Dunnottar Castle (Scottish Gaelic: Dùn Fhoithear, "fort on the shelving slope")[1] is a ruined medieval fortress located upon a rocky headland on the northeast coast of Scotland, about 2 miles (3 kilometres) south of Stonehaven in Aberdeenshire.

Dunnottar is best known as the place where the Honours of Scotland, the Scottish crown jewels, were hidden from Oliver Cromwell's invading army in the 17th century.

The ruins of the castle are spread over 1.4 hectares (3+1⁄2 acres), surrounded by steep cliffs that drop to the North Sea, 160 feet (50 metres) below.

[3] A chapel at Dunnottar is said to have been founded by St Ninian in the 5th century,[4] although it is not clear when the site was first fortified, but in any case the legend is late and highly implausible.

The earlier event has been interpreted as an attack by Brude, the Pictish king of Fortriu, to extend his power over the north-east coast of Scotland.

[7] W. D. Simpson speculated that a motte might lie under the present castle, but excavations in the 1980s failed to uncover substantive evidence of early medieval fortification.

The discovery of a group of Pictish stones at Dunnicaer, a nearby sea stack, has prompted speculation that Dún Foither was actually located on the adjacent headland of Bowduns, 3 miles (5 km) to the north.

[4] In 1336, Edward III of England ordered William Sinclair, 8th Baron of Roslin, to sail eight ships to the partially ruined Dunnottar for the purpose of rebuilding and fortifying the site as a forward resupply base for his northern campaign.

[12] Edward himself visited in July,[13] but the English efforts were undone before the end of the year when the Scottish Regent Sir Andrew Murray led a force that captured and again destroyed the defences of Dunnottar.

[4] In the 14th century, Dunnottar was granted to William de Moravia, 5th Earl of Sutherland (d.1370);[14] in 1346, a licence to crenellate was issued by David II.

[15][16] Around 1359, William Keith, Marischal of Scotland, married Margaret Fraser, niece of Robert the Bruce, and was granted the barony of Dunnottar at this time.

[14][17] William Keith completed construction of the tower house at Dunnottar, but was excommunicated for building on the consecrated ground associated with the parish church.

Keith had provided a new parish church closer to Stonehaven, but was forced to write to the Pope, Benedict XIII, who issued a bull in 1395 lifting the excommunication.

[4] James VI stayed for 10 days in 1580, as part of his progress through Fife and Angus,[22] during which a meeting of the Privy Council was convened at Dunnottar.

[24] During the rebellion of Catholic nobles in 1592, Dunnottar was captured by Captain Carr on behalf of the Earl of Huntly, but was restored to Lord Marischal just a few weeks later.

[26] A "palace" comprising a series of ranges around a quadrangle was built on the north-eastern cliffs, creating luxurious living quarters with sea views.

[28] In 1639, William Keith, 7th Earl Marischal, came out in support of the Covenanters, a Presbyterian movement who opposed the established Episcopal Church and the changes which Charles I was attempting to impose.

[29] Marischal then joined with the Engager faction, who had made a deal with the king, and led a troop of horse to the Battle of Preston (1648) in support of the royalists.

Another account, given in the 18th century by a tutor to the Earl Marischal, records that the honours were lowered from the castle onto the beach, where they were collected by Fletcher's servant and carried off in a creel (basket) of seaweed.

[32] Much of the castle property was removed, including twenty-one brass cannons,[33] and Marischal was required to sell further lands and possessions to pay fines imposed by Cromwell's government.

The prisoners included 122 men and 45 women associated with the Whigs, an anti-Royalist group within the Covenanter movement, and had refused to take an oath of allegiance to the new king.

In 1689, during Viscount Dundee's campaign in support of the deposed James VII, the castle was garrisoned for William III and Mary II with Lord Marischal appointed captain.

[37] Seventeen suspected Jacobites from Aberdeen were seized and held in the fortress for around three weeks, including George Liddell, professor of mathematics at Marischal College.

After the subsequent abandonment of the rising Lord Marischal fled to the Continent, eventually becoming French ambassador for Frederick the Great of Prussia.

Charles Anthony Pearson, the younger son of the 3rd Viscount Cowdray, currently owns and runs Dunnottar Castle which is part of the 210-square-kilometre (81 sq mi) Dunecht Estates.

Dunnottar's strategic location allowed its owners to control the coastal terrace between the North Sea cliffs and the hills of the Mounth, 2+1⁄4 miles (3.6 km) inland, which enabled access to and from the north-east of Scotland.

[59] The site is accessed via a steep, 2,600-foot (790 m) footpath (with modern staircases) from a car park on the coastal road, or via a 3-kilometre (2 mi) cliff-top path from Stonehaven.

[63] A second access to the castle leads up from a rocky cove, the aperture to a marine cave on the northern side of the Dunnottar cliffs into which a small boat could be brought.

[15] This small self-contained house includes a hall and kitchen at ground level, with private chambers above, and has a projecting spiral stair on the north side.

In its long, low design it has been compared to contemporary English buildings, in contrast to the Scottish tradition of taller towers still prevalent in the 16th century.