Spynie Palace

Spynie Palace from the South East

For five centuries, Spynie Palace was the residence of the Bishops of Moray, standing on the edge of Spynie Loch, a sea loch providing direct access and a safe anchorage. It was the centre of a thriving settlement, yet today nothing remains of the medieval town.

Great Hall from Above South East Tower from Above Woods and Old Cliffs David's Tower Rooftop David's Tower Interior

And even the loch the palace was built beside is but a pale shadow of its former self, having largely been drained by the Spynie Canal and leaving Spynie Palace some three miles from the sea at Lossiemouth. All that can be seen today are the heavily wooded slopes to the north of the palace, which once dropped steeply to the shore of the loch.

The earliest existing buildings at Spynie date from the 1300s but the history of the palace goes back to Bishop Brice of Douglas, who chose the church here as his cathedral church in 1207-8. His successor, Andrew, relocated the cathedral to Elgin, but he and later bishops continued to live at Spynie.

In the latter part of the 1600s, the great tower house, named David's Tower after the Bishop David Stewart was built. It was completed by his successor, William Tulloch and it is his arms which can be seen under the parapet on the south face. Later remodelled, this is one of the largest tower houses in Scotland, containing five floors and a vaulted basement.

Though large, David's Tower did not prove large enough for the Bishops' needs, and by 1500 a new hall had been added on the north side of the courtyard. This was built to provide more spacious accommodation for public functions. Its remains, now at basement level, continue to occupy most of the north side of the palace.

David's Tower from the West

David's Tower from the East

The remains of the east gate which replaced the old palace entrance sometime in the 1400s are still impressive. The arms of a bishop, possibly those of Bishop John of Winchester, surmount the external façade. At around the same time the south gate was removed and this led to the complete rebuilding of the south range to include a chapel whose piscina (a stone basin used for washing altar vessels) remains.

Defences were later added, but the palace's days were numbered, and following the abolition of the episcopacy in the Church of Scotland in 1689, Spynie Palace fell into disuse.

For 21st Century visitors, Spynie Palace offers an impressive and fascinating insight into a medieval community that lasted for some five hundred years, but of which very little beyond the palace itself now remains.

At ground level it is difficult to believe that these ruins, huge and imposing though they are, were the focus of a bustling settlement when, today, all around is calm in this woodland setting. These days the only full time residents are the barn owls who have made the North West tower their own. But climb the steps to the top of David's Tower, look out across the landscape and, with a bit of imagination, you can almost call up the sights, the sounds and the smells of a very different world from the one you see today.

The Palace from the South West