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Guthrie Castle
Guthrie
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Website: | Guthrie Castle |
The name is probably derived from that of "Guthrum", a Scandinavian prince who settled here in the dawn of Scottish history.
In the year 1299, the Northern Lords of Scotland sent Squire Guthrie to France to effect the return of Sir William Wallace to Scotland and resume the fight against the English. Guthrie embarked at Arbroath, landed at Calais, and returned to Montrose with his charge.
James II originally granted the barony to Sir David Guthrie, the King's Treasurer, who subsequently obtained a warrant from James II of Scotland under the great seal to build a castle and a "yett" (entrance gate) at Guthrie in 1468. It is an historic site and well known in Scotland. The Castle and additions continued as the Guthrie family residence until the early 80's. The Guthrie's have been prominent in the ecclesiastical, military and literary fields of Scotland since the early 1500's. The Castle was purchased by the Peña Family in 1984.
The Castle, as built originally by Sir David in 1468, consisted only of the square tower, the current site of the library, Guthrie suite, ancient bedroom, and snooker room. It is believed that the family gave up living in the tower and built a house close by around 1760. In 1848, John Guthrie, with the help of architect David Bryce, connected the tower and the house, resulting in the finely panelled hall with the oak staircase leading to bedrooms above the well-proportioned west bedroom (Guthrie Suite). The Castle has a reputation of being haunted. The ghost was last seen by one of the present members of the Guthrie family when she was a little girl. There have been other experiences since the Peña's first inhabited the Castle in September 1984.
The yett, which was the original entrance to the Castle, now hangs at the entry to the wild flower garden. There are two gardens adjacent to each other - the walled garden and the wild garden. No one knows the exact date of the construction of the horseshow-shaped historic walled garden. It was built either at the time of the construction of the original tower or by monks in the 16th Century. The garden contains many species of flowers and floribunda, the most notable are the 160-year yew hedges shaped in the sign of the Celtic Cross.
Both the image and text are reproduced with kind permisson of Guthrie Castle Limited.
A stately edifice of E Central Angus, Guthrie Castle lies immediately to the west of the village of Guthrie, 2 miles (3 km) west of Friockheim and 2½ miles (4 km) northeast of Letham. Built in 1468, under a warrant issued by King James III (1452 - 88) to Sir David Guthrie (1435 - 1500), who was Lord Treasurer and Lord Justice-General of Scotland, the castle originally consisted of a square keep of three storeys and a garret, with walls 2.5-m (8-foot) thick. A modern house was built adjacent around 1760. In 1848, this was linked to the old tower via a panelled Great Hall by the architect David Bryce (1803-76), who extended the conjoined buildings to form a pleasing country house. The old keep retains much of its original form, although the entrance directly into the first floor, in the middle of the south front, was removed and the cap-house and fortified parapet are Victorian recreations by Bryce. The tower now incorporates the library, snooker room and principal bedrooms. The grounds of the castle extend to 63 ha (156 acres) and include a loch, a horseshoe-shaped walled garden dating from 1614, a 9-hole golf course and a 160 year-old yew hedge shaped as a Celtic Cross. The Guthries had their lands confiscated for a time at the end of the 16th century on the orders of James VI, following a feud with the Gardynes. However, they were later recovered and Guthrie Castle remained their home until 1984 when it was sold to the American entrepreneur and the motivational guru Daniel S. Pena. Pena completed a grand scheme of restoration in 2003. The castle remains a private residence, but also serves as the headquarters of Pena's business activities and is available as an exclusive golfing retreat and conference centre. Guthrie Castle is said to be haunted.
