In 1882-4, Frances Groome's Ordnance Gazetteer of Scotland described Balvenie like this:
Balvenie, an ancient castle in Mortlach parish, Banffshire, on the left bank of the Fiddich, a little below the influx of the Dullan, 5 furlongs N of Dufftown. It crowns a beautiful wooded knoll, and commands a rich though limited range of charming scenery. Uninhabited more than a century, it now is merely a well-preserved shell, which retains, however, its original architectural features. ...
It is of various dates, large, massive, and very magnificent. The oldest part is traditionally called a Pictish tower, but the general characteristics are those of the Scottish Baronial style. It belonged to successively the Comyns, the Douglases, the Stuarts, and the Inneses (1615), and it is now the property of the Earl of Fife. The motto of the Stuarts, Earls of Athole, 'Fvrth. Fortvin. And. Fil. thi. Feitris, ' is inscribed on its front, high over a massive iron gate. A member of the house of Donglas, in the 15th century, took from it the title of Lord Balvenie; and a member of the house of Innes in 1628 was created a baronet of Nova Scotia, under the title of Sir Robert Innes of Balvenie. Two views of it are given in Billings' Baronial Antiquities (1852). The ' new Castle of Balvenie, ' 1½ mile N of Dufftown, is a large, white, mill-like edifice (c. 1765), in good repair, but long untenanted.
Balvenie through time
Balvenie is now part of Moray district. Click here for graphs and data of how Moray has changed over two centuries. For statistics about Balvenie itself, go to Units and Statistics.
GB Historical GIS / University of Portsmouth, History of Balvenie, in Moray and Banffshire | Map and description, A Vision of Britain through Time.
URL: https://www.visionofbritain.org.uk/place/21936
Date accessed: 07th November 2024
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