Claypotts Castle, West Ferry, Dundee

Every time we travel down to Broughty Ferry, we pass this Castle. It sits near a set of major traffic lights and, when we are stopped, often we say, 'we must visit the Castle'. To date, we haven't actually gone in but today I decided it was time to photograph it.

The Castle is a late medieval castle in the suburban West Ferry area of Dundee, Scotland. It is one of the best-preserved examples of a 16th-century 'Z-plan' tower house in Scotland. Now surrounded by modern housing, the castle is maintained as an Ancient Monument by Historic Scotland. At present, it is open to the public on only a small number of days each year.
The castle was originally built by John Strachan around 1569–1588 according to dates inscribed on stones that make up parts of the castle, which make its construction longer than usual for such a small building. The land on which the castle was built was originally leased by the Strachan family from the Tironensian Abbey of Lindores starting in the early 16th century.

The castle consists of projecting towers at opposite sides of a rectangular main block, known as a Z-plan tower house. This was a popular design in the 16th century and allowed defenders to fire along the faces of the main block from both towers, although it is unlikely that the castle would have had much of a defensive role given its domestic scale.

For a few more photos of the Castle see my Flikr set.