Broughty Ferry Castle, Scotland

Broughty Ferry is a late medieval castle located on the north bank of the River Tay, four miles east of Dundee.  Five English ships were captured in this area in 1489, which may have prompted the rebuilding of a castle here. 

The first castle here was built in 1454 by the 4th Earl of Angus, who was given permission by King James II.  The 2nd Lord Gray then rebuilt the castle after obtaining a charter from King James IV in 1490.

The castle was involved in what is known as the Rough Wooing in the 16th Century.  After the English won the Battle of Pinkie in 1547, Sir Andrew Dudley was sent to capture Broughty Castle.  The castle’s owner at the time was Lord Gray, who supported the English cause and wanted Mary Queen of Scots to marry a Protestant Englishman and not a Catholic Frenchman.  The castle was captured by Dudley without a shot being fired. 

In the 1860’s the castle was used as an artillery defense for the Tay area during the threat of French invasion. Today it houses a local museum and is open to the public.