Blair Castle: A Historic Gem

Medieval Period

Blair Castle has stood strong in the Perthshire Highlands for an incredible 900 years and has been owned by 26 Lairds throughout the centuries.

The vast and beautifully white Blair Castle was built during the beginning of the 12th century in 1105, but rather than the castle you can see today began as a humble small military tower house.

In middle of the 12th century a Norman Knight named Jean Francois was awarded the title of The Barony of Blair by King William the Lion. With the Barony came the title of Laird and thus Jean Francois became the 1st Laird of Blair.

In the late 12th century, Jean’s son William changed the family name of Francois to Blair, and thereafter, the family descendants would be known as the Blairs of the Blair clan. William Blair built a second tower in 1203, which, along with the 1105 tower, forms the central spine of the current Blair House.

William’s successor, Sir Bryce de Blair, was a supporter of Sir William Wallace and his nephew, Roger, was knighted by King Robert the Bruce for battling alongside him at the famous battle of Bannockburn in 1314.

Although there are records to tell us that early parts of Blair Castle were first built in the 12th century, the oldest part of the castle that still stands today is known as Comyn’s Tower (sometimes spelt Cummings Tower), and it is the tallest part of the building.

The story of the Comyn’s Tower is that in 1269, John Comyn, Lord of Badenoch, built the tower on the land of the then Earl of Atholl, David Strathbogie, while he was away on a crusade. Once the Earl returned from his journey, he discovered what John Comyn had done and, in anger, wrote to King Alexander III complaining that a neighbour had begun building a tower on his land. The Earl of Atholl managed to claim his land back, along with Comyn’s new tower that had been built into his own castle.

In 1530, the 3rd Earl decided to extend the building south from Comyn’s Tower and built a Great Hall—which is now the Dining Room of Blair Castle.

The next major development of the Blair Castle building happened during the reign of Mary Queen of Scots (1542 – 1567). The 13th Laird of the building estate, John Blair, built the East Wing of Blair Castle during the middle of the 16th century. At around the same time, John Blair unified the two towers on the grounds, creating one grand castle.

Jacobitism was a political ideology and a Jacobite (according to the Oxford dictionary) was “a supporter of the deposed James II and his descendants in their claim to the British throne after the Revolution of 1688”.

The Jacobite supports attempted to reclaim the throne in 1689-90, 1715, 1719 and 1745-46. Three of those years actually involved Blair Castle.

Traditional Scottish bagpipes.

It may surprise you that Europe’s last private army, The Atholl Highlanders, are currently based in Scotland at Blair Castle and they were given the right to bear arms by Queen Victoria back in the year 1844.

Originally, the Atholl Highlanders were created and developed by the 4th Duke of Atholl, John Murray, to be a regular regiment in the British Army and they were first known as the ‘77th Regiment of Foot.’ The regiment’s purpose was to act as relief for other regiments that were serving in North America, but the 77th Regiment actually spent most of its time in Ireland and the regiment was disbanded after 5 years of service in 1783.

By 1839, around 50 years had passed since the 77th was disbanded and the 6th Duke of Atholl, George Murray also known as Lord Glenlyon, decided to reinstate them in order to serve as his own personal bodyguard and as a result the 77th became a private regiment. The 77th around this time were also referred to as Murray’s Highlanders.

Since the regiment were given official status by Queen Victoria 1844, they have acted as a private bodyguard for a number of Dukes of Atholl and any visiting nobilities – hence the name The Atholl Highlanders.

In modern times the last private army in Europe, The Atholl Highlanders, are considered to be a Scottish ceremonial regiment that play the Bagpipes as a marching band during the annual Atholl Highlanders Parade, which usually takes place in May.

As noted, earlier Blair Castle has gone through a tremendous transformation from a battle fortress to an opulent residence throughout the centuries. At one point during the Georgian era there was a desire, by the current Duke of the time, to escape the medieval look of Blair Castle, but by the Victorian era the desire for the castle to keep its roots in medieval architecture had returned.

When you visit the castle today you will be treated to some of the most beautiful architecture, interiors and paintings dating from various periods throughout the centuries in a total of 30 rooms over 3 floors.

The Blair Castle Gardens are quite breathtaking wonder to behold, should you find yourself wandering through these extensive private gardens you may want to make sure you visit these icons of the Blair Castle Gardens.