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Daniel's piece Large polychrome graffiti piece Deer Abbey, commerative plaque to St Mary and St Drostan a carved stone relief. St Drostan is a legendary evangelist of the area, his name a Pictish form of Tristram. Deer Park standing stones, or the Druids A setting of three stones, older reports describe a fourth fallen stone. Variously described as standing stones or the remains of a circle. It appears to have been too small to be a Recumbent Stone Circle. Defence of the Lost a performance/ installation piece by Professor George Beasley of Georgia State University in Atlanta, USA, and associates, involving a nocturnal pouring of molten iron with a rotating turntable mounted channel from the furnace to the mould, the finished casting being a curved wall shape. The channel was wooden lined to add to the pyrotechnic effect of the multiple transfers of molten metal from furnace to cast. Delgatie Castle Delgatie Castle dates from about 1030. The main tower dates from the 1100s while its final extension with the battlement walk above the string course was completed in 1579. Both wings were added in 1743. From 1314 until the recent death of Captain Hay of Delgatie the castle has belonged to the Hay family. It is now managed by a charitable trust. The painted ceilings from 1592 and 1597 are amongst the finest surviving in Scotland. Their iconography has interesting comparisons to the much earlier Aberdeen Bestiary and even earlier Pictish sculpture. See The Pictish Arts Society The castle boasts an eclectic range of architectural decorations and sculpture. Delgatie is open daily from 10a.m. to 5p.m. every day throughout the year and is only closed Christmas and New Year weeks. There is also a tearoom serving home baking and snacks. Accommodation is available see Delgatie's own site for details www.delgatiecastle.com or e.mail Delgatie Castle Delgatie Doocot An unusual pink harled circular structure with three tiers of decreasing diameter. A circular dovecot in good repair: three sharply diminishing stages with batten, rubble-built. Entrance with chamfer and relieving arch, widened at lower courses. 708 stone nesting boxes. Similar to those at Auchry and Huntly but appears to be considerably older. Delgatie, Marie's Bower A text work painted on the ceiling beams in a room reputed to have provided lodging for Mary Queen of Scots, this painting confuses me as the text is the same as 2 stanzas in the poem "Kilmeny" by James Hogg 1770–1835 (it is a part of her prophetic vision during her stay among the fairies) . I admit my ignorance, I do not know if the ceiling painting is in fact a modern work or if this part of the poem was copied by Hogg from an earlier source. Doctor Alex Douglas armorial A re-sited 17th century carved stone armorial panel. Inscribed "DOCTOR ALEX DOVGLAS BAMFIAE PRAEFECTVS ET VICECOMITAVS COMMMISSARIVS HOC OPVS EREXIT D A.D. ANNO DOM (next line illegible) 165* Dog statue, Delgatie Gatepost ornament, Red sandstone carving of a dog? holding a shield. The late Captain Hay of Delgatie was an inveterate collector and the castle has many decorative elements that are now difficult to attribute to exact dates and provenances. Dolphin sculpture, Stonehaven A Dolphin created from a network of steel rods in the characteristic style of many of this artist's public projects in Scotland, Australia etc. Domed Well Housing Listed category A. Domed peristyle Well in Forecourt accompanied by Garden of Remembrance. The new Banff Castle, built by Lord Deskford in 1750, stands on the grounds of the original fortified castle. Double Decker Guard's Van The railway guard's van has been modified by the addition of an upstairs and a spiral staircase, it is installed on a short section of track. Double Head sculpture Huntly A contemporary stone carving of a double head also making a feature of the subjects hands. Dr Danny Gordon's cairn and a memorial bench A small memorial cairn of mortared rubble inset with an oval panel of pink granite carved in relief with the words "Dr Danny Gordon's widdie" nearby is a bench presumably a memorial carved in relief with interlace and the words "WIGHT GLENLOGIE". Dry lines , no fish stone A stone inscribed with the words: "Dry lines , no fish" and a cross like mark the inscription showing some trace of colour. Possibly by Sir William Cuncliffe Brooks, Laird of Glentanar who died in 1900. There are several other inscribed stones on the estate many at the sites of springs/wells. Duff House Dogs Gravestones Gravestone erected by the Earl of Fife, in memory of families pet dogs Bevis (1872) , Tip (1873) and Barkis. Decorated with crown and coronet with dog's names and initials M and F (male / female?). Duff House Mausoleum Rectangular Gothic Mausoleum and re-sited late 17th Century tomb. Fine cast and wrought iron gate incorporating complex designs of foliage, anthemion, rosettes, Earl of Fife's coronet and monogram JF. Deep stone frieze below eaves, 2 Coade stone crocketed pinnacles survive. Re-sited against centre of S elevation is a round headed figure tomb, decorated with symbols of mortality and rebirth. The tomb was supposed to be that of Robert the Bruce and was taken to give spurious antiquity to the new Earldom of Fife, however it was actually the tomb of Provost Douglas of Banff, with the inscription covered until in 1990 when it slipped uncovering the true identity. House open to the public. See their website for details. Duff House Pediment Substantial Baroque mansion 3 story on raised basement fluted Corinthian pilasters to tower heads, pediment to principal floor. The South (principal) elevation has the pedimented centre piece with exuberant armorial carving Duff Arms and Motto. The original lead statues are preserved in the house and have been replaced by fibre glass copies which stand above the pediment, representing Mars, Apollo and Minerva. On the north elevation Bacchus, Mercury and Diana. House open to the public. See their website for details. Duff House, the Fife Gates Pair of polished ashlar octagonal gate piers with moulded stepped caps supporting fine carved stone urns. Decorated with acanthus and swags of fruit and flowers. Gates probably made by the Banff Foundry (James Fraser) a firm which provided similar to other local country house estates, including Castle Fraser. House open to the public. See their website for details. DUFF HOUSE, BANFF, BRIDGE STREET, BRIDGE OF BANFF LODGE A small classical pedimented pavilion with Venetian windows (now blocked and painted with false panes). A solitary survivor of a pair that guarded the eastern entrance of the Duff House policies. It has been relocated and truncated and is now used as an electricity sub-station and the basement for supermarket trolleys. Well weathered sandstone crests - May show a lion rampant which is the Fife family heraldic device and crest, adorn the East and West pediments of the gate house. Duke of Richmond statue Huntly A Victorian portrait statue, inscription reads: Erected as a memorial of Charles Gordon Lennox Fifth Duke of Richmond, by the tenantry of the Lordship of Huntly. Dunecht estate office armorial plaque A large, curious and very imposing armorial plaque on the wall of the estate office in 1920s style. The supporters are particularly unusual they are on the dexter side a man in a diving suit, and on the sinister side a figure in sandals and a fringed poncho intended as a Mexican paeon. These are the arms of Weetman Dickinson Pearson, 1st Viscount Cowdray and MP ( born July 15, 1856, Shelley Woodhouse, Yorkshire, Eng. died May 1, 1927, Dunecht House, Aberdeen, Scot.) who became the sixth richest man in Britain out of the huge wealth he made from exploiting Mexico's first oil production under the dictator Porfirio Diaz. His extensive interests in Mexico, from construction of railways, dams, harbours and tunnels to mining and manufacturing, from rural estates (on the eve of the Mexican Revolution in 1910 Pearson's Mexican Estates Company controlled well over a million acres of land) to his ownership of the 'El Aguila' oil company, meant that he was so often absent from the House of Commons that he earned the nickname 'The Member for Mexico'. Dunnottar Cemetery Stonehaven, general info There have been a number of churches on the present site. The original church, dedicated to St. Bridget in 1394, was replaced in 1593 by the 5th Earl Marischal (George Keith), which in turn was replaced in 1782 by a much larger church. The church was completely reconstructed in 1903 and remodelled into a cruciform plan by G.P.K. Young of Perth, with parts of the 1782 church incorporated into the present building. The kirk is of a rectangular plan built of granite rubble with Gothic details. There is a plain ball-capped bellcote on the E. gable. The Marischal Aisle is a small stone building in the churchyard, built by George Keith in 1582, as a burial place for his family.The Marischal Aisle is the oldest complete surviving section within the church confines. It was erected in 1582 by the 5th Earl as a family burial place. It was restored in 1913 by Aberdeen University, as a tribute to George Keith who had founded Marischal College. Numerous tombstones of interest are found in the vicinity of the Marischal Aisle. Some date from the 17th & 18th centuries and are elaborately carved with winged souls, skulls, crossbones, hourglasses and sexton’s spades. Some display tools of trade. On the stone of James Kemlo, town’s officer and bellman, is carved a bell. There are approximately 36 recumbent stones of which 13 are particularly well-decorated. There are a pair of oval recumbent tombstones a little to the E. of the Marischal Aisle, which are possibly the only two of their kind in Aberdeenshire. There are many hundreds of upright tombstones, many of special note. There is a stone commemorating those who died in the dungeons of Dunnottar for their adherence to the Covenant. There is an extremely well-carved skull in the boundary wall above an upright tombstone. Dunnottar Cemetery Stonehaven, Sextant on Old Stone An elegant relief carved recumbent stone with motifs of a sextant and dividers clasped in hands surrounded by an ornate baroque cartouche of scroll work with memento mori at the corners. Presumably the grave of a navigator. Dunnottar Cemetery Stonehaven, various memento mori Tombstones dating from the 17th & 18th century may be engraved with emblems of mortality, such as skulls, bones, the sexton’s spade and turfcutter, or an hourglass symbolising the sands of time running out the words "memento mori" themselves are sometimes also inscribed . These older stones may be embellished with winged souls, often at the top of the headstone, to represent the hope of resurrection and immortality. Dunnottar Cemetery Stonehaven, 17th Century Headstone A tombstone dated 1685 with primitive engraved memento mori including a skull very like a bowling ball. Dunnottar Cemetery Stonehaven, Celtic Cross Early 20th century Celtic revival free standing stone Celtic Cross with fine carved relief decoration featuring strap work interlace Dunnottar Cemetery Stonehaven, Headstone of Town Bellman Upright stone of a typical Victorian 'Gothic revival' pointed arch shape for James Kemlo, town’s officer and bellman for sixteen years, died 1889 the stone also commemorates an Elizabeth Edward who died in 1868 aged 88. (the lichen makes athe inscrition hard to read but I think it says she was James Kemlo's mother). The stone is relief carved with a hand bell resting on a shelf flanked by stylised thistles. Dunnottar Cemetery Stonehaven, Headstone with Tools An early upright stone relief carved with what looks like a slater's tools. Dunnottar Cemetery Stonehaven, Merchant's Headstone Upright gravestone with the traditional merchants symbol like a figure 4. Dunnottar Cemetery Stonehaven, Skull on Churchyard Wall An extremely realistic and well executed carved skull set in the kirkyard wall above an upright stone that itself bears an upward looking relief of a skull, much eroded, on its top surface. Dunnottar School, schoolhouse decoration A rather dour late Victorian piece of public architecture in sandstone with some nice decorative details.
