Scotland · Restored
Drumtochty Castle
Drumtochty Castle is a neo-gothic castellated mansion built in 1812 with later 19th-century additions, located on the southern edge of Drumtochty Forest near Auchenblae in Kincardineshire, Scotland. Designed initially by James Gillespie Graham and later altered, the stone building has been restored and is used as a private venue.
Its prime
1839
Today
Restored
As it stood in 1839
What Drumtochty Castle looked like in its prime.
A multi-storey neo-gothic castellated mansion of warm, tooled sandstone dominated by a tall cylindrical corner tower with a corbelled top and crenellated parapet. The main range shows vertical, narrow sash windows set in flat stone walls and a crenellated roofline. The building stands on a raised stone terrace with a low retaining wall and metal railings, backed immediately by dense mixed woodland (Drumtochty Forest) and seen above a steep, vegetated slope.
Its story
The story of Drumtochty Castle.
Gillespie Graham Builds for the Drummonds, 1812-1839
The Drummond family raised Drumtochty Castle in 1812, a neo-gothic castellated mansion about three kilometres north-west of Auchenblae in Kincardineshire, on the southern edge of Drumtochty Forest. The designs were James Gillespie Graham's, and extensions followed around 1815.
The drawings for those extensions were commissioned from Gillespie Graham again, but the work itself was carried out by the Aberdeen City Architect John Smith. Miller raises the possibility that Gillespie Graham had fallen out with George Drummond, the owner, though he judges Smith's closer proximity to the site the more plausible explanation. Gillespie Graham was involved once more in further additions around 1839.
From James Gammell to the Norwegian Government-in-Exile, 1822-1947
The Greenock engineer James Gammell bought the castle in 1822. During the Second World War it was bought by the Norwegian government-in-exile, which used it as a boarding school for Norwegian children who were refugees from the German occupation of Norway. The Norwegian government later sold Drumtochty to Robert and Elizabeth Langlands.
A Boys' Preparatory School, 1947-1971
On 1 May 1947 the Langlands opened a boys' preparatory school at the castle. Its pupils included the novelist and journalist Elspeth Barker (1940-2022), one of five Langlands children; the writer Ross Leckie; the actor, writer and producer David MacLennan (1948-2014); the novelist, sports writer and journalist Allan Massie; and the solicitor Douglas Young. The school closed in 1971.
Category A Listing and the Anderson Restoration, from 1972
Historic Scotland placed Drumtochty on the list of category A listed buildings in August 1972. A major restoration project run by Charlie and Dot Anderson left the castle fully restored; following the completion of the works it was redeveloped as a luxury venue and became a well established Scottish wedding destination. Its managers are Nikki Curran and Tamsin Davidson.
Step inside
5 places to explore in 1839.
The record describes 5 distinct spots at Drumtochty Castle, including the full exterior approach. Create your own photoreal reconstruction and explore every one, more scenes means more rooms, more angles, and more of the place to stand in.
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Clans who held Drumtochty Castle.
The families that held Drumtochty Castle for a decade or more across its history, follow a name to its clan.
Drummond
Built by the Drummond family in 1812; sold to James Gammell in 1822.
