Kinfauns Castle is a 19th-century castle in the Scottish village of

Kinfauns Kinfauns was a large 1950s deluxe bungalow in Esher in the English county of Surrey, on the Claremont Estate. From 1964 to 1970, it was the home of George Harrison, lead guitarist of the Beatles. It was where many of the demo recordings for the ...

, Perth and Kinross. It is in the Castellated Gothic style, with a slight asymmetry typical of Scottish Georgian. It stands on a raised terrace facing south over the River Tay. The house is protected as a category A

listed building In the United Kingdom, a listed building or listed structure is one that has been placed on one of the four statutory lists maintained by Historic England in England, Historic Environment Scotland in Scotland, in Wales, and the Northern Irel ...

, and the grounds are included in the

Inventory of Gardens and Designed Landscapes in Scotland The ''Inventory of Gardens and Designed Landscapes in Scotland'' is a listing of gardens and designed landscapes of national artistic and/or historical significance, in Scotland. The Inventory was originally compiled in 1987, although it is a cont ...

History

Old Photograph Gatehouse Kinfauns Castle Perthshire Scotland

In reward for his services at the capture of Perth in 1313, Thomas de Longueville was granted land east of Perth by

Robert the Bruce Robert I (11 July 1274 – 7 June 1329), popularly known as Robert the Bruce (Scottish Gaelic: ''Raibeart an Bruis''), was King of Scots from 1306 to his death in 1329. One of the most renowned warriors of his generation, Robert eventual ...

. Thomas married the heiress of Charteris of Kinfauns and changed his name to Charteris. He built a castle named Kinfauns Castle on the lands granted. His family had a long-running feud with the Ruthvens of Perth and in 1552 John Charteris was murdered by the Ruthvens on the High Street ( Royal Mile) in

Edinburgh Edinburgh ( ; gd, Dùn Èideann ) is the capital city of Scotland and one of its 32 council areas. Historically part of the county of Midlothian (interchangeably Edinburghshire before 1921), it is located in Lothian on the southern shore of t ...

. The property passed from the Charteris family to the Carnegies and from there to the Blairs. Charteris' sword is believed to still be within the castle.''Official Guide to Perth and Its Neighbourhood by the Tramway Car Routes'' – Perth Town Council (1907), p. 23 The old estate and former castle passed into the Gray family when a Blair heiress married the 11th Lord Gray in 1741. The current castle was designed by

Sir Robert Smirke Sir Robert Smirke (1 October 1780 – 18 April 1867) was an English architect, one of the leaders of Greek Revival architecture, though he also used other architectural styles. As architect to the Board of Works, he designed several major ...

and built between 1822 and 1826 by Francis Gray, 14th Lord Gray, on the site of a medieval stronghold. It passed to the Stuart Earls of Moray in 1878 and descended in that family to the 17th Earl of Moray. He commissioned several improvements; the walled garden and gardener's cottage were designed by

Francis William Deas Francis William Deas (1862 –13 November 1951) was an influential Scottish Arts and Crafts architect and landscape designer in the late 19th century and first half of the 20th century. He was a keen amateur painter, largely of landscapes. His m ...

in 1910. After the death of the 17th Earl in 1930 the estate became the property of Scottish Estates Ltd, who sold off most of the land piecemeal. The house and remaining land is currently occupied by Scottish businesswoman

Ann Gloag Dame Ann Heron Gloag DBE (née Souter; born 10 December 1942) is a Scottish billionaire businesswoman, activist, and charity campaigner. She is co-founder of the international transport company Stagecoach Group. According to The ''Sunday Times ...

, co-founder of the Stagecoach company.

Railway

During the build-up to

Dundee and Perth Railway The Dundee and Perth Railway was a Scottish railway company. It opened its line in 1847 from Dundee to a temporary station at Barnhill and extended to Perth station in 1849. It hoped to link with other railways to reach Aberdeen and changed its n ...

's opening in 1847, Lord Gray would only allow the line to come through his estate for a then-hefty fee of £12,000."Last train was standing at Dundee West 55 years ago" - '' The Courier'', 22 April, 2020, p. 21

Cultural reference

The

Union-Castle Line The Union-Castle Line was a British shipping line that operated a fleet of passenger liners and cargo ships between Europe and Africa from 1900 to 1977. It was formed from the merger of the Union Line and Castle Shipping Line. It merged with ...

steamer RMS ''Kinfauns Castle'' was launched in 1899 and was named after this building. The vessel was painted by Charles de Lacy.http://collections.rmg.co.uk/collections/objects/13758.html Liner Kinfauns Castle painting museum entry. Retrieved 9 June 2013.

References

{{reflist Castles in Perth and Kinross Houses in Perth and Kinross Category A listed buildings in Perth and Kinross Listed castles in Scotland Inventory of Gardens and Designed Landscapes