Ceiling Painting

Crathes is particularly known for its ceiling paintings. Photography is not allowed in the castle but there are excellent photographs in the RCAHMS "canmore" database see: http://canmore.rcahms.gov.uk/en/site/36693/digital_images/crathes+castle/ .
Castle; an L-plan tower-house built in the mid-16thC with a later projecting wing. It is built of granite with rounded angles and rises to four storeys and an attic. The lower storeys are plain but above the first-floor level there is a profusion of corbelling, stringcourse, angle- and stair-turrets, heraldic decoration, gargoyles, and gabling which are unique to Scottish castellated architecture. The entrance, in the re-entrant angle is protected by an iron yett. The interior is famed for its plaster & magnificent wooden painted ceilings. The castle was built for the Burnetts of Leys who received the charter for the land from Robert the Bruce in 1323. Within the castle is a jewelled ivory horn, the Horn of Leys, which is said to have been presented to Alexander Burnett by the Bruce when he received the charter. The castle came into the hands of the National Trust for Scotland in 1951. SMR
Crathes Castle NO 735 966 doocot
doocot Small square, rubble, with forestair and slated pyramidal roof. Probably early 19th century. Rebuilt on present site 1935. Inset stone from Houses of Parliament. LBR
The sundial has an interesting decoration of 4 grotesque portrait masks but I can find no record of its date or creator.

Delgatie Castle dates from about 1030. The main tower dates from the 1100s while its final extension with the battlement walk above the string course was completed in 1579. Both wings were added in 1743. From 1314 until the recent death of Captain Hay of Delgatie the castle has belonged to the Hay family. It is now managed by a charitable trust. The painted ceilings from 1592 and 1597 are amongst the finest surviving in Scotland. Their iconography has interesting comparisons to the much earlier Aberdeen Bestiary and even earlier Pictish sculpture. See The Pictish Arts Society The castle boasts an eclectic range of architectural decorations and sculpture. Delgatie is open daily from 10a.m. to 5p.m. every day throughout the year and is only closed Christmas and New Year weeks. There is also a tearoom serving home baking and snacks. Accommodation is available see Delgatie's own site for details www.delgatiecastle.com or e.mail Delgatie Castle

A text work painted on the ceiling beams in a room reputed to have provided lodging for Mary Queen of Scots, this painting confuses me as the text is the same as 2 stanzas in the poem "Kilmeny" by James Hogg 1770–1835 (it is a part of her prophetic vision during her stay among the fairies) . I admit my ignorance, I do not know if the ceiling painting is in fact a modern work or if this part of the poem was copied by Hogg from an earlier source.

This ceiling is decorated on the beams only, mostly with a long inscription on the sides, with decorative work on the underside.

One of the most important surviving 16th century painted ceilings in Scotland The iconography has interesting comparisons to the much earlier Aberdeen Bestiary and even earlier Pictish sculpture.