Pittulie is a highly individual fortified house where a tall tower, angle oriels, stair turrets and a later seven-bay range overlook the coastal settlement.
Quick facts
- Date
- Late 16th to early 18th century
- Architect / designer
- Associated with the Fraser family and later occupants
- Type
- Ruined L-plan fortified residence with tower and later range
- Designation
- Scheduled monument (SM5578)
- OS grid reference
- NJ 94519 67025
Architecture, archaeology and continuing use
A three-storey square tower joins a lower block of about 1700. Corbelled turrets, cable-moulded doorways, large gable fireplaces and unusual rectangular oriels survive, with traces of a barmkin wall, dovecot and later domestic buildings around the ruin.
Its story
The Frasers held Pittulie from the fourteenth century, and the tower may have followed the 1595–96 marriage of Alexander Fraser and Margaret Abernethy. A later range enlarged the house around 1700 while retaining defensive and status-conscious details.
Why it is included
Scheduling recognises a rare and inventive fortified residence whose visible architecture and buried remains can illuminate household status, construction and material life.
What to notice
- Rectangular oriel windows crossing tower corners.
- A circular stair turret corbelled over the re-entrant angle.
- The symmetrical seven-bay face of the later block.
Reading the surroundings
The ruin stands in cultivated ground. Do not cross fields or boundaries without permission, approach livestock, climb masonry or enter unstable interiors.
Timeline
- 14th century The Fraser family acquired the lands of Pittulie.
- 1595–1596 A marriage may have prompted construction of the surviving tower.
- Circa 1700 A lower range expanded the fortified residence.
- Later period Abandonment left roofless masonry and buried domestic evidence.
What we know — and what remains uncertain
The precise tower date, full sequence of ancillary buildings, ownership and legal access require further evidence.
Sources & further reading
- Historic Environment Scotland: Pittulie Castle, SM5578 — Designation status, mapped location, date, fabric and architectural or archaeological interest.
- Trove designation: SM5578 — Parallel national record identity and archival context.
Location
OS grid reference NJ 94519 67025 · Location confidence: High: the national designation supplies an official mapped National Grid Reference; an additional source confirms record identity and archival context. · Select the marker to open its satellite view in Google Maps. On desktop, drag Pegman (the yellow figure) onto a blue road. On mobile, turn on the Street View layer and tap a blue road. Other photo markers may be user-contributed.
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