Ecclesgreig Castle

The origins of Ecclesgreig Castle date back to 1844, when William Forsyth Grant had the estate built on the foundations of an older 16th-century house. The design, in the Victorian Neo-Gothic style, came from the architect Henry Edmund Goodridge of Bath. To avoid confusion with the nearby village, the estate was named Ecclesgreig Castle. It formed the center of an agricultural enterprise, whose revenues financed the construction of the house and the creation of an Italian Renaissance garden. This garden, adorned with classical statues, was once a costly item in the estate's budget. It is believed that Bram Stoker gathered inspiration for his novel Dracula here. Inheritance taxes, political changes, and the fragmentation of large estates led to a decline in income and and to the castle's decay.