Janet Brennan-Inglis - Scotlands Castles: Rescued, Rebuilt and Reoccupied

Dedicated to the memory of
Professor Charles McKean,
a kind and generous scholar

CONTENTS

D r Janet Brennan-Inglis bought Barholm Castle in Galloway in 1999, along with her husband John, and they began the long process of restoring it from a ruined shell surrounded by thistles and hogweed to a comfortable home with a beautiful garden. Since completing the restoration in 2006 Janet has been researching and photographing the other restored castles of Scotland, and also those that are still ruined and in need of rescue before it is too late. She was awarded a doctorate for her research in 2011.

Janet is a lecturer for NADFAS and lectures on Scottish castles and heritage throughout the UK. She is Chair of the Scottish Castles Association, secretary of the National Trust for Scotland Galloway Members Group, special interest organiser for NADFAS south-west Scotland branch, county organiser of Scotlands Gardens and is an active member of the Galloway Preservation Society.

F or proofreading, helpful suggestions and general support, my grateful thanks go to: Dr John Brennan, my dear husband and partner in the restoration of Barholm Castle; Alastair Bain, treasurer of the SCA; John Buchanan-Smith, owner of Newmilns Tower; Michael Davis, historian and author; Dr David and Janet Hannay, stewards of Sorbie Castle; Dr John and Hazel Hunter, owners of Ochiltree Castle; Brian McGarrigle, council member of SCA. Heartfelt thanks to the many castle owners and restorers who have welcomed me to their homes, allowing me to take photographs with access to private spaces, and answering endless questions. All images are the authors own unless credited otherwise.

For generous assistance with information, visits, photographs, etc., I am indebted to: Geoffrey and Venetia Anderson, owners and restorers of Lochnaw Castle; Sue and Steve Atterton, owners of Ravenstone Castle; Ann and Anthony Bartleet, owners of Craigcaffie Castle; David Bertie, owner of the Old Place of Mochrum; Sue and Ian Brash, owners of Faside Castle; Andrew Briggs, artist; James Brown, owner of Baltersan; Jeffrey and Janet Burn, owners and restorers of Buittle Tower; Buffy Carson and her late husband, Graham, restorers of Rusco Tower; Robert Clow, restorer of Aiket Castle, and editor of Restoring Scotlands Castles , a source of much material; Dr John and Kay Coyne, owners and restorers of Tilquhillie Castle; Fay Cowan, owner and restorer of Glenapp Castle; Marybelle Drummond, daughter-in-law of the Earl of Perth, who restored Stobhall Castle; Mark Ellington, owner and restorer of Towie Barclay; Gavin Farquharson, owner of Ecclesgreig Castle; Agatha Ann Graves, historian of Castle Wigg; Nicholas Groves-Raines, architect and restorer of Liberton House; George and Ann Jamieson, owners and restorers of Cramond Tower; Peter and Lesley Kormylo, restorers of Abbots Tower; Sandy and Moira Leask, owners and restorers of Old Sauchie; Phill Levey, owner and builder of Craigietocher; Mats Ljungberg, photographer; John and Mary McMurtrie, owners of Balbithan; Roger Masterton at Celtic Castles; Richard Paxman, aka Arjayempee on Flickr, castle photographer; Lachlan Rhodes, restorer of Terpersie Castle; Andy Ritchie, owner of Brackenhill and Lochhouse towers; Lady Steel, restorer of Aikwood Tower; Simpson and Brown Architects, for permission to reprint drawings; Frans Smoor, architect and restorer of Gagie House; Leith and Rachel Stuart, owners of Blackhall Manor; Paul and Josine Veenhuijzen, owners of Earlshall Castle.

The architects, artists, authors, campaigners, organisations, owners and restorers who feature in this book:

Al-Fayed, Mohammed

Allward, Stewart

Atterton, Sue and Steve

Bailey, Helen

Balgonie, Laird and Younger

Banister, John

Begg, Ian

Binney, Marcus

Boswell, Harry

Brash, Ian

Brennan, John and Janet

Briggs, Andrew

Brown, James

Browne, Nicholas

Bryce, David

Buchanan-Smith, John

Burn, Jeffrey and Janet

Burn, William

Carson, Buffy and Graham

Charles, Prince of Wales

Clarke, George

Clarke, Peter and Gillian

Clarke, Tom and Olive

Clow, Robert

Cole, Stephen

Corbett, Judy

Cormack, Patrick

Cornforth, John

Cowan, Fay and Graham

Coyne, John and Kay

Davey, Andrew

Davis, Michael

De la Lanne-Mirrlees, Robin

Dewar, Bill and Ann

Dobson, Perle and Sam

Donnachie, Dave

Drummond, Peter

Ellington, Marc

Erbe, Tim

Fairbairn, Nicholas

Farquharson, Gavin

Friends of Portencross Castle

Gifford, John

Gillies, Peter

Gordon Lennox, George

Gordon, Granville (Marquis of Huntly)

Gray, Nick and Amanda

Grossart, Angus

Groves-Raines, Nicholas

Guyot, Michel

Hamlyn, Helen

Hannay, David

Harper, Alastair

Harris, John

Hewkin, Peter

Hope Dickson, Archibald

Hutton, David

Irons, Jeremy

Jamieson, Eric and George

Johnstone, David

Jokilehto, Jukka

Kelsall, Moultrie

Koerner, Lisbet

Kormylo, Peter and Lesley

Laing, Gerald

Laird, Michael

Landmark Trust

Leask, Sandy and Moira

Leslie, David

Level, Phill

Lindsay, Ian

Lindsay, Maurice

Lorimer, Patrick

Lorimer, Robert

Lumsden, David

MacDougall, Hope

MacGibbon, David

MacInnes, Ranald

Maclean, Fitzroy

Maclean-Bristol, Nicholas

Macneil, Robert

Maitland-Carew, Gerald

Marie, Queen of Romania

Martin, Kit

Maxwell-Stewart, Catherine

McKean, Charles

McMurtrie, Mary

Merredew, Jennifer

Millar, Gordon

Miller, Christian

Morris, William

Murdoch, Ken and Anna

Nairn, Richard and Malin

Newall, Walter

Nicholsby, Geoffrey

Oliphant, Roderick

Paolozzi, Eduardo

Parris, Matthew

Paterson, George

Pearson, David

Perth, David and Nancy

Plevey, Phill

Pooley, Robert

Ptolomey, Tony

Queen Elizabeth, the Queen Mother

Rasmussen, Michael

Rhodes, John

Rhodes, Lachlan

Ritchie, Andy

Ross, Thomas

Rowan, Mike

Roy, James Charles

Russell, Michael

Safdie, Moshie

Salter, Mike

Saltire Society

SAVE Britains Heritage

Scottish Castles Association

Scottish Civic Trust

Scott-Moncrieff, George

Scott-Plummer, Alexa

Sempill-Forbes, Margaret

Shaw, Francis

Simpson, Ian

Simpson, James

Smoor, Francis

Spence, Basil

Spence, Roy

Spens, Michael

Steel, David and Judy

Stenhouse, Rosamond

Stewart, Lachlan and Annie

Strachan, Alex

Strong, Roy

Stuart, Charles and Elizabeth

Stuart, Leith and Rachel

Taylor, Robert

Thomas, William

Tranter, Nigel

Turnbull, Nigel

Tweedy Savage, Ann

Udny-Hamilton, Margaret

Vivat Trust

Walker, David

Wemyss, Charles

Wharton, Ric

Wontner, Hugh

Wood, Colin

Wood, Crichton

Yeats, William Butler

Yorke, Stephen

Ziolkowski, Theodore

Is there any other building type that has the same power to attract fascination, interest and even devotion in people of all ages, cultures and classes, and the same symbolic representation of power and romance? The romantic appeal of castellated architecture can be traced in art and literature for centuries up to the present day, from Arthurian legends through Sir Walter Scotts gothic novels to the setting of the Harry Potter books in magnificent Hogwarts. Representations of the castle in novels, glossy periodicals, television programmes, the Internet, video games and films provide a window into popular culture and a reflection of the excitement and fantasies that the buildings inspire. Scholars, too, find castles seductively attractive, and have even appropriated a new term to cover their field of study: castellology. Of all architectural forms, the castle is surely the most written about and loved. Edinburgh Castle, in a country of only 5 million inhabitants, receives over 1 million visitors every year.