MURTHLY CASTLE

Murthly, Perthshire

Once a Royal hunting lodge, now a private dwelling

Murthly Castle - Once a Royal hunting lodge

Murthly Castle stands at the very gateway to the Highlands, at the point where the River Tay breaks out of the constricting hills around Dunkeld and flows serenely on, via Kinclaven, to Perth and the sea. It began life as a royal hunting lodge in the reign of David I, who introduced fallow deer to the area for hunting purposes. These became an isolated and inbred population and their descendants have now, 850 years later, evolved into a characteristic distinct type, having, as a rule, a much darker colour than the English fallow.

After belonging to the families of Ireland and then Abercrombie of that Ilk, Murthly came into the possession of Sir William Stewart, known in the family as "Sir William the Ruthless", owing to his singular lack of ruth. He was born in 1566 and was brought up as the "whipping boy" with his exact contemporary, the little James VI. When the toddling monarch did something naughty (which was frequent), William Stewart got whipped for it. This circumstance had a permanent effect upon his character. The oldest parts of the castle date from the years just before 1400 and there have been about a dozen distinct building phases since that time. It survived the nineteenth century tolerably well, unlike many other buildings.

During the 1830s Sir John Drummond Stewart, 6th Baronet, began to build an altogether new castle nearby, designed by himself (he fancied himself as an architect) assisted by James Gillespie Graham. Fortunately, the enormous pile which resulted was never completed and the empty shell was finally removed so late as about 1950. The old and characterful castle was thus saved from being puled down. The grounds are laid out with many avenues and carriage drives and contain some of the most spectacular trees in Britain, especially American species brought back from that continent by a later Sir William, the 7th Baronet. The castle is private but tours can be arranged for parties: ring 01738-710397