A Brief History
Duffus is a well- preserved example of a 12th century motte. The site began as an earthen motte surrounded by a ditch and bailey. A wooden tower and timber wall were completed in the mid-twelfth century. It included a wide outer bailey and wet moat, a walled and ditched inner bailey, and a large, man-made motte (earthen hill). In the flat arable farmland that surrounds the castle, the mound can be seen for miles.
The castle was at one time surrounded by the now-drained Loch of Spynie. The moat that surrounds the site was possibly more for drainage than defense, the hill being damp and unstable. For another example of a man-made island fortress, near-by Lochindorb gives a clue as to how Duffus may have once looked.
Duffus was held by a supporter of Edward I of England in his campaign to establish himself as King of Scotland. In 1286, Regenald Cheyne obtained the castle by marrying into the Moray family. He supported Edward I, and was granted 200 oaks from the forests of Darnaway and Longhorn to repair his damaged castle, the castle having been burnt by Scottish patriots but was rebuilt in 1300, probably with a stone wall and the beginnings of the stone tower.
In the 15th century, a range of buildings along the North side were added, of these, only ruined foundations survive. The descendants remained at Duffus until 1705, when it was sold to Sir Archibald Dunbar, Sir Archibald built near-by Duffus House to the North of Duffus Castle and moved from the castle in 1715.
By this time, subsidence was badly affecting the fabric of the castle. The soil of the motte has a high quantity of sand that were unable to hold the eight foot thick walls. Attempts to tie the North-West wall to the main body of the castle failed and the building was abandoned. The wall sheared away and has gently slithered down the hill, ending some twenty feet below the bulk of the castle with its internal rooms at a strange angle.
The castle has a number of interesting features, including a well, explorable passage-ways, a huge privy and half-broken stairways.
The stone great tower was almost square, rising from a splayed plinth of ashlar-faced stonework. It was probably not much higher than the current ruin, being three storeys. The stonework itself was of high quality, but the foundations on the earthen motte were wholey inadequate. A sign understates the problem when it points out that there is an issue with subsidence on the site.
Visiting
Duffus Castle is open to the public. Although ruinous, the fabric of the building is currently stable. As the only steep hill in the area, this castle acts as a focus for local children’s easter-egg activities on Easter Sunday.
www.historic-scotland.gov.uk