Pitfour Castle is an 18th-century country house situated on the southeast edge of the village of

St Madoes St. Madoes () is a village in the Carse of Gowrie, Scotland. It was developed near Pitfour Castle. It is believed that there have been settlements since around 1000 C.E based on discoveries of several standing stones and the St. Madoes stone, a w ...

in the Carse of Gowrie,

Perthshire Perthshire (locally: ; gd, Siorrachd Pheairt), officially the County of Perth, is a historic county and registration county in central Scotland. Geographically it extends from Strathmore in the east, to the Pass of Drumochter in the north, ...

, Scotland. It is a Category A listed building.

History

A tower house was formerly sited slightly closer to the

River Tay The River Tay ( gd, Tatha, ; probably from the conjectured Brythonic ''Tausa'', possibly meaning 'silent one' or 'strong one' or, simply, 'flowing') is the longest river in Scotland and the seventh-longest in Great Britain. The Tay originates ...

, although nothing now remains. In June 1592

Harry Lindsay Sir Harry Alexander Fanshawe Lindsay KCIE, CBE (11 March 1881 – 2 March 1963) was a civil servant and administrator. Education Lindsay was educated at St Paul's School and Worcester College, Oxford Career In 1910 Lindsay became Under-Secreta ...

and 40 armed followers attacked the "Place of Pitfour" at night. They hid themselves close to the house and sent a messenger boy to get the yard gates or "yetts" opened. The trick worked but David Cochrane's defenders beat them back and closed the gates. Lindsay's men then managed to break into the castle, and forced the family and their retainers out, and put in his own men under his servant John Tweedy. The present Pitfour Castle was built for John Richardson (1760–1821), a wealthy local man involved with the salmon fisheries of the Tay, around 1784. The design of the new house is attributed to the architect Robert Adam (1728–1792): although there is no documentary evidence for his involvement, there are stylistic similarities with Adam's later "castle-style" homes, such as Dalquharran Castle in Ayrshire (1786) and Seton Castle in Lothian (1789). In 1825, the house was enlarged to designs by William Burn, with a library to the north-west and a clock tower to the south-west. By the 1860s the house was occupied and owned by Sir John Stewart-Richardson (who had adopted the additional name of Stewart on inheritance of his grandfather, James Stewart's, Urrard estate) together with his family. Having fallen into disrepair, restoration work on Pitfour Castle began in 1964. In 1966, Burn's entrance hall was removed, revealing Adam's original entrance front. The house and was advertised for sale in 1967 for £25,000. In July 1969, as restoration was nearing completion, the east wing was badly damaged by fire. In 1974 it was purchased by Lord Leslie Charles Field who at the time owned

Walton Hall, Warwickshire Walton Hall is a 16th-century country mansion at Walton, near Wellesbourne, Warwickshire, once owned by Lord Field and the entertainer Danny La Rue, now in use as a hotel which is now part of Accor Hotels. It is a Grade II* listed building. Th ...

. The Castle was rescued from demolition and restored back to its former glory to be used by the family of

Lord Field Lord Field may refer to: * William Field, 1st Baron Field (1813–1907), English judge * Frank Field, Baron Field of Birkenhead Frank Ernest Field, Baron Field of Birkenhead, (born 16 July 1942) is a British politician who was the Member of Pa ...

for holidays. At the end of the 70’s the castle was subdivided into individual apartments and sold. The stable block has also been converted into a series of two storey dwelling houses, which along with the lodge house, are also privately owned. Some of the apartments are available to rent on short-assured tenancy agreements.

Interior

The curved staircase forms the centrepiece of the house. In the 1967 sale particulars, this was described as a "fine circular wrought iron staircase rising through the house to a cupola with painted

cartoon A cartoon is a type of visual art that is typically drawn, frequently animated, in an unrealistic or semi-realistic style. The specific meaning has evolved over time, but the modern usage usually refers to either: an image or series of images ...

s by Ritchie".''Country Living'' Property Supplement, 13 July 1967, p.12 Historic Scotland refers to these cartoons as "figure panels by Zucchi", an Italian who worked with Robert Adam. Prior to its subdivision, the house had 12 principal bedrooms, four bathrooms, five reception rooms and staff accommodation.

References

{{coord, 56.3738, -3.2976, display=title, region:GB_scale:10000 Category A listed buildings in Perth and Kinross Houses in Perth and Kinross