Drummond Castle
Encyclopedia
Perthshire
Perthshire, officially the County of Perth , is a registration county in central Scotland. It extends from Strathmore in the east, to the Pass of Drumochter in the north, Rannoch Moor and Ben Lui in the west, and Aberfoyle in the south...
, Scotland
Scotland
Scotland is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Occupying the northern third of the island of Great Britain, it shares a border with England to the south and is bounded by the North Sea to the east, the Atlantic Ocean to the north and west, and the North Channel and Irish Sea to the...
. The castle is best known for its gardens, described by Historic Scotland
Historic Scotland
Historic Scotland is an executive agency of the Scottish Government, responsible for historic monuments in Scotland.-Role:As its website states:...
as "the best example of formal terraced gardens in Scotland." It is situated in Muthill
Muthill
Muthill, pronounced , is a village in Perth and Kinross, Perthshire, Scotland. It lies on the former railway line connecting Perth and Crieff, 3 miles south of Crieff. The name possibly derives from Moot hill, a place of judgement....
parish, 4 kilometres (2.5 mi) south of Crieff
Crieff
Crieff is a market town in Perth and Kinross, Scotland. It lies on the A85 road between Perth and Crianlarich and also lies on the A822 between Greenloaning and Aberfeldy. The A822 joins onto the A823 which leads to Dunfermline....
. The castle comprises a tower house built in the late 15th century, and a 17th-century mansion, both of which were rebuilt in Victorian
Victorian era
The Victorian era of British history was the period of Queen Victoria's reign from 20 June 1837 until her death on 22 January 1901. It was a long period of peace, prosperity, refined sensibilities and national self-confidence...
times. The gardens date to the 1630s, although they too were restructured in the 19th century. The formal gardens are protected as a category A listed building, and are including on the Inventory of Gardens and Designed Landscapes in Scotland
Inventory of Gardens and Designed Landscapes in Scotland
The Inventory of Gardens and Designed Landscapes in Scotland is a listing of gardens and designed landscapes of national artistic and/or historical significance, in Scotland. The Inventory was originally compiled in 1987, although it is a continually evolving list...
. The tower house and mansion are both category B listed.
History
The lands of Drummond were the property of the DrummondClan Drummond
Clan Drummond is a Scottish clan deriving its name from the parish of Drymen, in what was western Stirlingshire. Legend gives Maurice of Hungary as founder of the clan...
family from the 14th century, and the original tower house was built over several years by John Drummond, 1st Lord Drummond of Cargill
Earl of Perth
The title Earl of Perth was created in the Peerage of Scotland in 1605 for James Drummond, 4th Lord Drummond.The Drummond family claim descent from Maurice, son of George, a younger son of King Andrew I of Hungary...
, from about 1490. In 1605 the 4th Lord Drummond was created Earl of Perth
Earl of Perth
The title Earl of Perth was created in the Peerage of Scotland in 1605 for James Drummond, 4th Lord Drummond.The Drummond family claim descent from Maurice, son of George, a younger son of King Andrew I of Hungary...
, and added to the castle. John Drummond, 2nd Earl of Perth
John Drummond, 2nd Earl of Perth
-Family and titles:Drummond was the son of Patrick Drummond, 3rd Lord Drummond and Lady Elizabeth Lindsay. He married Jean Kerr, daughter of Sir Robert Kerr, 1st Earl of Roxburghe and Mary Maitland, on 28 August 1613...
, laid out the first terraced garden around the castle in the 1630s.
The castle was sacked by the army of Oliver Cromwell
Oliver Cromwell
Oliver Cromwell was an English military and political leader who overthrew the English monarchy and temporarily turned England into a republican Commonwealth, and served as Lord Protector of England, Scotland, and Ireland....
in 1653, during the Wars of the Three Kingdoms. James Drummond, 4th Earl of Perth
James Drummond, 4th Earl of Perth
James Drummond, 1st Duke of Perth KT PC , also 4th Earl of Perth and 7th Lord Drummond, was a Scottish statesman, and Jacobite.-Family:...
was Lord Chancellor of Scotland
Lord Chancellor of Scotland
The Lord Chancellor of Scotland was a Great Officer of State in pre-Union Scotland.Holders of the office are known from 1123 onwards, but its duties were occasionally performed by an official of lower status with the title of Keeper of the Great Seal...
under King James VII
James II of England
James II & VII was King of England and King of Ireland as James II and King of Scotland as James VII, from 6 February 1685. He was the last Catholic monarch to reign over the Kingdoms of England, Scotland, and Ireland...
. He began the mansion house in 1689, before being imprisoned following the deposition of King James by William of Orange
William of Orange
William of Orange usually refers to either:*William the Silent, William I, , Prince of Orange, founder of the House Orange-Nassau and the Netherlands as a state...
. He later fled to the exiled Jacobite
Jacobitism
Jacobitism was the political movement in Britain dedicated to the restoration of the Stuart kings to the thrones of England, Scotland, later the Kingdom of Great Britain, and the Kingdom of Ireland...
court in France. The Drummonds continued to support the Jacobite cause in the uprisings of 1715 and 1745. The family retained control of the estate until 1750 when the Drummond properties were declared forfeit and seized by the state. The estate was managed by the Commissioners for Forfeited Estates until 1784, when it was sold to Captain James Drummond
James Drummond, 1st Baron Perth
James Drummond, 1st Baron Perth was a Scottish landowner and peer.-Ancestry:He was born at Lundin in Fife as James Lundin. The Lundins descended from Thomas de Lundin, a natural son of King William the Lion...
. He began a number of improvements that were continued by his daughter Sarah and her husband Peter Drummond-Burrell, 22nd Baron Willoughby de Eresby
Peter Drummond-Burrell, 22nd Baron Willoughby de Eresby
Peter Robert Drummond-Burrell, 2nd Baron Gwydyr, 22nd Baron Willoughby de Eresby PC was a British nobleman. He was the son of Peter Burrell, 1st Baron Gwydyr and Priscilla Bertie, 21st Baroness Willoughby de Eresby .From 1812 until 1820, he was Member of Parliament for Boston in Lincolnshire...
(1782–1865). These included the formal gardens and terraces in the 1830s. Queen Victoria visited the gardens in 1842.
Drummond Castle passed to Clementina Drummond-Willoughby, 24th Baroness Willoughby de Eresby
Clementina Drummond-Willoughby, 24th Baroness Willoughby de Eresby
Clementina Elizabeth Drummond-Willoughby, 24th Baroness Willoughby de Eresby was a suo jure British baroness. She was the daughter of Peter Robert Drummond-Burrell, 22nd Baron Willoughby de Eresby and Sarah Clementina, née Drummond...
(1809–1888), and then to her son, Gilbert Heathcote-Drummond-Willoughby, 1st Earl of Ancaster
Gilbert Heathcote-Drummond-Willoughby, 1st Earl of Ancaster
Sir Gilbert Henry Heathcote-Drummond-Willoughby, 6th Baronet, 1st Earl of Ancaster PC , known as 2nd Baron Aveland from 1867 to 1888 and as 25th Baron Willoughby de Eresby from 1888 to 1892, was a British Liberal politician and court official.Born Gilbert Henry Heathcote, he was the son of Gilbert...
(1830–1910). The upper stories of the tower house were rebuilt and heightened in pseudo-medieval style in 1842–53. The mansion was renovated in 1878, to designs by George Turnbull Ewing. The 3rd Earl of Ancaster and his wife, Nancy Astor, replanted the gardens in the 1950s. The castle is now the seat of the 28th Baroness Willoughby de Eresby
Jane Heathcote-Drummond-Willoughby, 28th Baroness Willoughby de Eresby
Nancy Jane Marie Heathcote-Drummond-Willoughby, 28th Baroness Willoughby de Eresby PC is the daughter of the late Gilbert James Heathcote-Drummond-Willoughby, 3rd Earl of Ancaster and Nancy née Astor....
.
Description
The castle is set on part of a prominent spine of rock known as the Gask Ridge, a geographical feature that stretches several kilometres across PerthshirePerthshire
Perthshire, officially the County of Perth , is a registration county in central Scotland. It extends from Strathmore in the east, to the Pass of Drumochter in the north, Rannoch Moor and Ben Lui in the west, and Aberfoyle in the south...
, but is particularly prominent and steep-sided at the site of the castle. The tower house, or keep
Keep
A keep is a type of fortified tower built within castles during the Middle Ages by European nobility. Scholars have debated the scope of the word keep, but usually consider it to refer to large towers in castles that were fortified residences, used as a refuge of last resort should the rest of the...
, is no longer used as a dwelling. It is adjoined by a later, but better preserved, gatehouse (built 1629–30). Stretching between the tower house and the edge of the ridge, it was originally intended to control access to the courtyard behind, which has a fine view over the formal gardens. To the south of the castle on its rocky outcrop are the formal gardens.
The buildings and gardens of Drummond Castle featured as backdrops in the 1995 film Rob Roy
Rob Roy (film)
Rob Roy is a 1995 historical drama film directed by Michael Caton-Jones. Liam Neeson stars as Robert Roy MacGregor, an 18th century Scottish historical figure who battles with feudal landowners in the Scottish Highlands. Jessica Lange, John Hurt, Tim Roth, Eric Stoltz, and Jason Flemyng also star...
.