Ardclach Bell Tower

A crisp autumnal morning today for our visit to this strange structure-part prison- part watchtower-part belfry situated on a hillock high above the Findhorn valley. We walked up to the tower along a pleasant track through burnished bracken and bare birch trees.

The small tower was built in 1655 by Alexander Brodie of Lethan. Brodie was a Covenanter whose lands and home were attacked by Royalists on several occasions - including by James Graham, Marquis of Montrose. Brodie is thought to have built the tower as a lookout tower and place of refuge should there be further attacks. The tower is two storeys high, the vaulted ground floor is windowless and may have served as a prison. Above this is a room which may have served as a look out - this has small shot holes and a fireplace.

The plain belfry was added after the building of what is now Ardclach Old Parish Church in 1765. The Church, now abandoned, can just be glimpsed through the trees on the bank of the Findhorn far below the tower. The elevated position of the tower meant that the sound of the kirk bell on it would carry much further than that of a bell down in the valley.

This is an extraordinary tower, a reminder of a turbulent period in Scotland's history. Close by is a monument to Rev Donald Mitchell (1792-1823) son of Ardclach manse and the first Scottish missionary to India.