Page:The castellated and domestic architecture of Scotland from the twelfth to the eighteenth century (1887) - Volume 2.djvu/248

 FOURTH PERIOD 232 CLUNY CASTLE CLUNY CASTLE, ABERDEENSHIRE. We are happy to be enabled through the kindness of Dr. Skene to illustrate, in Cluny Castle, another extremely interesting example of a Scottish building on the Z plan, which has now entirely disappeared. It was situated on level ground about one mile south from Monymusk Station. From the following description and accompanying sketches by the late Mr. Skene, it is evident that Cluny must have been one of the most picturesque of our Scottish mansions. It is also interesting from having contained an ingeniously contrived place of concealment, not unlike the " Lug " at Castle Fraser. Mr. Skene says of it, "Cluny Castle, for a small simple building in which the leading principles of the Scotch castellated mansion of the fifteenth century are strictly adhered to, affords a striking example of the picturesque arrangement and grouping of its different features which that style of building admits of, and which the architects of the day seem to have had singular skill in adapting, so that in almost every point of view the lines of most of these buildings produce a pleasing effect. FIG. 684. Cluny Castle. " The body of the building is as usual a great square tower, having a large round tower at the two diagonal angles, opposite to each other (Fig. 684), and suspended turrets on the two remaining angles of the square tower, united by subordinate architectural features so skilfully disposed as to produce the pleasing effects alluded to, as at every step in making the circuit of the building the constantly varying composition of its prominent parts fall into a succession of graceful attitudes, such as a painter would delight to represent. " Whether it may in this case be the effect of a fortunate accident, or