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Durris Castle

Castles in AberdeenshireEngvarB from July 2019
Castle Hill Motte, Durris geograph.org.uk 611857
Castle Hill Motte, Durris geograph.org.uk 611857

Durris Castle or the House of Dores was an early royal residence on the southern bank of the River Dee in Aberdeenshire, Scotland. The castle controlled the northern end of the Crynes Corse Mounth trackway. Dating from at least the 13th century, the castle, a motte and bailey, was occupied by Alexander III and is mentioned in the Chamberlain Rolls of the time as the subject of repairs. King Edward I of England stayed one night in 1296 at the castle, during his invasion of Scotland. Durris was granted to the Fraser family by King Robert I of Scotland and created into a barony by King David II of Scotland.It was burned by the Marquis of Montrose in 1645 and not rebuilt. No remains of the castle exist today, but the 7-metre-high conical knoll on which it stood retains the name Castle Hill. The hill has a flattened summit measuring 41 metres by 30 metres, and its sides may have been artificially steepened. Evidence remains on the western side of the site of a 2.6 metre ditch, possibly a moat.

Excerpt from the Wikipedia article Durris Castle (License: CC BY-SA 3.0, Authors, Images).

Durris Castle
South Deeside Road,

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Wikipedia: Durris CastleContinue reading on Wikipedia

Geographical coordinates (GPS)

Latitude Longitude
N 57.0619 ° E -2.36495 °
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Address

South Deeside Road

South Deeside Road
AB31 6BN
Scotland, United Kingdom
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Castle Hill Motte, Durris geograph.org.uk 611857
Castle Hill Motte, Durris geograph.org.uk 611857
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Drumoak
Drumoak

Drumoak (, Scottish Gaelic: Druim M'Aodhaig, lit. 'the ridge of St Aodhag') is a village situated between Peterculter and Banchory in North Deeside, Aberdeenshire, Scotland. Drumoak is proximate to the River Dee, with Park Bridge, named for the local Park Estate, being a local crossing; Park Estate, was formerly owned by the railway engineer Sir Robert Williams; Sir Robert is interred at Drumoak. There is a church, small shop (located in Park), bowling green and the, now demolished, Irvine Arms restaurant pub (aptly named after the family that owned the 13th century Drum Castle). Drum Castle is run by the National Trust for Scotland and is open to visitors. Relics and portraits of the Irvine family are kept here, and it was conferred by Robert the Bruce onto William de Irvine. There are a number of housing developments progressing; a new primary school and nursery with over 100 pupils serves Drumoak. The Dee River gravels also attract gravel extraction on both sides of the river. Drumoak Manse in 1638 was the birthplace of James Gregory, discoverer of diffraction gratings a year after Newton's prism experiments, and inventor of the Gregorian telescope design in 1663. The design is still used today in telescopes such as the Arecibo Radio Telescope upgraded to a Gregorian design in 1997 giving Arecibo a flexibility it had not previously possessed. His older brother David was also born there in 1620.Between Drumoak and Peterculter is the site of a Roman encampment Normandykes