The Crawfords of Brucklay and Fedderate
The article on Brucklay Castle (Leopard, May 2008) brought back memories for me. I grew up near New Deer in the 1940s and 50s and had the privilege of being able to play on the estate occasionally. The woods and the lake provided a perfect setting for playing anything from Tarzan to Robin Hood. At that time, the castle was uninhabited but the roof was still intact. We would have loved to have gone in to have a look around but it was strictly off limits.
However, there was another item in the article that caught my attention. The author states that construction of the castle was started in the late 16th century by James Crawford of Brucklay and that the Crawfords remained in residence there for 208 years.
I have lived for most of the past 30 years in Sweden and I have always been fascinated by the surprising number of famous families here who have Scottish names. One such name is Crawford – or Crafoord as it is written in Sweden.
The background of the Crafoords is well known. The Swedish branch of the clan was founded by three brothers who arrived here around 1610. Their family seat was Fedderate Castle which is barely a mile from Brucklay. So if there were Crawfords residing at Brucklay for more than 200 years from the late 16th century onwards, they must have been family members who stayed behind.
No one seems to know for sure why the Crafoord brothers fled Scotland. The family legend here seems to be that they ran up huge gambling debts and the king at the time had them evicted from Fedderate. Whatever the reason for their arrival here, they have done very well since.
They started off in Swedish military service and, soon afterwards, were elevated to the nobility. Their coat of arms is to be found in the House of the Nobility (Riddarhuset) in Stockholm.
Today, there are Crafoords all over Sweden. The family has had – and still has – members in prominent positions, especially in medicine, engineering, politics and the law. Perhaps the best-known member of the clan at the moment is a pop singer! There is a Crafoord Prize, established by the family and awarded for achievement in fields not covered by the Nobel Prize.
The Swedish Crafoords are fully aware of their history. A few years ago, some family members visited Fedderate and had an historic group photograph taken with the castle in the background. They were reported to have installed a plaque to commemorate the link between Fedderate and Sweden although I don’t know where it is. For New Deer folk, the gaunt ruin is a familiar landmark but most of them seem to know little or nothing about its history. Perhaps someone out there can connect the links between Brucklay and Fedderate – and the Crafoords of my adopted homeland.
Jim Jack,
Åkersberga, Sweden