Drummond Castle

Drummond Castle.

The Drummond Clan have a long and interesting history that stretches all the way back to 1068 when Edgar Ætheling claimant to the Saxon throne of England after the Norman Conquest of 1066 arrived in the court of Malcolm III of Scotland after being shipwrecked on the Fife coast, he was accompanied by his sister Margaret of Wessex and Maurice a Prince of Hungry, it is from Maurice that the Drummond family have claimed their descendancy.

Margaret of Wessex went on to marry Malcolm III and become Queen of Scotland. Throughout Margaret's life she had been a very pious woman, she founded the Abbey at Dunfermline and from that place that she went forth to helped the poor the sick and the needy throughout Fife, because of this Margaret was recognised for her good work and was canonized by Pope Innocent IV in 1250, Margaret then became Saint Margaret of Scotland, one of Scotland’s main patron saints.

Drummond Castle was built in 1490 by Sir John Drummond, 1st Lord Drummond on lands that had been granted to his family in the 14th century, then in 1605 the 4th Lord, James Drummond of Cargill was created 1st Earl of Perth, this early castle consisted of a Tower House and a courtyard.

By the 1630s the surrounding formal terraced gardens had been added by the 2nd Earl of Perth and according to Historic Environment Scotland they are considered to be "the best example of formal terraced gardens in Scotland".