tower but Smith advised against it stating it was: "one of the finest specimens in the Country of the age and style in which it was built." The work lasted two years and involved the re-construction of almost all of the top floor. The windows, external harling and pointing were replaced and it is likely Smith also designed the gardener's cottage. Although Drumtochty Castle was built to the designs of James Gillespie Graham with further extensions c. 1815, the actual work of the extensions was undertaken by Smith. Miller speculates Gillespie Graham could have had a dispute with the owner, George Drummond, but considers Smith's closer proximity to the site is a more plausible scenario. Around 1830 he oversaw the building of Fintray House near Aberdeen for the Sempill family, to a design by William Burn. The house was demolished in 1953. The rugged cliff tops to the north of Cruden Bay were the setting for Slains Castle where, in 1836, Smith was engaged by William Hay, 18th Earl of Erroll and Lord Lieutenant of Aberdeenshire to renovate his existing courtyard house into a stylish residence suitable for a person of his standing. Smith's design enveloped the previous building, encasing it in a new structure of pink Peterhead granite and featured round towers. Churches The construction, restoration, renovation or alteration to several parish churches throughout Aberdeenshire, Angus and Kincardineshire are credited to Smith. One of his first rural church designs was at Fintray, Aberdeenshire in 1821; later that year he also designed Udny Parish Church. These formed the basis of designs that Smith would evolve and develop in future years for other parish churches. Udny Parish Church was the first of Smith's Tudor-Gothic ecclesiastic designs. A box tower above the main entrance features a crenellated top with louvred pointed panels, belfry and clock incorporated in the front (south) gable with walls of rough granite. The main church is a basic rectangle with a slated roof. The north aisle of St Machar's Cathedral was restored to Smith's designs in 1832 and the entrance lodges and gateway were re-built. A new session house was also added. He also undertook work at Skene Parish Church in 1840 and constructed the parish church in Longside in 1835. Country houses Smith undertook considerable work for the Fergusons at their Pitfour estate in Aberdeenshire. Starting in 1809, the third laird of Pitfour, James Ferguson commissioned him