History of Duchray Castle

For all the history buffs out there this is the history of the castle we are staying at! As far as I could gather from the current owners of the castle. 

In 1509 a charter of "lands of Duchra-Estir" was granted by King James IV to Dormund Makersane, who was obliged to build a dwelling house on the land, probably for use as a royal hunting lodge. Early title deeds also record an obligation to provide the crown with 70 armed men as and when required, and to guard the nearby ford over the duchy water. 

Duchray came into the possession of the Graham family in 1569 with whom it remained until the 1940s: William Graham became the first  owner of Duchray and was probably the builder of the castle. 

The historian and novelist Nigel Tranter wrote that the castle might have been built on the foundations of an earlier building and that it's massive walls would be highly necessary against the depredations of the neighbouring warlike clan of MacGregor, seldom friends of the Grahams. Nevertheless there is a story famously related by Sir Walter Scott that Rob Roy MacGregor himself was in the castle when party of red coats arrived to apprehend him. One of the two Graham sisters in residence at the time engaged the officers in talk while the other helped Rob Roy make his escape. 

In the 1600s the English set fire to the castle, but succeeded only in damaging the roof and timbers, not the walls. Duchray castle was also the meeting point for the royalist forces raised by the Earl of Glencairn, who routed Cromwellian English force under General Monk in the pass of aberfoyle (near the local town) in 1653, John Graham continued to support the King's cause and suffered greatly as a result. Tranter relates that the castle was burned again after the Jacobite rising of 1745, and it was certainly recorded as in ruins in 1815. It appears to have been rebuilt or restored in about 1825. The gothic revival windows and crenellation date from that period, but subsequent alternation through the course of the 19th century and another fire amid the 20th century have all left their mark on the historic structure.  

In 2005 the castle was bought for 1.6 million GBP and shoddily renovated for a summer home, subsequently the renovations were abandoned when the money ran out. In 2010 the current owners (our hosts) purchased the castle and are currently renovating it into a B&B that will open for business this fall 2012.