Scheduled MonumentsScotlandAberdour Castle

Aberdour Castle

Scotland
HES SM90002
Nation
Scotland
Boundary

Scheduled area

© Mapbox · © OpenStreetMap contributors · Boundary data © Historic Environment Scotland

Overview

History & significance

Aberdour Castle is a medieval fortified residence located in Fife, Scotland, with origins in the 14th century and significant expansion during the 16th and 17th centuries. The castle comprises a substantial stone tower house, later additions including a range of domestic buildings arranged around a courtyard, and defensive works such as a surrounding wall. The site demonstrates the evolution of Scottish aristocratic architecture from medieval military necessity to early modern comfort, with later phases reflecting Renaissance influences. Aberdour remained an important seat of the Douglas family and their successors until the 18th century, and its substantial ruins preserve evidence of this long occupation and gradual development.

Aberdour Castle is a scheduled monument protected by Historic Environment Scotland under reference SM90002. View the official record →

About this monument

Questions & answers

What is Aberdour Castle?

Aberdour Castle is a medieval fortified residence located in Fife, Scotland, with origins in the 14th century and significant expansion during the 16th and 17th centuries. It is designated a Scheduled Ancient Monument by Historic Environment Scotland under reference SM90002.

Who is responsible for protecting Aberdour Castle?

Aberdour Castle is a Scheduled Ancient Monument, legally protected by Historic Environment Scotland — the body responsible for designating and safeguarding heritage sites in Scotland. The official designation reference is SM90002.

What other scheduled monuments are near Aberdour Castle?

Several scheduled monuments lie within 10 km, including Braefoot Point, battery (2.6 km), Inchcolm, Abbey, hermit's cell, First World War and Second World War defences (2.9 km), Downing Point, battery and camp 100m S of 22 The Inches (4.5 km).

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Everything a full report reveals about Aberdour Castle

This page is just one thread. A full Aubrey report pulls together 14 strands of Aberdour Castle's history, each drawn from the record and mapped to the exact spot:

Overview
An interactive map of the location with every monument and battle plotted, and a plain-language history built only from what the record holds.
Monuments
The legally protected scheduled monuments around the location, each with its period, type and significance.
Battlefields
The battles and sieges fought on this ground, mapped and set on a timeline of the wider conflict.
Roman Britain
The Roman roads, forts and towns near here, and the Iron Age people who held the land before Rome arrived.
Stat Accounts
The parish Statistical Accounts of the 1790s and 1830s, describing life, work and population here.
Civil War
The Civil War fighting, garrisons and recorded militaria in this area, woven into the arc of 1642 to 1651.
Geology
The bedrock beneath the site, its age and rock type, reaching back hundreds of millions of years.
Local Names
What the street and field names around here actually mean, and the history buried inside them.
Historical Maps
Ordnance Survey maps from the 1800s, layered over the location as it stands today.
Literature
The books, county histories, charters and archives that mention this place, quoted with their sources.
Legal
The protected sites nearby and the metal-detecting, access and treasure laws that apply to this ground.
Spotlight
A deep dive into the most remarkable, lesser-known history of the place, traced back to the record.
Target Zones
For detectorists: the most promising ground to search nearby, ranked by confidence, with what to expect.
Timeline
The whole story of the location told era by era, from prehistory to the present day.
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Every location is different. Not every section appears for every place, only what the historical record actually holds turns up in a report.

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The ground beneath

The bedrock under Aberdour Castle

Aberdour Castle stands on Clackmannan Group, bedrock that formed in the Westphalian. The rock here is sedimentary rock cycles, clackmannan group type.