These photos were taken on one of our research trips to Scotland.

They are of Huntly Castle, which was featured in Dark Birthright.

#1 Bakehouse

This is a picture of the Bakehouse, where bread was baked. The bread was made from barley and oats grown on the estate and yeast came as a by-product from the Brewhouse next door. The two ovens here, now ruined, were dome-shaped and lined with heat resistant brick. Hot fuel, either wood or peat from a fireplace, was put into the ovens and the doors closed. When the required temperature was reached, the ashes were cleared out and the dough placed inside the hot ovens where it remained for two hours. Unless you were a Lord, this bread constituted your daily diet.

  
#2

 

 Prison

This is a picture of the "hole", where prisoners were kept to await their fate. It is in the very bottom of the tower, and there is a nine foot drop to the floor. A rope or ladder was used.

  
#3 Medieval_Road

This picture is of a medieval road. A placard nearby says "This area of cobbling is a fragment of road which, until the seventeenth century, led into the castle."

  
#4 Cooking_Fireplace

This is the cooking fireplace in the kitchen. I would guess that the opening is almost eight feet tall and it’s as large as a walk-in closet. An informational placard nearby said the following:
"The kitchen provided food for the lord’s table. On your left is the fireplace, now somewhat ruinous. On your right are two channels linking the kitchen with the courtyard. The upper one brought fresh water into the kitchen. The lower one carried soiled water away. Before winter most livestock were killed and their meat salted. Hams, other meats, and fish were smoked above the fire. Large joints of meat, some fish, even fruit were roasted on a spit, an iron rod turned constantly by the cook-boy. Fat from the meat was collected in a drip tray beneath. Other cooking was done in a cauldron or large metal pot, suspended on a chain over the heat."

  
#5 Brewhouse

This picture is from an outbuilding called the Brewhouse, where ale was made. This describes the process:
Malt (germinated barley) was roasted, ground, and mixed with warm water in a wooden vat called a MASH TUN. There starch was converted into sugar which dissolved in the water to form WORT. This solution was then boiled with hops in a copper vessel over a fire, placed in the center of the room. (The picture shows the place that the copper vessel sat over a fire. The channels carried away overflows.) When cool the wort was poured or ladled into fermenting vessels where yeast was added. After three days, the ale was clarified and stored in casks.

  
#6 Privy

This picture is of the "Privy" (the toilet) that was located off the lord’s bed chamber. Not very luxurious by today’s standards, aye?

  
#7 Huntly_Castle  
  The Castle  
 

www.darkbirthright.com

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