Brechin Castle is a castle in Brechin, Angus, Scotland. The castle was constructed in stone during the 13th century. Most of the current building dates to the early 18th century, when extensive reconstruction was carried out by architect Alexander Edward for James Maule, 4th Earl of Panmure, between approximately 1696 and 1709. [1] The castle is a 37,748 square feet (3,506.9 m2) Category A listed building [2] and the grounds are included in the Inventory of Gardens and Designed Landscapes in Scotland. [3]
The grounds have been in the Ramsay family since the 12th century. In 1782, under the terms of a Maule will, William Ramsay adopted the name William Ramsay Maule, thereafter uniting the family names. Ramsay-Maule appears to have remodelled the frontage to a fashionable Georgian style at this time.
The seat of the Ramsay clan was moved from Dalhousie Castle in Midlothian to Brechin Castle in the early 20th century. The castle is the home of the Earl of Dalhousie, the clan chieftain of Clan Maule of Panmure in Angus, and Clan Ramsay of Dalhousie.
Marie Stewart, Countess of Mar entertained her brother-in-law, the Earl of Huntly at Brechin in September 1593. [4] She hosted John Taylor the Water Poet, and King James on his return to Scotland in 1617. She had inventories made of the contents and furnishings of Brechin Castle in 1611 and 1622. [5] Brechin Castle has been a stronghold of the Ramsay family since around 1645. [6]
The estate consisted of approximately 150,000 acres (61,000 ha) at its height and is now 55,000 acres (22,000 ha). The formal gardens date to the early 18th century. Agriculture and forestry largely dominate the estate grounds, but tourists can stay at several guest lodges on the property.
The castle has been Category A Listed since 1971. The summary states that the battlemented flank walls were added in the mid-1800s, the building was remodelled 1854 and that a tower was added in 1863. Other modifications were also made in that era. [2]
A 1990s addition to the grounds is Brechin Castle Centre, described as a "Country Park with Cafe and Garden Centre, plus loads of kids activities in the Park and in a Yard Play Area." [7] As of 2018 the castle and gardens were open to the public in June/July. [8]
On September 11, 2022, the royal cortège carrying the body of Queen Elizabeth II from Balmoral Castle to the Palace of Holyroodhouse in Edinburgh made a private, 45 minute stop at Brechin Castle to allow the drivers and participants to rest. [9]
In 2019, the building and 70-acre grounds of Brechin Castle were put up for sale, with James Ramsay, 17th Earl of Dalhousie and chief of Clan Ramsay citing prohibitive upkeep costs as the motivating factor. [10] A news report stated that the castle has eight reception rooms, 16 bedrooms and 10 bathrooms. [11] [12]
Another news report made this statement: "Of the early medieval building little evidence remains. The oldest part of the current castle is the kitchen block, where can be seen a stone bearing the date 1703, but in 1711 major renovations were made which gave the building its current form". Edzell and Invermark and the family businesses – including Brechin Castle Garden Centre and Peggy Scott’s – were not being sold. [13]
Brechin is a town and former royal burgh in Angus, Scotland. Traditionally Brechin was described as a city because of its cathedral and its status as the seat of a pre-Reformation Roman Catholic diocese, but that status has not been officially recognised in the modern era.
Earl of Dalhousie, in the County of Midlothian, is a title in the Peerage of Scotland, held by the Chief of Clan Ramsay.
Kildrummy Castle is a ruined castle near Kildrummy, in Aberdeenshire, Scotland. Though ruined, it is one of the most extensive castles dating from the 13th century to survive in eastern Scotland, and was the seat of the Earls of Mar. It is owned today by Historic Environment Scotland and is open to the public as a scheduled ancient monument with gardens that are included in the Inventory of Gardens and Designed Landscapes in Scotland.
Dalhousie Castle is a castle in Cockpen, Midlothian, Scotland. Dalhousie Castle is situated near the town of Bonnyrigg, 8 miles (13 km) south of Edinburgh. The castle was the seat of the Earls of Dalhousie, the chieftains of Clan Ramsay.
Earl of Panmure was a title in the Peerage of Scotland. It was created in 1646 for Sir Patrick Maule, a former Gentleman of the Bedchamber to James VI and loyal follower of Charles I. He was made Lord Brechin and Navar at the same time, also in the Peerage of Scotland. Both titles were forfeit by the attainder of the 4th Earl in 1716 on account of his participation in the Jacobite rising of 1715. The heirs apparent to the Earldom were styled Lord Maule. The seat of the Earldom was Panmure House, built in the 17th century near Monikie, Angus.
Fox Maule-Ramsay, 11th Earl of Dalhousie,, known as Fox Maule before 1852, as The Lord Panmure between 1852 and 1860, was a British politician.
Clan Ramsay is a Lowland Scottish clan.
William Ramsay Maule, 1st Baron Panmure of Brechin and Navar was a Scottish landowner and politician.
Edzell Castle is a ruined 16th-century castle, with an early-17th-century walled garden. It is located close to Edzell, and is around 5 miles (8 km) north of Brechin, in Angus, Scotland. Edzell Castle was begun around 1520 by David Lindsay, 9th Earl of Crawford, and expanded by his son, Sir David Lindsay, Lord Edzell, who also laid out the garden in 1604. The castle saw little military action, and was, in its design, construction and use, more of a country house than a defensive structure. It was briefly occupied by English troops during Oliver Cromwell's invasion of Scotland in 1651. In 1715 it was sold by the Lindsay family, and eventually came into the ownership of the Earl of Dalhousie. It was given into state care in the 1930s, and is now a visitor attraction run by Historic Environment Scotland. The castle consists of the original tower house and building ranges around a courtyard. The adjacent Renaissance walled garden, incorporating intricate relief carvings, is unique in Scotland. It was replanted in the 1930s, and is considered to have links to esoteric traditions, including Rosicrucianism and Freemasonry.
Baron Panmure, of Brechin and Navar in the County of Forfar, was a title in the Peerage of the United Kingdom. The barony was created on 10 September 1831 for the Hon. William Maule, longtime Member of Parliament for Forfar. On the death of William Ramsay in 1852 the title passed to his eldest son Fox Maule-Ramsay, and became extinct in 1874 on his death.
General William Maule, 1st Earl Panmure (1700–1782) was a Scottish soldier and politician who sat in the House of Commons for 47 years from 1735 to 1782.
Alexander Edward was a priest of the Scottish Episcopal Church who later became a draughtsman, architect and landscape designer. He was a stylistic follower of Sir William Bruce, and planned several gardens in the grand French axial manner.
Panmure House was a 17th-century country house in the Parish of Panbride, Angus, Scotland, 4 miles (6 km) to the north of Carnoustie. It was the seat of the Earl of Panmure. It was rebuilt in the 19th century, and demolished in 1955.
The Camus Cross, otherwise known as the Camuston or Camustane Cross, is an Early Medieval Scottish standing stone on the Panmure Estate near Carnoustie in Angus, Scotland. First recorded in the 15th century in a legal document describing the boundaries between Camuston and the barony of Downie, and described in the 17th century by Robert Maule, it is a freestanding cross, rare in Eastern Scotland.
James Hubert Ramsay, 17th Earl of Dalhousie,, styled Lord Ramsay between 1950 and 1999, is a Scottish peer, courtier and landowner. He is chief of Clan Ramsay and Deputy Captain General of the King's Body Guard for Scotland. In that role, he took part in the Royal Procession at the Coronation of Charles III and Camilla.
Salmond's Muir is a hamlet in the council area of Angus, Scotland. It is situated 2 miles (3 km) north-east of Carnoustie and 4 miles (6 km) west of Arbroath on the A92 road. The junction of the A92 at Salmond's Muir forms the main route to the villages of Panbride, East Haven, Balmirmer and Scryne.
Sir Peter Maule was the eldest son of Richard Maule of Fowlis. He married Christina de Valognes, daughter and heiress of William de Valognes around 1224, passing the baronies of Panmure and Benvie into the Maule family.
Panmure Castle was a castle that was located to the north-west of Muirdrum, Angus, Scotland.
Thomas Maule, 3rd Baron of Panmure and Benvie, was the eldest son of Sir Thomas Maule, Baron of Panmure and Benvie, who was killed at the Battle of Harlaw in 1411 and Elizabeth Gray of Fowlis. Thomas succeeded as Baron on his father's death while still a child, and his affairs were administered by his grandfather, Sir Andrew Gray of Fowlis, until he came of age.
Kinnaird Castle is a 15th-century castle near Brechin in Angus, Scotland. The castle has been home to the Carnegie family, the Earls of Southesk, for more than 600 years. It is a Category B listed building and the grounds are included in Inventory of Gardens and Designed Landscapes in Scotland.