Built to guard
the Firth of Tay, Broughty Castle looks today to be a fine tower house which dates c.1454,
when the 4th Earl of Angus was granted permission by James II to erect one.
However, the upper walls of the tower, as well as the present stair turret, date from
1860-61, and were built when the country feared an attack from France. Robert Rowand
Anderson designed the restorations.
A drawbridge (with large chain
and weights) over the dry ditch leads to the courtyard, the walls of which date from the
1860s. The rooms in the castle are now used for museum exhibits, displaying examples of
militaria, whaling, fishing, lifeboats, railways, ferries, sea life and local history. The
4th floor has a small observation room, added in 1942.
Broughty passed to the Gray
family in the 1490s, who remained owners until 1666. The Fothringhams then acquired it,
but in 1787 Robert Burns noted it was a ruin. The castle was subject to an attack in 1547,
though it surrendered without firing a shot in anger. It remained in English hands until
1560 when it surrendered to a Franco-Scots army. In modern times the castle has been a
garrison for various regiments, being armed with guns during both World Wars. It was
converted into a museum in 1969. |
