Spynie Palace

Spynie Palace
Spynie, near Elgin, Moray, Scotland
Coordinates	57°40′34″N 03°17′29″W / 57.67611°N 3.29139°W / 57.67611; -3.29139
Type	Keep with curtain wall
Height	22 metres
Site information
Owner	Historic Environment Scotland
Open to the public	Yes
Condition	Ruin
Site history
Built	1st c1150 2nd c1250
Built by	Bishop of Moray
In use	c1150 – 1689
Materials	Sandstone
Events	besieged 1640 and 1645

Spynie Palace, also known as Spynie Castle, was the fortified seat of the Bishops of Moray for about 500 years in Spynie, Moray, Scotland. The founding of the palace dates back to the late 12th century. It is situated about 500 m from the location of the first officially settled Cathedral Church of the Diocese of Moray, Holy Trinity Church in present-day Spynie Churchyard. For most of its occupied history, the castle was not described as a palace — this term first appeared in the Registry of Moray in a writ of 1524.^[1]