The flourish of pepperpots, crowsteps and crenellated towers is deceptive, for this is a castle re-created. The Baronial detail belongs to David Bryce’s Victorian remodelling, yet the main range has Georgian sash windows and its walls are clearly older. The long, low south wing suggests 19th-century domestic offices, but things are never quite what they seem at Blair. Behind the uniform white harl lies a building with a history as complex and dramatic as that of the earls, marquesses and dukes of Atholl, who have been connected to the area since the 12th century.
The earliest part of the castle is named after Sir John Comyn (or Cumming), lord of Badenoch, who trespassed onto the territory of the Pictish earldom and, by 1269, had erected a small stone tower. The property was later returned, but, following the Wars of Independence, it came into royal ownership. The first in the present line was Sir John Stewart of Balvenie, half brother of James II, who was granted the earldom in 1457.
In about 1529, the year in which the 3rd Earl staged a great deer drive in honour of James V, whom he entertained in a ‘hunting sete’ of woven birch hung with tapestries, he raised the tower to five storeys and built a three-storey hall range. In 1595, the earldom reverted to the Crown, but was revived in 1629 in favour of John Murray of Tullibardine, a descendant through the female line. The first of the Murray Earls of Atholl, John built a stair tower in the angle between Cumming’s Tower and the hall and began an extension, but the Civil War intervened and work was abandoned.
Denne historien er fra March 11, 2020-utgaven av Country Life UK.
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Denne historien er fra March 11, 2020-utgaven av Country Life UK.
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Kitchen garden cook - Apples
'Sweet and crisp, apples are the epitome of autumn flavour'
The original Mr Rochester
Three classic houses in North Yorkshire have come to the market; the owner of one inspired Charlotte Brontë to write Jane Eyre
Get it write
Desks, once akin to instruments of torture for scribes, have become cherished repositories of memories and secrets. Matthew Dennison charts their evolution
'Sloes hath ben my food'
A possible paint for the Picts and a definite culprit in tea fraud, the cheek-suckingly sour sloe's spiritual home is indisputably in gin, says John Wright
Souvenirs of greatness
FOR many years, some large boxes have been stored and forgotten in the dark recesses of the garage. Unpacked last week, the contents turned out to be pots: some, perhaps, nearing a century old—dense terracotta, of interesting provenance.
Plants for plants' sake
The garden at Hergest Croft, Herefordshire The home of Edward Banks The Banks family is synonymous with an extraordinary collection of trees and shrubs, many of which are presents from distinguished friends, garnered over two centuries. Be prepared to be amazed, says Charles Quest-Ritson
Capturing the castle
Seventy years after Christian Dior’s last fashion show in Scotland, the brand returned under creative director Maria Grazia Chiuri for a celebratory event honouring local craftsmanship, the beauty of the land and the Auld Alliance, explains Kim Parker
Nature's own cathedral
Our tallest native tree 'most lovely of all', the stately beech creates a shaded environment that few plants can survive. John Lewis-Stempel ventures into the enchanted woods
All that money could buy
A new book explores the lost riches of London's grand houses. Its author, Steven Brindle, looks at the residences of plutocrats built by the nouveaux riches of the late-Victorian and Edwardian ages
In with the old
Diamonds are meant to sparkle in candlelight, but many now gather dust in jewellery boxes. To wear them today, we may need to reimagine them, as Hetty Lintell discovers with her grandmother's jewellery
