Gordon Castle is located near Fochabers in Moray. Historically known as the Bog-of-Gight or Bog o'Gight, it was the principal seat of the Dukes of Gordon. Following 18th-century redevelopment, it became one of the largest country houses ever built in Scotland, although much has since been demolished.
The original castle was built by George Gordon, 2nd Earl of Huntly in the 1470s and enlarged by his grandson and George Gordon, 1st Marquess of Huntly. An inventory of the contents from November 1648 mentions lavish beds and a 'hen house', a parrot cage in the long gallery.
Architect John Adam was commissioned, alongside the French architect Abraham Roumieu, to redesign the castle in 1764 but this did not come to fruition. Eventually the commission fell to the lesser-known Edinburgh architect, John Baxter, who rebuilt it in 1769 for Alexander Gordon, 4th Duke of Gordon. The central four storey block incorporated a six-storey medieval tower called the Bog-of-Gight, and was flanked by a pair of two-storey wings. The main facade was 173 metres long. Following the deaths of the 7th and 8th Dukes within a decade of one another the Gordon Estates 73,000 hectares were put up for sale by the 9th Duke to pay the enormous death duties. The majority of the contents of the castle were sold and most of the castle was demolished, but the 16th-century tower of Bog-of-Gight and one of the wings, now a detached medium sized country house in its own right, survive.
References:Trenčín Castle is relatively large renovated castle, towering on a steep limestone cliff directly above the city of Trenčín. It is a dominant feature not only of Trenčín, but also of the entire Považie region. The castle is a national monument.
History of the castle cliff dates back to the Roman Empire, what is proved by the inscription on the castle cliff proclaiming the victory of Roman legion against Germans in the year 179.
Today’s castle was probably built on the hill-fort. The first proven building on the hill was the Great Moravian rotunda from the 9th century and later there was a stone residential tower, which served to protect the Kingdom of Hungary and the western border. In the late 13th century the castle became a property of Palatine Matúš Csák, who became Mr. of Váh and Tatras.
Matúš Csák of Trenčín built a tower, still known as Matthew’s, which is a dominant determinant of the whole building.