Castle Menzies

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Castle Menzies

Castle Menzies (obsolete: Weem Castle) in Scotland is the ancestral seat of Clan Menzies. It is slightly west of the small village of Weem, near Aberfeldy in the Highlands of Perthshire, and was formerly known as Weem Castle.

History

The castle from the 16th century, restored by the Menzies Clan Society, was more than 400 years the seat of the chiefs of the Clan Menzies. Strategically located, it has been involved in the turbulent history of the Highlands. Charles Edward Stuart, pretender to the throne of the Stuarts, spent 1746 on his way to the Battle of Culloden two nights in the castle.

The restoration of the old part of the castle involved the demolition of a highly dilapidated wing of the 18th century with a. A large Victorian ballroom remained.

The restored castle is an example of the architectural changes between an earlier tradition of rugged fortresses and a later, more easily defensible form of châteaux. The walls are of random rubble, originally roughcast, but the quoins, turrets, door and window frames are finely carved blue stone blocks. This attractive and extremely weather-resistant stone was also used for the architectural details and monuments near the ancient church of Weem, which was built by the Menzies and its monuments and tombs includes used. A wedding stone above the original entrance was installed by James Menzies in 1571 to document his marriage to Barbara Stewart, daughter of the Earl of Atholl.

Maharaja Dalip Singh, the last Maharaja of the Sikh Empire, lived in Castle Menzies 1855-1858, after his exile from Punjab in 1854. He was officially the ward of Sir John and Lady Spencer Logan Logan, who lent him the castle.