The Castle Tour – Episode 5

Motto: “Flourishing both in sunshine and in shade”

William de Irwyn was Robert the Bruce’s armour bearer and secretary. Close allies of the Bruce, the Irvines fought alongside him on many campaigns against the English. After one battle the Bruce fled with a few aides. Exhausted and riding hard, he took rest under a holly tree while William Irvine kept watch. This story was the origin of the Irvines of Drum Castles coat of arms with three sprigs of holly. William also fought alongside the Bruce at the Battle of Bannockburn in June 1314 and for his continued loyal service the King granted him Castle Drum and all it’s grounds in 1325. The Irvines backed the losing side in both the 1715 and 1745 Jacobite uprisings, but despite this they bounced back and were able to develop Castle Drum further during the 1800s. It remained the seat of the chief of Clan Irvine for over 650 years until 1975 when the property was given to the Scottish Trust. 

Castle Drum

The original 13th-century tower of Drum Castle is believed to be one of the three oldest, and notably unaltered, tower houses in Scotland.

It is said that the house is riddled with secret rooms. One was recently discovered behind the bookcase on the right.

The Archangel Gabriel by Hugh Irvine. Some say it was a self portrait.

The five lions on the mantle are each different. One for each child to hang a Christmas stocking.

These aren’t weird torture devices. They’re cheese presses.

The View From The Tower

Mary Irvine, Daughter of Alexander Irvine, the 16th Laird of Drum by Henry Raeburn

Mary Irvine

Mary Irvine managed the entire estate during the Jacobite uprisings and is considered to have been one of the best at it.

The Laird of Drum escaped capture after the Battle of Culloden in 1746 and returned to Castle Drum where Mary hide him in a secret room for over three years, during which time English forces searched the property repeatedly.

By the early 1700’s virtually all the great oak trees that graced the estate had been chopped down for ship building and military needs. Mary replanted them all resulting in the oak forest we see today. She insisted, “they are not just trees, they are our future.”

Henry Quentin Forbes Irvine (1908–1975), 24th Laird of Drum

Henry Quentin Irvine, fought with the King’s African Rifles. Some ten years before his death, this popular 24th laird entered into an agreement with The National Trust for Scotland so that Drum and its 411 acres could be bequeathed to the trust and held for the benefit of the nation.

Covenanting Rebellion

Drum was attacked and sacked three times during the Covenanting Rebellion, probably one the most significant events in the history of the British Isles, with ramifications that still reverberate today. 

On February 28, 1638 a large group gathered on the grounds of Greyfriars Kirk in Edinburgh to adopt a document that stood against “superstitious and papistical rites” and was an oath to maintain the reformed religion, i.e. Protestants vs. Catholics. This act would, over time, help bring about the Wars of the Three Kingdoms, the English Civil War, the Scottish Civil War and the Irish Confederate Wars.

The Signing of the National Covenant in Greyfriars Kirkyard, by William Allan