Drummond Castle

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Drummond Castle and gardens.

Drummond Castle is a little south of Crieff, Perthshire, Scotland. The oldest part is a tower-house built over several years by Sir John Drummond of Cargill, following the issue of a royal warrant by King James III in 1491. It is set on part of a prominent spine of rock known as the Gask Ridge, a geographical feature which stretches several kilometres across Perthshire, but is particularly prominent and steep-sided at the site of the castle. The original tower was ruined after Cromwell's siege in 1653. The upper stories were rebuilt (and heightened) in pseudo-medieval syle in 1842-53, but the structure is no longer used as a dwelling.

The keep 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 (see below). A large mansion was added on the other side of the courtyard in the 1690s. This was modernised in late 18th century and Victorian times. The Castle is now the seat of the Barony of Willoughby de Eresby, while the Drummonds, Earls of Perth, have their house at Stobhall, north-east of Perth. To the south of the Castle on its rocky outcrop is one of Scotland's finest formal garden's, laid out in Italian Renaissance style from 1828-1838 by Charles Barry (open to the public in summer; entrance charge).

The buildings and gardens of Drummond Castle featured as backdrops in the film Rob Roy (1995).