Dunbeath Castle is located on the east coast of Caithness,1.2 mi south of Dunbeath, in northern Scotland. Although a castle has stood here since the 15th century, the present building is of mainly 17th-century origin, with 19th-century extensions. The castle is a 19,669 sq ft (1,827.3 m2) Category A listed building and the grounds are included in the Inventory of Gardens and Designed Landscapes in Scotland.
The earliest-known building on the site dates from 1428, when the first recorded laird was Alexander Sutherland. It later passed by marriage to the Clan Sinclair, members of which, in 1620, replaced the medieval structure with a four-storey tower house that remained in the family for 325 years.
The castle was extensively remodelled by the Sinclairs in the 17th century and again in the 1860s, when the Scottish architect David Bryce rebuilt it in the Scots Baronial style and established the designed landscape in which it sits. His masterstroke was to make the northern front of the castle symmetrical and lay out an approach down a three-quarter-mile-long, arrow-straight, tree-lined drive.
Following Vice-Admiral Sir Edwyn Alexander-Sinclair’s death in 1945, his estates were broken up and sold, after which Dunbeath had four owners — two of them American — before being bought in 1997 by the late Stuart Murray Threipland and his wife, Claire.
Behind its grand exterior, Mr and Mrs Threipland created a much-cherished family home with ample space for entertaining. Guests can be accommodated in great comfort within the castle’s 13 bedrooms, all of which bear the names of historic naval battles, whereas the main reception rooms are located on the eastern side of the four-storey building to take advantage of the magnificent sea views.
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| Drawing Room |
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| Dining Room |
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| Library |
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| Lower Gallery |
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| Kitchen |
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Southern Garden
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| Northern Garden |
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| Stable Block |
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| Dalbeath Mains |
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| Balcraggie Lodge |
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| Boathouse |
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| The Old Weavers |
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| Dunbeath Strath |
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| Upper Strath |
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| Dunbeath Water |
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| Dunbeath Hill |
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| Dunbeath Hill |
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| Boundary Plan |
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