Overview
Airthrey Castle is a historic building and estate which now forms part of the buildings and grounds of the University of Stirling in central Scotland. The 18th-century building with 19th-century additions occupies a beautiful setting in landscaped grounds in the southern edge of the Ochil Hills, above the Forth valley. It is located close to Bridge of Allan, two miles from the historic city of Stirling.
Name
There are several suggested origins of the name "Airthrey". One is that it is a corruption of Ard-rhedadie (a high or ascending road, referring to the old road which leads through it to Sheriffmuir). It could alternatively come from the Gaelic "Aithrin" – "a sharp point" or "conflict". This could refer to a battle fought near the site of the Castle in 839, when the Picts were defeated by the Scots under Kenneth McAlpine (standing stones in the park to the east of the Castle are reputed to commemorate the battle). Another, Brythonic rather than Gaelic, version sees the name as related to that of Airdrie in Lanarkshire, and parallel to the modern Welsh ard tref or "high steading or farmstead".
History
Early references suggest that in medieval times the lands of Airthrey belonged to the Monks of Cambus, Kenneth & Dunfermline. In 1370, the estate was granted to Sir John Herice, Keeper of the nearby Stirling Castle. Then the land passed to William Graham, 3rd Lord Graham. He came into ownership of "the lands of Athra", probably in 1472. He was created Earl of Montrose in 1504 but died at the Battle of Flodden in 1513. The estate remained in the ownership of members of the Clan Graham down to James Graham, 1st Marquess of Montrose, who fought a famous campaign in support of King Charles I from 1644 to 1650. In 1630 Montrose transferred the Airthrey Estate to a cadet branch of the family, the Grahams of Braco.
In 1645, the manor house at Aithrey was burned to the ground by Montrose's implacable foe, the covenanting Archibald Campbell, 1st Marquess of Argyll (1598–1661), reputedly in reprisal for an attack on Argyll's own estate at nearby Castle Campbell by Montrose's followers, en route to victory at the Battle of Kilsyth. The Marquess of Montrose was executed on the orders of the Scottish Parliament in 1650 (during the Commonwealth period). In 1660 the estate passed from the Grahams of Braco to Sir Henry Stirling of Ardoch, and in 1670 his son Sir William Stirling is recorded as being in possession of ‘villa et terris de Athrie’. The Hopes of Hopetoun In 1678, the estate was purchased by John Hope of Hopetoun, sheriff and shire commissioner for Linlithgow, and son of James Hope of Hopetoun. The Hope family had profitable interests in lead mines in the Lowther Hills in the Southern Uplands.
John Hope died four years later in 1682, drowned on the frigate , which struck a sandbank off Great Yarmouth, carrying a distinguished company which included the Duke of York (the future King James II) and John Churchill (the future Duke of Marlborough). John Hope reputedly gave up his place on the rescue vessel to the Duke of York. He was succeeded by his infant son Charles Hope, 1st Earl of Hopetoun (1681–1742) who after attaining his majority was elevated by Queen Anne to the House of Lords in 1703 with the titles of Viscount Airthrie, Baron Hope and Earl of Hopetoun in the Peerage of Scotland, reputedly in gratitude for his father saving the life of her father King James II. (or Manor), son of John Dundas of Manour (1641–1711). A later legend suggests a canny deal between Dundas and the Earl of Hopetoun.
"John Dundas owned a property called Stang Hill Tower which was on the edge of the Earl of Hopetoun's estate. For many years the Earl tried to obtain the tower from John Dundas to add to his estate, but John Dundas refused all offers to let it go, despite the threat of law suits and even bribery. Finally on his death bed he told his son "It is foolish forever to struggle against our rich and powerful neighbour. He will, sooner or later, have our little property; make the best terms with him you can". Soon after John Dundas' death, an exchange highly advantageous to the Dundas of Manour was effected. Stang Hill Tower being given to Lord Hopetoun and the estate of Aithrey which belonged to Lord Hopetoun being made over to Ralph Dundas" (1675–1729). In 1747 Aithrey then passed through the hands of three families in succession whose fortunes had been made in India.
The Haldanes In 1759, "from want of relish for a country life" "He returned home from the sea service of the East India Company with a great fortune" and was "an arrogant, ambitious, purse-proud man". Haldane built a new road at his own expense and placed gates on the old public roads. On Captain Haldane's death the estate passed to his nephew, Captain James Haldane, and in due course, in 1768, to James's infant son Robert Haldane (1764-1842). Haldane, however, tried to skimp on the architect's fees for supervising the buildings work and Adam retired from the commission before the Castle was actually constructed, leaving the surveying of the building work to the mason, Thomas Russell of Edinburgh. Haldane also had the grounds landscaped to designs by Thomas White of Durham, a student of Capability Brown.
The works included the beautiful, man-made 23-acre loch (later much used for curling), a hermitage (of which the ruins remain, in Hermitage Wood), and a 4-mile boundary wall. Remarkably, shortly after his vast investment in the house and estate, Robert Haldane had an epiphany and resolved to divest himself of his estates and devote himself to evangelical work. Refused permission by the East India Company to invest all in an ambitious mission in Bengal, he proceeded instead to build a number of churches and seminaries in Scotland, fund the training of numerous missionaries, lead a theological revival in Geneva, and become the founder of Scottish Congregationalism. He was joined in these worthy activities by his younger brother James Haldane.
The Abercrombies Robert Haldane sold the Airthrey estate in 1798 to his sister-in-law's uncle, General Sir Robert Abercromby, a distinguished soldier whose military career had been pursued in America (in the War of Independence) and in India, and who had been Governor of Bombay. ‘A silent, modest, sensible man’, Abercromby died at Airthrey in 1827 aged 87, by when he was the oldest general in the British army. He was succeeded by his nephew (1770–1843), a lawyer, member of parliament and Lord Lieutenant of Stirlingshire, who was succeeded by George Abercromby, 3rd Baron Abercromby (1800–1852), a soldier, member of parliament and Lord Lieutenant of Clackmannanshire, who was in turn succeeded by his son George Abercromby, 4th Baron Abercromby (1838–1917). The Grahams The Abercrombies owned Airthrey for just over 100 years.
In 1889 George Abercromby, 4th Baron Abercromby sold the Airthrey estate (3,100 acres in all) to Donald Graham, a prosperous Glasgow merchant, for £75,000. Donald Graham was a partner in William Graham & Co, a business built on the India trade, and spent many years in Bombay. One limb of the business was the famous port shipper W & J Graham. Donald Graham was a Justice of the Peace for the Counties of Lanark and Stirling, and Deputy Lieutenant for the County of Stirling and County of Glasgow. He also served a term as Lord Dean of Guild for Glasgow, was a director of the Union Bank of Scotland, and was a member of Stirling County Council. He was also a distant kinsman of the Grahams who had lived at Airthrey until 1678. Donald Graham constructed a large addition to the castle in 1889–91, remodelling the north facade in a late Scots Baronial style.
The Graham coat of arms can still be found in the stained glass window in the main entrance. During this period Aithrey Loch was popular with curlers and ice skaters, until an accident in 1901 which killed Frederick Pullar, a young surveyor noted for his part in a bathymetric survey of Scottish lochs, together with the lady he was attempting to rescue. After this tragic event Airthrey Castle Curling Club (founded 1878) only used the loch once more, in the cold winter of 1979. Donald Graham died in 1901 after his carriage overturned on the drive at Airthrey and he caught pneumonia (his ornate monument is at neighbouring Logie Old Kirk). The estate passed to his widow Clara Graham, who in 1924 leased Airthrey Castle to the Glasgow shipping magnate Charles Donaldson, Chairman of the Donaldson Line group of shipping companies, who died at Airthrey in 1938.
Hospital With the outbreak of the Second World War, in 1939 Airthrey Castle became an emergency maternity hospital, under the emergency evacuation scheme. Mrs Charles Donaldson (the castle's last private resident) helped to establish it. "Bedrooms were cleared, the Billiard Room and Gun Room were dismantled, a large bedroom became the Delivery Room, and the adjacent bathroom had planks laid along the bath to act as an examining couch, the planks being removed for a bath". The maternity hospital at this stage had only 25 beds, but it nonetheless didn't reach full occupancy until a rush of evacuees following the 1941 Clydebank Blitz. Airthrey Castle continued to be used as a maternity hospital until 1969, supplementing the needs of Stirling Royal Infirmary. An illustrated history of the hospital can be found on YouTube.
University of Stirling
In the 1960s, as a result of the Robbins Report, the estate was selected as the site of the first completely new Scottish university since the University of Edinburgh was established in 1582. One contributing factor in the selection of Stirling over other prospective university towns was the beautiful site available at Airthrey. The University of Stirling opened in 1967. Its campus is located in of woodland, of mature landscaped parkland, a loch with an abundance of wildlife – and incorporates Airthrey Castle. In 2014 Airthrey Castle became home to the University's international study centre, operated in partnership with INTO University Partnerships.
Tennis Scotland
The castle is currently the headquarters of Tennis Scotland the governing body of tennis in Scotland.
Listed building
Aithrey Castle retains many original features and is a category B listed building.
Gallery
File:Airthrey Castle from north-west.jpg Airthrey Castle from north-west; Scots Baronial additions by Donald Graham, c.1890 File:Airthrey Castle - geograph.org.uk - 3206.jpg Airthrey Castle. At the eastern end of the campus of Stirling University File:Airthrey Castle - geograph.org.uk - 1225666.jpg Airthrey Castle
External links
*Airthrey Estate Collection at the University of Stirling Archives