BARRA CASTLE - 399 FOURTH PERIOD BARRA CASTLE, ABERDEENSHIRE. This castle, which belongs to the beginning of the seventeenth cen- tury, occupies a site famous for the victory of Bruce over his great enemy Cumyn, Earl of Buchan, in 1308. It is about two miles south of Old Meldrum, and stands on the gentle rise of the slope above the Lochter Burn. The plan is somewhat unusual, combining an approach to modern arrangements with an adherence to many of the old ideas. The eleva- tion also shows a departure from the ordinary style, the usual angle turrets being omitted, while a sufficient number of the Scottish features are retained to give a remarkably pleasing and picturesque effect. FIG. 841. Barra Castle. Plan. The buildings are arranged round three sides of a courtyard (Fig. 841), the fourth side being enclosed with a wall, in the centre of which is the entrance door, while the top is ornamented with three vases arranged symmetrically. The house enters from the courtyard at the south-west angle, and immediately opposite the door is the wide staircase to the principal floor in a circular stair turret. The kitchen and passage, with cellars, etc., one of them having a stair down from the hall, are according to the traditional arrangement, but the room to the left of the entrance, with its angle turret, is an innovation. The build- ing on the north side of the courtyard is probably somewhat later than
