Page:The castellated and domestic architecture of Scotland from the twelfth to the eighteenth century (1887) - Volume 2.djvu/283

 KEISS CASTLE 26? FOURTH PERIOD The small lozenge-shaped windows are also characteristic of the period. FIG. 723. Corse Castle. Plan of Ground Floor. The castle,, and modern mansion near it, now belong to James Ochoncar Forbes, Esq. KEISS CASTLE, CAITHNESS-SHIRE. Keiss Castle is situated opposite Girnigoe Castle, on the north side of Sinclair Bay, about eight or ten miles north from Wick. It stands on the edge of the cliffs overlooking the sea. The building is oblong on plan, measuring 27 feet 3 inches by 23 feet 6 inches over the walls (Fig. 724), with two round towers one projecting to the south at the south-east angle, and the other, containing the staircase, projecting to the west at the north-west angle, in line with the north wall. It is thus a modification of the Z plan, resulting probably to some extent from the nature of the site. The castle is lofty (having four stories and an attic in part), and has a much more imposing appearance, especially at a distance, than the above modest figures would lead one to expect. The building is now in a very ruinous condition, the whole of the north-east corner having disappeared,