Huntingtower Castle

Two things occurred to me as I drove up the M90 towards Perth this morning. I either need to come up with a cunning disguise that prevents the weather from turning sunny to miserable as soon as I get in the car or I need to expand my lexicon for words and phrases that describe bad weather conditions. It didn't rain...

Once again I had to run the gauntlet of man's most devious traffic calming devices, the 'average speed camera' as I travelled up the road. I don't know if these exist outside the UK but for those of you who don't know what this is, it's a series of fixed location cameras placed along a length of road that records your number plate as you pass by. As everyone knows, Speed = Distance / Time (who said you'd never use that out of school?), so by measuring the time taken to travel the known fixed distance, one's speed can be calculated. If you are over the speed limit between any two camera locations.. kerching! There's something absurdly amusing watching cars chug along at 40mph on a motorway, overtaking those travelling just under at snail's pace.

I remember when the cameras were installed for the first time in Scotland, along the A77. There was a story in the paper not long after, of someone who failed to slow down for any of them. He found out a few days later that by the time he had got to Ayr that day he'd racked up a large three figure fine and had gone from clean license to banned in a few miles. Priceless!

Anyway, I digress...


While the Romans didn't retain a presence long in northern Scotland, for a time in the early years of their invasion they did make it as far as Perth in their attempts to quell Caledonia. A series of fortlets and signal stations were strung along the Roman road that connected the main legionary forts at Ardoch (to the southwest) and Bertha (to the north, on the Tay). One such signal station was positioned in the area around Huntingtower, the closest to the camp at Bertha. The stations were built between AD 79-80 but were only garrisoned for around 7 years.

It was the Ruthven family who settled in Perthshire in the late 12th century who built the castle, although not immediately. It isn't clear where they lived for the first 250 years, but the oldest part of the present castle dates from the 15th century. As with many historical Scottish families, their lands and property were subject to the whim of the political landscape. As such when originally built, the castle bore the name of the Place of Ruthven.

When built it was quite unique in terms of castle construction in Scotland. Not for the fact that it consisted of two tower houses, but due to the closeness of their situation (only 3 metres apart) and the fact that they were constructed that way at around the same time. A possible explanation may lie in the legal arrangement made in 1480 by Sir William Ruthven, who granted letters of legitimisation and the division of his land to his two sons, William and John. Such an arrangement may have necessitated the construction of separate towers, on for himself and the other for the master of Ruthven, his heir.

Sir William was made the 1st Lord Ruthven in 1487, a title bestowed by James III. Following the death of Master William at Flodden in 1513 and Lord Ruthven in 1528, it was his grandson, also William who succeeded him, becoming the provost of Perth and keeper of the Privy Seal. He also extended his estates by marrying Janet, eldest daughter and co-heiress of Lord Haliburton of Dirleton, bringing Dirleton Castle into the Ruthven family's hands.

Patrick, 3rd Lord of Ruthven, who succeeded in 1552 was among the ringleaders in the death of David Riccio, Queen Mary of Scots personal secretary in 1566. He fled to Newcastle where he died three months later. Patrick's son, William who had also been implicated returned to Scotland the following year, in time to assist with Mary's imprisonment and abdication at Lochleven Castle in July 1567. He was appointed treasurer of Scotland in 1571 and was belted earl of Gowrie by James VI in 1581.

The beginning of the end for the Ruthven family came in 1582 when the Place of Ruthven was the setting for the attempted coup d'etat known as the Ruthven Raid. In an attempt to remove the young king from the influences of his pro-Catholic advisors, the duke of Lennox and earl of Arran, Gowrie and others invited the king to an overnight stay at the castle on his way back from a hunting trip in Perth. However, when he tried to leave the next morning he was refused. It is said that the 16 year old monarch broke into tears. For the next ten months, the chief power in the land lay with Gowrie and his conspirators until the king's escape in 1583.

Offered full pardons by a forgiving James VI, a further threat to his power in April 1584 in which Gowrie was implicated lead to the earl's banishment. In reality he got no further than Dundee, where he was arrested, transported by ship to Leith and onwards to Holyroodhouse, where he was tried, found guilty and executed in short order on 2 May. His property, including Ruthven was forfeited to the crown.

A short-lived reprieve came to the family when James VI restored the estates and titles to Patrick's son, James in 1586. The 12 year old died two years later and was succeeded by his younger brother, John, who became the 3rd earl of Ruthven. John Ruthven was a renaissance man, learned and much travelled. On his return from the university of Padua in Italy in 1600 he died in mysterious circumstances. Once again James VI was intimately involved.

The Gowrie Conspiracy is shrouded in doubt and suspicion. The 'official' version records that the king was enticed to visit Gowrie's town house in Perth. In similar circumstances to those of his abduction 18 years previously, the king found himself locked in. His shouts for assistance soon brought help and rescue was effected. In the struggle both John and his brother Alexander were killed.

Whether the Gowrie's were part of a new plot or whether the king saw an opportunity to rid himself of a powerful rival will never be known, but the scale of retribution is not in doubt. The corpses of the brothers were taken to Edinburgh, where they were indicted for high treason and found guilty! They were both taken to the cross of Edinburgh where they were hanged, drawn and quartered, their body parts prominently displayed in Edinburgh, Perth , Dundee and Stirling. The name of Ruthven was abolished, their arms deleted from the Book of Arms, and all surviving family members declared incapable of succeeding to, or holding any office, honour or possession. Parliament also decreed that 'the baronie and place of Ruthven be changit and callit in all tyme coming the pace and baronie of Huntingtower'.

With the fall of the House of Ruthven all lands and property once again fell to the Crown. A succession of keepers were put in charge of the castle. In time, the property passed to John, 2nd earl of Atholl. The residence seemed to serve as the residence of his eldest son, John who was created duke of Atholl shortly after this father's death in 1703. It was at this time that the major alterations to the castle's fabric likely took place in an attempt to create a uniform building.

The first duke died at Huntingtower in 1724. His widow Mary would remain in residence until her death in 1767. In 1805 the 3rd duke sold the property to James Buchan, owner of a nearby cloth-printing factory who used it until 1815 to house his workers.