Near Drumoak, in Aberdeenshire, Drum Castle offers a striking contrast: one of the oldest tower houses in Scotland, austere and square, to which an elegant Jacobean wing was added in 1619. This face-off of two ages makes all the interest of Drum.
The old tower and the Clan Irvine
The original tower, of the late thirteenth century, is one of the three oldest tower houses in Scotland to remain almost intact. The estate was given in 1323 to William de Irwyn, armour-bearer to Robert Bruce, and remained the seat of the Clan Irvine for more than six centuries. The tower, massive and defensive, embodies the medieval Scotland of wars and clans.
The Jacobean wing
In 1619, the 9th laird had a comfortable and adorned Jacobean wing set against this old keep: it is the very contrast between the austere fortress and the Renaissance extension of display that gives Drum its value as a witness. It marks, under the early Stuarts, the passage from the tower house to the pleasure home. The sixteenth-century chapel (stained glass, an Augsburg silver Virgin) and the historic rose garden complete the ensemble.
What to see
- The Jacobean wing of 1619 set against the old keep.
- The old medieval square tower (among the oldest in Scotland).
- The sixteenth-century chapel and the historic rose garden.
Did you know?
In 1636, Sir Alexander Irvine of Drum and his wife Magdalene Scrimgeour were censured for having sheltered the outlaw Gilderoy — a reminder that, beneath the veneer of display, seventeenth-century Scotland remained a land of clans, bandits and dangerous loyalties.
Practical information
Drum Castle lies near Drumoak, in Aberdeenshire; in the care of the National Trust for Scotland. Hours liable to change; check against the official sources.
Quiz
- What is contrasted at Drum Castle?
- A medieval keep and a Renaissance wing (1619)
- Two cathedrals
- A lighthouse and a harbour
- Which clan held Drum for six centuries?
- The Clan Irvine
- The Clan Gordon
- The Clan Campbell
- What does the Jacobean wing of 1619 mark?
- The passage from fortress to pleasure home
- A new war
- The ruin of the castle