Slains Castle - a photo on Flickriver

Slains Castle

            Slains Castle was built around 1597 by Clann Cheif Sir William Hay of Clann Hay, who was made Earl of Errol by King James II. The Hay’s had possessed the lands around Slains since the 1300’s. Sir William Hay was succeeded by Francis Hay, 9th Earl of Erroll, who converted to Catholicism and openly conspired with other Catholic nobles and the King of Spain during a brief rebellion to try and unseat the Protestant Queen Elizabeth. Sir Francis Hay was declared a traitor by King James IV which saw Old Slains get destroyed.

After a period abroad Francis returned to Scotland, and abjured Roman Catholicism in 1597, subsequently returning to royal favour, where Francis abandoned Old Slains Castle to occupy the current standing Slains in the photo. The wings around the courtyard were extended in 1664 by the addition of a gallery or corridor, and in 1707 the entrance front was renewed. In 1820 William Hay, 18th Earl of Erroll, married Lady Elizabeth FitzClarence, the illegitimate daughter of King William IV. Sir William Hay, 18th Erroll, commissioned Aberdeen architect John Smith to remodel the castle which resulted in a massive rebuild to Scots Baronial style.

Modernly Slains is known not just for its history, but for its association with Bram Stoker’s Dracula, Stoker was a regular visitor of Cruden Bay the nearby village a couple of kilometres away and Slains Castle. Slains is mentioned in a few of his works such as “The Watter's Mou', 1895” and “The Mystery of the Sea, 1902”, and provided inspiration for the fictional Kyllion Castle in “The Jewel of Seven Stars, 1903”, but is more famously linked with “Dracula, 1897” due to Dracula’s octagonal room, a distinctive room in Slains. 

I’m 1913 the 20th Earl of Erroll sold Slains after more than 300 years of occupation and it was bought by Sir John Ellerman, 1st Baronet, who removed the roofs in 1925 to avoid paying taxes, which has led to the deterioration we see today. Slains was bought in 2004 with plans of converting the castle into holiday apartments but plans have been on hold since 2009 due to the recession. So today Slains is visited every day by locals and visitors.

Taken in: UK / Scotland / Port Erroll (show map)

Taken on: May 2, 2022

Sets appears in: • Slains Castle

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Camera: Apple iPhone 12, f/2.4, 1/1370 sec, 1.6mm, ISO 25 (more info) (hide info)

Camera:	Apple iPhone 12
Aperture:	f/2.4
Exposure Time:	0.001 sec (1/1370)
Focal Length:	1.6mm
ISO:	25
Exposure Bias:	0 EV
Flash:	Off, Did not fire
Exposure Program:	Program AE
Exposure Mode:	Auto
Metering Mode:	Multi-segment
White Balance:	Auto
Color Space:	Uncalibrated
Software:	15.4.1
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