Towie Barclay Castle Towie Barclay Castle is a historic castle in Aberdeenshire , Scotland , 4 . 5 miles south - south - east of Turriff . The current structure was built in 1593 by Clan Barclay . The site was gifted to the Clan in the 11th century by Malcolm III of Scotland . Following Clan Barclay ' s pillage of a nunnery in the 12th century , Thomas the Rhymer proclaimed : " Towie Barclay of the Glen / Happy to the maids / But never to the men . " , which was interpreted as a curse on the male line . Belief in the curse was strong enough that it was given as a reason for the sale of Towie Barclay Castle in 1755 . The building was sold to the governors of Robert Gordon ' s hospital in Aberdeen for £21 , 000 . Despite a reroofing project in 1874 , Towie Barclay Castle had fallen into a state of neglect by the mid - 20th century . Nineteenth Century Description and History . An excellent description of the castle was written in 1887 , published in volume two of the book " The Castellated and Domestic Architecture of Scotland from the Twelfth to the Eighteenth Century " by David MacGibbon and Thomas Ross , published by D . Douglas : The family of Tollie de Berkley , to whom it belonged , is very ancient , and the following inscription on a stone built into the wall has given the impression that the castle is also of very old date , viz . , “ Sir Alexander Barclay of Tolly , foundator , deceisit anno domini 1186 . ” On the same stone is carved the following inscription : “ In tim of Valth al men semis friendly and frindis not knauin but in adversity , 1593 . ” There can be no doubt that the first part of the above inscription is a mere record of what had happened long before , and was inserted at the date last quoted , “ 1593 . ” In 1792 the turrets and embrasures were removed and two stories taken off the height of the keep , and the fosse filled up . The family suffered from espousing Queen Mary ’ s cause . From 1558 to 1624 the estate was held by Patrick Barclay , who was the author of the moral reflection above quoted , - - the result of his unfortunate experience . The plan of this castle is a slight modification of the plain quadrangular keep , a small break being made in the wall adjoining the entrance door . This gives room for the passage to the staircase , and also admits of a loophole commanding the entrance . The ingoing of this loophole is defended internally with a stone pillar , so placed as to permit those inside to see out , and at the same time os designed as to intercept missiles from without . The basement is all vaulted , and the vault over the small entrance lobby is ornamented with ribbed and groined vaulting . The latter peculiarity seems to be local . A similar loop next the doorway , and groined vault in the entrance lobby , exists at Gight , and a corresponding ribbed vault at the original entrance still remains at Delgaty . The basement contains the usually cellars , with small loopholes , one cellar having a private stair to the hall . The principal staircase leading to the first floor is partly straight , with a wheel round the corner of the tower and a good landing at the door to the hall . The hall is of the usual form , but is much more ornate than in most castles . It is 30 feet by 20 feet , and is vaulted in two compartments , with a groined and ribbed vault , springing from corbels carved with foliage . There is also a small and carefully finished and vaulted gallery in the thickness of the wall over the door to the hall , with a wide opening towards the hall . The gallery has ribbed vaulting , and the bosses are carved with the monogram I . H . S . , and with a heart and the pierced hands and feet of our Savior . The corvels from the which the ribs spring have shields containing the emblems of the four Evangelists . On each side of the opening towards the hall are canopied niches for statues . Everything seems to point to this gallery having been an oratory or chapel . It is entered by a small stair from the floor above , so that the baron and his family might use it privately , or by drawing a curtain it might be opened to the hall , when all assembled there might witness the service . Billings ’ view of the interior gives a good idea of these features , which all seem to point to the work having been designed by some one accustomed to ecclesiastical architecture . Groined vaulting of the kind here adopted is rare in the castles of Scotland , but one other example occurs at Balbegno in Kincardineshire , which is of the same period . The hall of Auchendoun was also vaulted in a similar manner , but it belongs to an earlier period . From the ecclesiastical features of the building Mr . Billings infers that it is at least a century earlier than the date upon it ( 1593 ) . But from the similarity of the vaulting at Balbegno , the date of which is 1569 , and from the correspondence of the plan , and the little ribbed vault at the entrance , with such castles as Gight and Delgaty , we have no hesitation in assigning it to the middle of the sixteenth century . At Edzell too we find ribbed and groined vaulting in the summer - house , along with features which are undoubtedly of the latter half of the sixteenth century . There is a small private room over the entrance lobby . As already mentioned , the upper floors have been altered or removed . ( pages 51 - 52 ) Restoration . The castle was bought in the 1970s by the Musician Marc Ellington and his wife , Karen . A programme of restoration was funded by Marc Ellington ' s music career while his wife project - managed the extensive restorative work on the building , which took over 7 years to complete . While the lower story contains sixteenth century masonry , the upper floors are a modern reconstruction . The restoration project was of a sufficiently high standard to win a Saltire Society Award in 1973 . As of 2008 , the castle remains in the ownership of the Ellington Family . In addition to owning Towie Barclay , the Ellingtons are also Lairds of Gardenstown and Crovie . Bibliography . MacGibbon , David and Thomas Ross . " The Castellated and Domestic Architecture of Scotland from the Twelfth to the Eighteenth Century " D . Douglas , 1887 .