Brodie

Castle

The Castle

Brodie Castle is a typical fortified house built in the 16th Century and added to thereafter. The original house dating from 1567 was built by the 12th Brodie of Brodie.

The original structure was a tower house built on a 'Z' plan with two towers set at opposite corners of a rectangular central keep. This gave defenders a field of fire along all four walls.

A western extension was added in the early 17th Century but apart from this, little building was done until the 19th century when William Burn was commissioned to build the eastern wing of the house.

The grounds of the castle were extensively remodelled in the 1730s with radiating avenues of trees, a wilderness and an ornamental canal and basin.

The castle and grounds are now held in trust for the nation by The National Trust for Scotland.

The Family

The earliest records of Brodies at Brodie date from over 800 years ago. The Thanes of Brodie inhabited the area and may have obtained their lands from king Malcolm IV in about 1160. The tenth laird living in the 16th century, is the first of whom much is recorded. It was his grandson Alexander who began the building of the present house.

The Brodies lives were dominated by the religious events in the 17th century, the 15th Brodie signing the first National Covenant. This led to the castle being partially burnt in 1645 by Lords Gordon and Huntly.

The 18th century saw the accumulation of considerable debt which later generations were to partially recoup by service in India.
This burden of debt was to rear its head again in the 19th century when William Brodie (22nd) commissioned the eastern extension to the house. His marriage in 1838 to Elizabeth Baillie of Redcastle alleviated the situation somewhat.

The 24th Brodie of Brodie was an authority on daffodils and raised at Brodie, many of the varieties we grow today. The 25th Brodie of Brodie, Ninian, sadly died earlier this year (2003), ending the 800 year association of Brodies with Brodie.

Visiting Brodie

The castle is open to visitors from April to September and the grounds all year.
The interior retains the atmosphere of a comfortable family house and as you enter the rooms it is as though a member of the family has just left.

The Drawing Room

The major collection of paintings, are hung throughout the house and with the porcelain, fine furnishings and decorative plaster ceilings, provide an enriching experience for the visitor.

A walk in the grounds of the castle reveals the remnants of the early 18th century formal landscaping scheme which is in the process of being restored. This work will not come to fruition for many years as it requires the maturation of trees. The visitor can see how it once was and with a little imagination, how it will be again.