from the Hutton Collection
The title of this drawing is 'Cap Stones on the garden wall of Inverugie Castle'. The artist is not given, although it is likely to have been Hutton himself. The drawing is dated 9th November 1809. A note below the title gives more information about the capstones pictured: 'The letters GB and date 1670 appear to have been done at a much later period than the sculptured coach, which is probably three or four hundred years old'.
Inverugie Castle lies a few miles north of Peterhead in the county of Buchan. Most of the existing castle dates from the fifteenth century, but there are remnants of the medieval castle which passed into the ownership of Sir John de Keith in 1380. The capstones featured in this drawing would have provided a decorative finish to the castle walls.
George Henry Hutton (d. 1827), was a professional soldier and amateur antiquary. English by birth, he had an avid interest in Scottish monastic history, and built up an extensive collection of drawings, writings and artefacts relating mainly to ecclesiastic sites. Hutton himself made sketches of many sites, and also commissioned drawings and architectural plans from friends and professionals. Despite speculation among his contemporaries that he intended to produce a Scottish Monasticon, Hutton always insisted this research was purely for his own interest. The Hutton Collection is now held by the National Library of Scotland, and these drawings date mainly from 1781-92 and 1811-20.
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