Ardclach Bell Tower

Ardclach Bell Tower

Ardclach Bell Tower
Nairn
Highlands
Scotland
IV12 5JF

Tel: 01667 460 232
E-Mail: hs.members@scotland.gsi.gov.uk

Web: Ardclach Bell Tower

About Ardclach Bell Tower

An architectural oddity

Ardclach Bell Tower is an architectural oddity. It is very small – about 4.3m2 overall – and has only two storeys. The ground floor may well have been a prison, judging by its small door and lack of windows. The floor above, reached by a narrow stone stair, has a fireplace in the north wall, with a square pistol hole on each side. There is another pistol hole in the south wall and the west wall has a small square window. A small belfry is on top of the south gable.

A Covenanter’s watchtower?

The tower was probably built in 1655, the date carved on a stone in the south gable. The builder seems to have been Alexander Brodie of Lethen – the initials MGB, probably standing for his second wife Margaret Grant Brodie, are carved above the second-floor fireplace.

Alexander Brodie was a noted Covenanter (religious dissident). His support for the Presbyterian cause had led to his estate being attacked and plundered on several occasions. One occasion was in 1645, after the Marquis of Montrose defeated the Covenanters at the nearby Battle of Auldearn (9 May). Brodie may have built the little tower as a watchtower-cum-prison, as a precaution against further trouble. The little belfry was added later. It housed the church bell for the parish kirk in the Findhorn valley below.

Ardclach Bell Tower Highlights

•The location – standing on its own on a hill overlooking a hidden part of the Findhorn valley.
•The upstairs room – ‘poky’ or ‘cosy’, take your pick!