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Castle and grounds, the castle consisting of two great ranges of buildings. It was originally a 13th century quadrangular castle with a curtain wall and four towers. In the late 14th century it passed into the hands of Sir Henry Preston who heightened the walls and rebuilt the corner towers (the Preston tower dates to circa 1390-1433). The castle was further enlarged by the Meldrums between 1440 and 1500 (the Meldrum tower, 15-16th Century. The Preston and Meldrum towers were remodelled in the late 16th Century, probably by Alexander Seaton, first earl of Dunfermline and Chancellor of Scotland, who purchased the castle in 1596. Following the Jacobite rebellion the estates were confiscated from the fourth earl and passed into Gordon hands. From 1770 to 1840 General William Gordon and his son carried out sweeping changes, including the demolition of the north and east wings, the building of a new vestibule and the Gordon tower. In 1889 the castle was purchased by Alexander Forbes-Leith, and as a result of his refurbishment (which included the Leith Tower) and the earlier Gordon alterations most of the original interior work was removed. It was used as a hospital during World War I and II. The National Trust for Scotland took on the property in 1984. In 1985 a floor board was lifted in the ante-room off Library on first floor (east drum of Seton Tower). A piece of shaped masonry (a lintel or a transom with a chamfer on) with one quatrefoil set square was discovered beneath and caused the step in the floor. A small trench excavation by Ian Shepherd in 1985, north of Preston tower, revealed the remains of the curtain wall to be 2.9m thick. Old Home Farm is thought to have been built around 1777, and is an extensive area of sheds, stores and working areas surrounding two courtyards. In 1990 the castle's restoration was examined and included the techniques used, problems encountered and successes achieved. A 2-day evaluation of the internal and courtyard floors of the complex found that the floors varied from beaten earth to concrete, and from gravel to fine cobbling. In April and May 1995 the surviving features and structures of Old Home Farm were recorded in detail by Scotia Archaeology Ltd prior to an extensive programme of masonry consolidation and refurbishment by the NTS. This required a large quantity of overburden to be removed from the farmyards and the interiors of some of the buildings. In 2002 a watching brief was undertaken to report on the lifting of floor boards and flagstones. Details recovered included the types of floor joists used in parts of the castle and construction details of the brick conduit below the entrance hall. During remedial conservation work in March 2003 a fire surround of Turriff sandstone was discovered in situ beneath the 18th Century marble fire surround in what was, in the 18th Century, the Small Drawing Room. The simple, moulded decoration of the fireplace suggests a date in the 16th or 17th Century, and it is possible that it forms part of the major modifications to the castle initiated by Sir Alexander Seton (Chancellor of Scotland from 1601) at the very end of the 16th Century and continuing into the early years of the 17th Century. At this period, the room was the Withdrawing Room, lying between the Great Hall and the laird's private chamber. The dimensions of the fire surround are: internal height 110cm, width 112cm and external height 132cm, width 134cm. The temporary dismantling of plaster on-the-hard washed in a sand-coloured distemper, overlaid by later linings. Ingrained soot remains on the lintel moulding and the wall above, which also bears scorch marks. A watching brief and building record were undertaken on the gardener's store in 2004 prior to renovation and repointing works being carried out on the building. Following geophysical survey, trial trenching on the lawns south of the castle 2010-12 as part of a Castle Environs Project recorded the remains of a building shown on the south side of the castle on an 18th century estate map and on an 18th century sketch of the castle, and which may possibly have been a private chapel (see also NJ73NE0073). A watching brief was carried out by Cameron Archaeology in January 2012 over the excavation of six trenches for the improvement of lightning conductors. The trenches were approximately 1-1.5m square and up to 1m deep. Two possible features were recorded in the trenches but all the soil removed had been disturbed in the recent past and no significant remains were disturbed. Geophysical survey in April 2012 close to the castle located the southern extent of the former formal gardens, and internal garden features. Other linear anomalies may indicate earlier rig and furrow. GPR survey in the area surrounding the castle buildings found several anomalies focused in the courtyard, suggesting remains of possible north and east wings or curtain walls, and to the south of the castle. Further geophysical survey carried out in November 2012 to the south and east recorded continuation of a number of features from the earlier survey, possibly associated with the earlier approach to the castle. Other anomalies further south may be associated with settlement beyond the castle. A watching brief was carried out by MAS in March 2014 during removal of floor boards in a ground floor room of the west range prior to their replacement. It showed that the original floor in this room was of flagstones, later covered by tongue-and-groove pine timber imported from Norway, probably in the 19th century. A watching brief was carried out by MAS in February 2022 during groundworks for new drains on the south side of the castle. The new drains were largely on the line of the old drains, but included a section cut through undisturbed layers at its west end. No evidence was found of the inner garden (revealed in excavation in 2012 in front of the south entrance), and no other features were identified.
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Historic Environment Records (HER)