. Angus rebelled in 1130 and King David I began to populate the province with nobles. Among them was Freskin, of Flemish background, who built the great earthwork and timber motte-and-bailey castle in c. 1140.
Freskin’s direct line ended in 1270 and the castle passed into the ownership of Sir Reginald le Chen. With his death in 1345, Duffus passed to his daughter Mariot who was married to Nicholas, son of the 4th Earl of Sutherland. The Sutherlands were also descended from Freskyn and remained in their possession until 1705 when the castle was abandoned.