Scotland: Blair Castle
Jan 5, 2020 17:12:23 #
Blair Castle stands in its grounds near the village of Blair Atholl in Perthshire in Scotland. It is the ancestral home of the Clan Murray, and was historically the seat of their chief, the Duke of Atholl, though the current (12th) Duke, Bruce Murray, lives in South Africa. The castle stands in Glen Garry, and commands a strategic position on the main route (now the A9 road) through the central Scottish Highlands.
Blair Castle is the ancient seat of the Dukes and Earls of Atholl and holds an important place in Scotland's history. Strategically located in the Strath of Garry, whoever held Blair Castle was gatekeeper to the Grampians and the most direct route north to Inverness. It was twice besieged, first by Cromwell's army in 1652 and then by the Jacobites in 1746, just before their final defeat at Culloden. Queen Victoria stayed at Blair Castle for three weeks in 1844, probably the start of her love affair with the Highlands. During her stay she granted the Duke and the Athollmen who had protected her the Queen's Colours. The result was the founding of the Atholl Highlanders as a private army, today the only one in Europe. Their role in modern times is purely ceremonial.
Blair Castle itself is an assembly of historical structures which have been added in a series of redevelopments around an original castle built here in 1269. The story goes that the Earl of Atholl returned from crusade to find that find that a neighbour, John Cumming (or Comyn) of Badenoch had simply built a large tower house on Atholl's lands. Atholl's complaint to King Alexander III, from which we know the story, apparently had little effect, because Cumming's Tower still stands as the oldest and tallest part of today's Blair Castle.
The original Earls of Atholl seem to have died out in the early 1300s. In 1457 King James II granted a revived Earldom of Atholl to his half brother, Sir John Stewart of Balvenie, and with it Blair Castle and its estates. In 1530 the 3rd Earl extended the castle by building a great hall over a series of vaulted rooms to the south of the original tower. Mary Queen of Scots stayed here in 1564. During her stay she took part in a hunt in Glen Tilt in which 360 deer and five wolves were killed.
The decades after 1850 saw a resurgence of interest in the creation, or recreation, of grand Scottish castles when the architectural style known as Scots Baronial swept the country. In 1863 the railway from Perth north to Inverness arrived in Blair Atholl, and associated land sales netted the 7th Duke of Atholl what was at the time the large sum of £33,000. Between 1869 and 1871 he used his windfall to employ the Edinburgh architect David Bryce, the master of Scots Baronial, to convert the Georgian mansion of the 1740s back into something much truer to its roots as a medieval castle.
We notice quite a difference between the interiors of Cawdor castle and Blair Castle with Blair featuring many more hunting trophies and arms than the more delicately decorated Cawdor. Please enjoy the images.
Mark
Blair Castle is the ancient seat of the Dukes and Earls of Atholl and holds an important place in Scotland's history. Strategically located in the Strath of Garry, whoever held Blair Castle was gatekeeper to the Grampians and the most direct route north to Inverness. It was twice besieged, first by Cromwell's army in 1652 and then by the Jacobites in 1746, just before their final defeat at Culloden. Queen Victoria stayed at Blair Castle for three weeks in 1844, probably the start of her love affair with the Highlands. During her stay she granted the Duke and the Athollmen who had protected her the Queen's Colours. The result was the founding of the Atholl Highlanders as a private army, today the only one in Europe. Their role in modern times is purely ceremonial.
Blair Castle itself is an assembly of historical structures which have been added in a series of redevelopments around an original castle built here in 1269. The story goes that the Earl of Atholl returned from crusade to find that find that a neighbour, John Cumming (or Comyn) of Badenoch had simply built a large tower house on Atholl's lands. Atholl's complaint to King Alexander III, from which we know the story, apparently had little effect, because Cumming's Tower still stands as the oldest and tallest part of today's Blair Castle.
The original Earls of Atholl seem to have died out in the early 1300s. In 1457 King James II granted a revived Earldom of Atholl to his half brother, Sir John Stewart of Balvenie, and with it Blair Castle and its estates. In 1530 the 3rd Earl extended the castle by building a great hall over a series of vaulted rooms to the south of the original tower. Mary Queen of Scots stayed here in 1564. During her stay she took part in a hunt in Glen Tilt in which 360 deer and five wolves were killed.
The decades after 1850 saw a resurgence of interest in the creation, or recreation, of grand Scottish castles when the architectural style known as Scots Baronial swept the country. In 1863 the railway from Perth north to Inverness arrived in Blair Atholl, and associated land sales netted the 7th Duke of Atholl what was at the time the large sum of £33,000. Between 1869 and 1871 he used his windfall to employ the Edinburgh architect David Bryce, the master of Scots Baronial, to convert the Georgian mansion of the 1740s back into something much truer to its roots as a medieval castle.
We notice quite a difference between the interiors of Cawdor castle and Blair Castle with Blair featuring many more hunting trophies and arms than the more delicately decorated Cawdor. Please enjoy the images.
Mark
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Jan 5, 2020 18:13:56 #
mas24
Loc: Southern CA
Those are some great photos. And the historical story to go along with them. I know a little about Oliver Cromwell. The man who took down a King. He had wanted to come to the New World (America). But, he had his plate full, in reforming the political climate, in his home country.
Jan 5, 2020 18:21:42 #
mas24 wrote:
Those are some great photos. And the historical story to go along with them. I know a little about Oliver Cromwell. The man who took down a King. He had wanted to come to the New World (America). But, he had his plate full, in reforming the political climate, in his home country.
Thanks for commenting MAS. Lucky he didn't come here!
Jan 5, 2020 19:22:41 #
Outstanding set, Mark. Beautiful images of a beautiful place. Thanks for the narrative, also.
Jan 5, 2020 19:23:00 #
Jan 5, 2020 19:39:27 #
kpmac wrote:
Outstanding set, Mark. Beautiful images of a beautiful place. Thanks for the narrative, also.
Thanks so much for looking and for your kind comments Ken.
Jan 5, 2020 19:39:59 #
Cwilson341 wrote:
Great series! Well done.
Thanks so much Carol. I appreciate!
Jan 5, 2020 19:45:53 #
Jan 5, 2020 19:50:12 #
Interesting and enjoyable, as usual, Mark. The history in the British Isles is almost spellbinding with all the turmoil, war's and skirmishes over centuries...makes the old TV series, Dallas, pale by comparison!! 
Jan 5, 2020 19:50:26 #
Jan 5, 2020 23:49:47 #
mas24 wrote:
Those are some great photos. And the historical story to go along with them. I know a little about Oliver Cromwell. The man who took down a King. He had wanted to come to the New World (America). But, he had his plate full, in reforming the political climate, in his home country.
Oliver Cromwell's army invaded Ireland in 1649 and proceeded immediately to slaughter the native population. Estimates range from a minimum of 10% and up to 50% of the Catholic population were butchered and most of the rest were driven out of the eastern half of the country to the poorer land in the West. 'To hell or to Connaught' was a battle cry. One of his scouts reported to him that the Burren in the West had 'Neither tree to hang a man, nor water to drown him, nor soil to bury him.
Jan 6, 2020 03:12:45 #
Excellent set Mark.We where there earlier this year it's an amazing place to visit.
Jan 6, 2020 05:34:24 #
Jan 6, 2020 05:53:18 #
Nice set and nice history lesson. Have been to Scotland a couple of times and always enjoy things such as this.
I think I will toast you tonight with a bit of Glenlivet 25!
Well done.
I think I will toast you tonight with a bit of Glenlivet 25!
Well done.
Jan 6, 2020 07:06:54 #
chippy65
Loc: Cambridge
Oliver Cromwell and others was responsible for the Execution of King Charles 1 .......who, in the opinion of many asked for all he got !
The reign of Oliver Cromwell was so depressingly awful, with the closure of theatres and generally miserable imposed conditions that lead
to the investiture of Charles 2, who was not much better than his father, but as he was kept satisfied with palaces and horse racing did not
conduct himself in such a manner as to cause a Civil War. Monarchy was thought to be a better alternative than Dictatorship
The reign of Oliver Cromwell was so depressingly awful, with the closure of theatres and generally miserable imposed conditions that lead
to the investiture of Charles 2, who was not much better than his father, but as he was kept satisfied with palaces and horse racing did not
conduct himself in such a manner as to cause a Civil War. Monarchy was thought to be a better alternative than Dictatorship
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