Balvaird Castle

Balvaird Castle is a late medieval tower house in Perth and Kinross, raised around 1495 by Sir Andrew Murray, a younger son of the Murrays of Tullibardine. Murray came to the estate through marriage to Margaret Barclay, heiress to a wealthy family, and the tower he built stands out among Scottish castles of its period for the refinement of its detail. Where many towers were plainly functional, Balvaird carries carved stone corbels, an elaborately worked wall-cupboard, and a small tower-house rising above its stair. Red sandstone was used for the finer ornament, and a kitchen was set unusually on the ground floor. A gatehouse was added in 1567, along with enclosed courtyards and a walled orchard, or pleasance, to the north. The Murrays held Balvaird until their rise to the Viscountcy of Stormont drew them south to Scone Palace in 1658; afterwards the castle stayed occupied, though by farm workers rather than the family. It was scheduled as a monument in 1950 and is now in the care of Historic Environment Scotland. For several years the tower has been closed to visitors on safety grounds, owing to structural decay, so it is best appreciated from the surrounding fields.