THIRD PERIOD 322 CASTLE HUNTLY called in question, but however that may be, the castle seems to belong to the latter half of the fifteenth century. It has however been so much altered and added to that it is now somewhat difficult to deter- mine its pristine features. The original plan is of the L form, with entrance on the first floor (Fig. 272) in the re-entering angle, where the original beaded doorway still exists. The ground, with a passage round the west side of the main body of the keep is now made up to the level of the doorway, although originally the door was most likely at least one story above the ground. The door enters into a vestibule or guard-room in the west wing, beneath which, and entered by a trap in the floor, is the vaulted dungeon, with a small loop to the open air high above the ground, as seen in Fig. 273. The buildings which now fill up the space at the re-entering angle are cellars, etc., added at a later date. A pointed doorway leads from the guard-room into the cellars in the main building, and also to the newel staircase in the thickness of the wall. The walls of the keep are all about 10 feet thick. The staircase is carried up to the roof., and gives access to every floor. The third Earl of Kinghorn is said to have excavated this staircase out of the solid wall. It appears however to be original, at least for the first two stories, but on the third floor there is a circular well in which a stair may formerly have existed for the service of the upper floors. The second floor contains a lower hall, with a room in the wing, and the third floor contains the upper or principal hall, with a private room in the wing. These floors are now cut up with partitions, and entirely modernised, but the old garde-robes and wall chambers can still be traced. In 1615 the estate was acquired by Patrick Lyon, first Earl of King- horn, and in the latter half of the century the castle was much added to and " improved " by his grandson, the third Earl of Kinghorn and first Earl of Strathmore, who also " improved " the castle of Glamis. He likewise erected gateways in the Renaissance style (one of which still exists), and adorned the grounds with statues, in the same manner as he did at Glamis. In the end of last century the estate was sold to George Paterson, Esq., who added a modern mansion to the east side of the old keep, and renovated the exterior with the modern sham turrets and battlements which it now exhibits. GIGHT, OR FORMANTINE CASTLE, ABERDEENSHIRE. This castle, now a shapeless ruin, was formerly celebrated for its great strength, to which the thickness of its crumbling walls still bears witness. It occupies a strong and commanding site on the summit of the ' f Braes o' Gight," which rise precipitously from the river Ythan, about three miles from Fyvie.
