Ardclach Bell Tower

Ardclach Bell Tower
Ardclach Bell Tower
	The building in 2011, looking north
General information
Type	Bell tower; Watch tower; Keep
Location	Ardclach, Highland, Scotland
Coordinates	57°29′10″N 3°44′48″W / 57.486123°N 3.746715°W
Completed	1655 (371 years ago)
Technical details
Floor count	2

Ardclach Bell Tower is an historic structure in Ardclach, Scottish Highlands. Dating to at least 1655, it is now a Category A listed building. It is believed to be the only tower and belfry combination in Scotland.

The structure, erected as a tower, belfry and keep, is a simple square with a two-storey tower with a double pitched roof. It is harled with ashlar dressings.

A monogram, "MGB", above the second-storey fireplace, refers to Margaret Grant Brodie, wife of Alexander Brodie of Lethen.

Gallery

Date inscription
"MGB" monogram carving

References

1 2 3 Ardclach Bell Tower - Historic Environment Scotland
↑ The Castellated and Domestic Architecture of Scotland from the Twelfth to the Eighteenth Century, David MacGibbon, Thomas Ross (1887), pp. 218–222
↑ Ardclach Bell Tower – Canmore

Sources

George Bain, History of Nairnshire (1893) pp. 506–7
V. Gordon Childe and W Douglas Simpson, Illustrated Guide to Ancient Monuments (1967) p. 108

[HES-1] 1 2 3 Ardclach Bell Tower - Historic Environment Scotland

[2] The Castellated and Domestic Architecture of Scotland from the Twelfth to the Eighteenth Century, David MacGibbon, Thomas Ross (1887), pp. 218–222

[3] Ardclach Bell Tower – Canmore