Drum Castle

Drum Castle

One of Scotland's oldest towers

In the woods of Aberdeenshire, not far from the River Dee, rises a great square tower of grey granite. Its corners are gently rounded, its walls are immensely thick, and its top is ringed with a battlemented walkway. This is the keep of Drum Castle, and it is one of the oldest tower houses in Scotland, built in the late 1200s.

In those early days, a tall stone tower like this was the height of safety. The walls — over three and a half metres thick at the base — could shrug off the weapons of the age, and the family who owned it could shelter inside while danger passed.

A gift from Robert the Bruce

Drum's long story is bound up with Scotland's greatest medieval king. In 1323, after the wars that won Scotland's independence, Robert the Bruce granted the lands and tower of Drum to his loyal armour-bearer and clerk, William de Irwin (Irvine).

It was a reward for faithful service — and the start of one of the most remarkable runs of ownership in Scottish history. The Irvine family would hold Drum for 24 generations, right up until the twentieth century. Few families anywhere have kept a single home for so long.

Tower, mansion and Jacobite troubles

The grim old tower was a fine fortress, but as the centuries passed the Irvines wanted more comfort. In 1619 they added a handsome Jacobean mansion right alongside the medieval keep, and later owners added Victorian rooms too. So Drum became three castles in one: a 13th-century tower, a 17th-century house, and 19th-century additions, all joined together.

The family lived through stormy times. They supported the king during the civil wars of the 1600s and the Jacobite risings of the 1700s, and Drum was raided and occupied more than once. Stories tell of family members hiding from their enemies within the castle's thick walls.

Drum today

In 1975 the last Irvine laird left Drum to the National Trust for Scotland, ending nearly 653 years of family ownership. Today visitors can climb to the top of the ancient tower for wide views over the countryside, explore the grand library and rooms of the later mansion, and walk in the Old Wood of Drum, one of the last fragments of the great forest that once covered this part of Scotland.

Drum is a castle that grew with its family, layer upon layer, while never letting go of the mighty tower at its heart.