Castle & Gardens

THE CASTLE & GARDENS OF DUNTREATH

  The lands and Barony of Duntreath were gifted in 1434 by King James 1 of Scotland to his sister Princess Mary Stewart (buried in Strathblane kirk) after her marriage to Sir William Edmonstone of Culloden and have remained in direct family ownership for an astonishing 578 years. Aside from several marital alliances with members of the Royal House of Scotland, the Edmonstones also married into the great houses of Stewart, Campbell, Graham, Kennedy, Cunningham and Lennox. During the centuries they held various posts under the Scottish crown, one died at Flodden, one was accused of high treason, one was a leading figure in the Presbyterian church, three were Members of Parliament, one an Admiral and two were senior members of the Courts of Queen Victoria and King Edward V11.

 

 

The present Sir Archibald inherited Duntreath aged 20 and took the bold decision to reduce what was a very large and uneconomical building by almost two thirds and modernised the house as it is today, keeping the original 15th century keep intact and separate. The gardens, lakes, waterfalls and most of the terracing and steps have been completely created and styled gradually over the past forty years by Archie and Julie, always bearing in mind planting which is easy to maintain and thrives in this climate. The overriding principle being to establish an 'open plan' garden taking advantage of the magnificent borrowed landscape and enjoyed from either the rooms in the house or the car.