Houses of Interest: Tayside

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Yet more Scottishness from the ECWtravelogue summer jolly...


Blair Castle

Blair Castle, was garrisoned for the Royalist Engager cause, but was besieged by the New Model Army who took it quickly in 1650.


bronze mortar barrel, inscribed "Thomas Pitt made this peece 1614", it also bears the Rose of England and Iacobus Rex

The castle entrance hall is resplendently bedecked with C16th and C18th militaria, alas no clearly identifiable C17th weaponry. 

James Stanley, Lord Strange

The family are closely related to James Stanley, Lord Strange (yes, that Lord Strange, who lost his head at Bolton), as a result there are a number of Stanley family portraits
Outside the Castle entrance there are a number of artillery barrels. the majority of which are C16th, there is also an early C17th mortar.


John, Earl of Atholl

As ardent supporters of the crown, there are a large number of portraits of Charles I and his immediate family.


Prince Rupert of the Rhine

The tapestry room sports elaborate tapestries made in Mortlake for Charles I in 1619. They were later sold off by Parliament; in 1696 they were purchased by the Earl of Tullibardine and brought to the castle.

Charles I's tapestries

On the Blair Estate is The Truidh, which is reported to be where Montrose first raised the Royal standard. A memorial stone has been placed at the spot by the Montrose Society.

The Truidh

To find it follow the signs for the Old Bridge of Tilt off the B8079, follow this road for just under 1km to a signposted junction. Keep straight on (signposted To Deeside by Glen Tilt). At the next signposted junction (about 1/2 km), take the right hand fork signposted Monzie. Continue straight on for just under a kilometre until you hit a T junction. Turn left. The memorial is about 700 metres further on.

The Battle of Tippermuir, 1st September 1644, was Montrose's first engagement with the Army of the Solemn League and Covenant.

Tibbermore Old Kirk

From Blair Atholl, Montrose made a rapid march south-eastwards towards  Perth. The Scottish government hastily assembled an army of untrained levies to defend the town under the overall command of John Wemyss, Lord Elcho and the Earl of Tullibardine.

Royalist accounts have Montrose vastly outnumbered, but modern interpretations have both sides more evenly matched in numbers.

Tullibardine attacked the Irish with foot and horse but was quickly beaten back, Montrose gave the order to charge, and MacColla's Irish easily routing the inexperienced Covenanters. Scott of Rossie attempted to hold the left flank, but  quickly succumbed to a Highland charge. The Covenanters failed to rally and were routed from the battlefield. Many being massacred as they fled.

What's There Today?
The battlefield site is lost under the sprawl of Perth, a plaque on the side of a house on the corner of  Wilson Street/Needless Road marks the battle. 


Tibbermore Kirk is said to contain the unmarked graves of some 300 Covenanters, but no archaeological evidence has been found to confirm this story. You can see why this atmospheric kirk was utilised as a location for Outlander - the visitor book is full of messages from fans of the show.

Tibbermore Kirk also boasts a spectacular C17th memorial to Sir James Murray and his family

Old Kincardine Castle, Auchterarder (not to be confused with Kincardine Castle near Aberdeen) was a Royalist garrison, which held out for ten days under artillery fire from the forces of John Middleton, in March 1646, until the well failed, forcing the garrison to surrender. The captured Royalist officers were executed. The castle would be dismantled, with very little remaining.

Dundee was besieged twice, first by Montrose, in 1645. Montrose first approached the town with a view to attack within days of his victory over the Covenanters at Tippermuir, but finding it too well defended turned his attention to Aberdeen. 

Leaving a base at Dunkeld, Montrose headed for that ‘most seditious place, which was a faithful receptacle to the rebels in these parts…’ and arrived to the north of Dundee by 10am, on the 4th April 1645. His approach at three angles took advantage of defences still in need of rebuilding and took the garrison by surprise. His men took control of the town’s ordnance that had been placed on Corbie Hill  and turned Dundee’s guns on itself. His targets included the parish church, the hospital and Bonnet Row where he ‘wilfullie and treasonablie raised wilful fire in the suburbs thereof called the Bonnet Raw’. His men stormed the town, and went on  a drunken rampage. 

Unfortunately a strong Covenanting force, led by  Baillie and Hurry had set out from Perth to intercept Montrose. Vastly outnumbered by this force, Montrose rode into the market place rounding up the inebriated and pillaging soldiers before dividing the force onto two diverging roads and left the town.

Immediately after Inverkeithing, Lambert marched 6 miles east and occupied the deep-water port of Burntisland, which enabled Cromwell to ship even more reinforcements across the Forth. By the 26th July Cromwell had amassed 13000 to 14000 men there. 

Cromwell divided his forces, the majority marching on Perth, leaving Monck with 4000 men to mop up any local opposition. Charles II and Leslie marched south from Stirling, invading England in the hope of a Royalist uprising. They would eventually meet Cromwell at Worcester.

Monck however captured Stirling, Alyth and St Andrews. Dundee and Aberdeen were the last significant Scottish strongholds. 

Monck drew up his full army outside Dundee on 26th August and demanded it surrender. The governor, believing the town walls and the local militia strong enough to withstand the English, refused. Infuriated at having to risk his men's lives with an assault when the War was all but over, Monck gave permission for the town to be sacked once it was captured. 

After a three-day bombardment the NMA stormed the west and east ports on 1st September, broke into the town and sacked it; several hundred civilians, including women and children, were killed.  On hearing the news from Dundee, Aberdeen promptly surrendered, ending effective Scottish resistance.
Cowgate Port, aka Wishart's Port, aka Wishart's Archway, aka Eastgate Port

What's There Now?
There is no recognition or memorial to either of the Sieges of Dundee. 

Perth was taken by Cromwell on 2nd August 1651 without a fight. One of four great citadels was planned, with work beginning in 1652. It is unclear if the citadel was ever finished. An C18th map shows a square fort with angled bastions. Traces of a possible outer wall were uncovered on George Street, the citadel centre being approximately where Perth Museum is located. There is nothing visible.


Postcodes for SatNavs
Blair Castle, Blair Atholl, Pitlochry PH18 5TL
The Truidh, Blair Atholl PH18 5TR OS grid NN896670
Tibbermore Kirk, Perth PH1 1QJ
Tippermuir plaque, corner of  89 Wilson Street/Needless Road, Perth PH2 0EY
Old Kincardine Castle, Auchterarder PH3 1PG
Cowgate Port/Wishart's Archway, Dundee DD1 2JA


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