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Findochty Castle is a ruined 16th century L-plan tower house, near Findochty. The castle stands on a rock at the end of a drained loch.
The castle was built by the Gordons, but was acquired by the Ogilvies, and, in 1568, by the Ord family, who subsequently developed Findochty village as a fishing port. The castle was a ruin in 1794. Some repairs were done to the castle remains in the 1880s.
It appears that the castle comprised an oblong block. The main building has been destroyed, apart from part of the north wall, and of the west wing. The tower and west wing, once the kitchen, remain up to about 8.0m. There was a vaulted basement, while the hall was on the first floor.
The castle is constructed of harl-pointed rubble, with roughly tooled dressings. There is a narrow door in the south front, with a relieving arch.
References:Sigmaringen Castle was first mentioned in the year 1077 in the chronicles of Petershausen monastery. The oldest parts of the castle are concealed beneath the alterations made during the 17th and the 19th centuries. The secret of the earliest settlement built on this defendable rock will never be fully revealed: large-scale excavation work would be necessary, which the extensive land development renders impossible. Judging from the many Roman remains unearthed in the area around Sigmaringen, the 12th century keep known as the 'Roman Tower' could be traced back to a Roman predecessor.
The castle remains that have been preserved (gate, great hall and keep) date back to the Staufer period around 1200. The castle remains were integrated into subsequent buildings. The foundations of the castle buildings are to a large extent identical to the surrounding castle wall.
These remains give us a good idea of how the castle might have looked during the 12th century.