Buchanan Castle
Encyclopedia
Buchanan Castle is a large house in Stirlingshire
, Scotland
, and serves today as the seat of the Clan Graham
.
Located west of the village of Drymen
, the house was built by the 4th Duke of Montrose
in 1854. The original structure, the ancestral seat of the Clan Buchanan
, had burned down in 1852, and Montrose commissioned William Burn
to replace it. Burn designed an extravagant manor in the Scottish baronial style
, enclosing an L-plan tower in a clutch of turret
s, bartizan
s and stepped gables. This new house would replace Mugdock Castle
as the official seat of the Clan Graham
.
Sold off in 1925, it briefly saw service as a hospital during the Second World War, during which one of the patients was Rudolf Hess
, and then as the home of the Army School of Education. Afterwards it was de-roofed to avoid paying rates on the building, leading to the inevitable structural deterioration.
Today it remains standing to full height but progressively engulfed by trees and plants, marooned on the perimeter of a golf course after which it is named, and surrounded incongruously by modern housing. A perimeter fence surrounds the structure itself.
There have been several attempts to turn the Castle into a hotel but these have all failed due to the castle being protected by The National Trust of Scotland as a historical site, it is also on the list as one of many historical sites that need restoration.
No Buchanan ever lived in this house, as it was built and occupied by the Duke of Montrose
, a Graham
title.
Stirlingshire
Stirlingshire or the County of Stirling is a registration county of Scotland, based around Stirling, the former county town. It borders Perthshire to the north, Clackmannanshire and West Lothian to the east, Lanarkshire to the south, and Dunbartonshire to the south-west.Until 1975 it was a county...
, 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...
, and serves today as the seat of the Clan Graham
Clan Graham
Clan Graham is a Scottish clan who had territories in both the Scottish Highlands and Lowlands.-Origins:Legend has it that the first Graham was one Gramus who forced a breach in the Roman Antonine wall known as Graeme's Dyke in 420 A.D...
.
Located west of the village of Drymen
Drymen
Drymen is a village in Stirling district in central Scotland. Drymen lies to the west of the Campsie Fells and enjoys views to Dumgoyne on the east and to Loch Lomond on the west...
, the house was built by the 4th Duke of Montrose
Duke of Montrose
The title of Duke of Montrose was created twice in the peerage of Scotland, firstly in 1488 for David Lindsay, 5th Earl of Crawford. It was forfeited and then returned, but only for the period of the holder's lifetime...
in 1854. The original structure, the ancestral seat of the Clan Buchanan
Clan Buchanan
Clan Buchanan is an Armigerous Scottish clan whose origins are said to lie in the 1225 grant of lands on the eastern shore of Loch Lomond to clergyman Sir Absalon of Buchanan by the Earl of Lennox.-Origins:...
, had burned down in 1852, and Montrose commissioned William Burn
William Burn
William Burn was a Scottish architect, pioneer of the Scottish Baronial style.He was born in Edinburgh, the son of architect Robert Burn, and educated at the Royal High School. After training with the architect of the British Museum, Sir Robert Smirke, he returned to Edinburgh in 1812...
to replace it. Burn designed an extravagant manor in the Scottish baronial style
Scottish baronial style
The Scottish Baronial style is part of the Gothic Revival architecture style, using stylistic elements and forms from castles, tower houses and mansions of the Gothic architecture period in Scotland, such as Craigievar Castle and Newark Castle, Port Glasgow. The revival style was popular from the...
, enclosing an L-plan tower in a clutch of turret
Turret
In architecture, a turret is a small tower that projects vertically from the wall of a building such as a medieval castle. Turrets were used to provide a projecting defensive position allowing covering fire to the adjacent wall in the days of military fortification...
s, bartizan
Bartizan
A bartizan or guerite is an overhanging, wall-mounted turret projecting from the walls of medieval fortifications from the early 14th century up to the 16th century. They protect a warder and enable him to see around him...
s and stepped gables. This new house would replace Mugdock Castle
Mugdock Castle
Mugdock Castle was the stronghold of the Clan Graham from the middle of the 13th century. Its ruins are located in Mugdock Country Park, just west of the village of Mugdock in the parish of Strathblane...
as the official seat of the Clan Graham
Clan Graham
Clan Graham is a Scottish clan who had territories in both the Scottish Highlands and Lowlands.-Origins:Legend has it that the first Graham was one Gramus who forced a breach in the Roman Antonine wall known as Graeme's Dyke in 420 A.D...
.
Sold off in 1925, it briefly saw service as a hospital during the Second World War, during which one of the patients was Rudolf Hess
Rudolf Hess
Rudolf Walter Richard Hess was a prominent Nazi politician who was Adolf Hitler's deputy in the Nazi Party during the 1930s and early 1940s...
, and then as the home of the Army School of Education. Afterwards it was de-roofed to avoid paying rates on the building, leading to the inevitable structural deterioration.
Today it remains standing to full height but progressively engulfed by trees and plants, marooned on the perimeter of a golf course after which it is named, and surrounded incongruously by modern housing. A perimeter fence surrounds the structure itself.
There have been several attempts to turn the Castle into a hotel but these have all failed due to the castle being protected by The National Trust of Scotland as a historical site, it is also on the list as one of many historical sites that need restoration.
No Buchanan ever lived in this house, as it was built and occupied by the Duke of Montrose
Duke of Montrose
The title of Duke of Montrose was created twice in the peerage of Scotland, firstly in 1488 for David Lindsay, 5th Earl of Crawford. It was forfeited and then returned, but only for the period of the holder's lifetime...
, a Graham
Graham
-People:*Graham , an English language masculine given name*Graham , an English language surname*Graeme , an English language surname*For people with "Graham" as a surname see Graham...
title.