| Details |
Remains of a 17th to 19th century designed landscape, and earlier garden features. Alexander Seaton, Lord Fyvie and Earl of Dunfermline, acquired Fyvie Castle (NJ73NE0006) at the end of the 16th century and developed it into a Renaissance palace. He would almost certainly have also established a suitably grand landscape setting which in turn was almost entirely swept away by the early 19th century to be replaced by the Picturesque grounds which survive today. There is little evidence for Seaton's gardens. Estate plans of 1768, predating landscaping works which began in 1777, show a freestanding building to the south of the castle and what appears to be a walled enclosure on the west side of the castle, probably the bowling green and 17th century garden, with an orchard further west. The terracing between the garden and orchard along which the 18th -19th century drive runs may be an integral part of Seaton's landscape. A 19th estate plan also indicates an enclosure called the 'Barras Green' extending from the south front of the castle, and which appears to correspond with an low earthwork surviving in the castle lawn. The building shown on the 1768 plan had been removed by the time of the 1822 map estate plan. Resistivity survey (as part of the Scottish Castles Survey) in 1982 on the lawns west, south and east of the castle recorded a number of anomalies including linear areas indicating the foundations of the castle's demolished eastern curtain wall and associated buildings (confirmed by limited excavation in 1985), and an area suggesting possible structural remains to the southwest of the castle in the area of the demolished building and the original line of the 18th-19th century drive. Further investigation of the lawns, including geophysical survey and trial trenching, was carried out by Cameron Archaeology as part of the Castle Environs Project. Five trenches were excavated on the lawn south of Fyvie Castle in September 2010, six in July 2011 and six in the field south of the drive in 2012. A small amount of prehistoric pottery was recovered but no features of this date identified. Medieval features included a stone cobbled surface and stone linear feature, possibly a boundary, both under the post-medieval garden. A small kiln, possibly for the manufacture of tiles for the castle, may be of medieval date. Two post holes probably representing remains of a 13th-14th century wooden palisade and associated stone revetment mat relate to the early defences of the castle. Fragments of local cooking pot from one of the postholes may point to nearby buildings. 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 ares 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. Investigations on the site of Seaton's 18th century garden (south and southwest of the castle) recovered sandstone fragments, probably from the garden walls whilst linear stone features in one trench my represent paths or borders. The inner garden along the south façade of the castle was surrounded by a red sandstone wall. A structure south of the Preston Tower is the remains of the building seen on the 1768 map on the south side of the castle. It had a water washed granite cobbled floor and a slate roof. The structure included decorative sandstone elements. Window glass in demolition material dates to the late 16th and 17th century. It is possible that the building was used as a private chapel. It seems to have been demolished around 1777-85. During an archaeological recording in 2023 at Old Home Farm a carved stone was recorded, possibly taken from Fyvie Castle (see NJ73NE0153).
|
Historic Environment Records (HER)