Brodie Castle: Architecture, History, and Jacobite Connections
Brodie Castle stands among mature parkland trees near the village of Brodie in Moray, visible from the A96 main road between Inverness and Aberdeen. It is one of the more architecturally layered castles in Scotland — a building that spans several centuries of construction, from a medieval core to Victorian extensions — and it is set within an estate of considerable beauty.
Architecture
The Z-Plan Tower House
The Z-plan tower house is a distinctively Scottish form of castle design that was particularly popular in the 16th and early 17th centuries. A Z-plan consists of a main rectangular block with two round towers placed at diagonally opposite corners — creating a plan that resembles the letter Z when viewed from above.
This arrangement had both practical and defensive advantages: the towers gave covering fire along the faces of the main block, eliminating blind spots. It also allowed for a compact footprint while maximising interior space.
Brodie Castle's 16th-century core is a Z-plan tower house. The exact date of construction of this phase is somewhat uncertain, but the main tower appears to date from around the mid-16th century. The Brodie family had been in possession of this land since the 12th century (a charter granted by Malcolm IV is documented), and there were earlier structures on the site.
17th-Century Additions
Significant additions were made to the castle in the 17th century. The castle was burned in 1645 by Lord Gordon (acting for Montrose during the Civil War period), and extensive rebuilding followed. The 17th-century additions expanded the living accommodation and added the characteristic features of a gentry house of that period.
19th-Century Scottish Baronial Extension
The most visually prominent addition is the large Scottish Baronial wing added in 1824, designed by William Burn. The Scottish Baronial style — characterised by towers, turrets, crow-step gables, and decorative stonework — was the dominant idiom for castle architecture in 19th-century Scotland. Queen Victoria's choice of Balmoral in the same style gave it royal endorsement.
The Burn extension significantly expanded the castle's living quarters and gave it the elaborate silhouette visible today.
The Brodie Family
The Brodie family (chiefs of Clan Brodie) have held land in this part of Moray since the medieval period. The clan is a small one by Highland standards — not one of the great martial clans of the western Highlands. The Brodies were associated more with the landed and legal establishment of Moray than with the warrior culture of the Highlands.
Their religious leanings were generally Protestant and Presbyterian — Brodie of Brodie was involved in the Covenanting movement of the 17th century and is recorded as having destroyed carvings in Elgin Cathedral as an act of religious iconoclasm, though this claim is sometimes disputed.
This Presbyterian tendency meant the Brodies were not natural Jacobites. The Jacobite cause was associated primarily with Episcopalian and Catholic communities, and the Brodie family's religious politics aligned them more naturally with the Hanoverian establishment.
The Jacobite Campaign in the Region
While the Brodies themselves were not Jacobite partisans, the area around Brodie Castle sits within the theatre of the 1745 campaign's final phase. The geography of this part of Scotland was central to the endgame of the Forty-Five.
Cumberland's army marched through the Moray coastal plain in April 1746, moving west from Aberdeen to Inverness in the days before Culloden. The army would have passed close to Brodie. Cumberland is recorded as having used Culloden House (near Inverness, approximately 20 miles from Brodie) as his headquarters before the battle.
The Battle of Culloden took place on 16 April 1746 on Drummossie Moor near Inverness — approximately 20 miles west of Brodie. The aftermath of Culloden — the reprisals, the military occupation of the Highlands — extended throughout the Moray region.
The Battle of Auldearn (1645, from the Civil War period, predating the Jacobite era) was fought near Nairn, between Brodie and Inverness — a reminder that this coastal strip had long been a corridor of military movement through the Highlands.
Visiting Brodie Castle
Managed by: National Trust for Scotland Location: Brodie, Forres, IV36 2TE Access: The castle is immediately adjacent to the A96, approximately 5 miles west of Forres and 25 miles east of Inverness. There is ample parking.
What to see:
- The castle interior: a richly furnished historic house with collections of art, furniture, and household objects spanning several centuries
- The formal garden
- The estate parkland, known particularly for its spectacular daffodil collection in spring — one of the largest collections of heritage daffodil varieties in Scotland
- Seasonal events and activities
Opening hours: Seasonal — check the NTS website (nts.org.uk) for current times and admission prices. NTS members enter free.
Combined visits: Brodie is well positioned for a Moray coastal tour that could include Cawdor Castle (Shakespeare's Macbeth connection, approximately 8 miles), Culloden Battlefield (approximately 20 miles), and the Findhorn community and beach.