Qualla: Drum Castle https://qualla.com/drum-castle en-us © 2026 Bendyline Mon, 20 Jul 2026 10:21:25 GMT Qualla serial false Qualla support@bendyline.com yes https://qualla.com/_m/g/f/n/k/drum-castle-wp/hero-small.webp Qualla: Drum Castle https://qualla.com/drum-castle Drum Castle: Introduction https://qualla.com/drum-castle/ Photo credit Craig Burgess, CC BY-SA 2.0. Six hundred and fifty years is a long time for any family to occupy the same house. The Irvines of Drum managed it - from 1323, when Robert the Bruce granted the estate to his armour-bearer William de Irwyn, until 1975, when the 24th laird bequeathed the castle to the National Trust for Scotland. In that span, the family weathered the Wars of Scottish Independence, the Reformation, the Civil Wars, and two world wars without ever losing their grip on the square granite tower that anchors one of the oldest continuously inhabited houses in Britain.

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Image: Craig Burgess | CC BY-SA 2.0

]]> Sat, 14 Mar 2026 00:00:00 GMT https://qualla.com/_m/g/f/n/k/drum-castle-wp/gfnk-drum-castle-intro.mp3 0:06 1 full Drum Castle: The Oldest Tower https://qualla.com/drum-castle/ Photo credit Bill Harrison, CC BY-SA 2.0. The great tower of Drum Castle dates to approximately 1280-1300, making it one of the three oldest tower houses in Scotland, alongside Hallforest Castle and Drum's own disputed rival, Castle of Wardhouse. The tower was likely built by Richard Cementarius, the master mason who als...

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Image: Bill Harrison | CC BY-SA 2.0

]]> Sat, 14 Mar 2026 00:00:00 GMT https://qualla.com/_m/g/f/n/k/drum-castle-wp/gfnk-drum-castle-the-oldest-tower.mp3 0:06 2 full Drum Castle: Bruce's Gift https://qualla.com/drum-castle/ Photo credit Astrid Horn, CC BY-SA 2.0. William de Irwyn served Robert the Bruce as armour-bearer and secretary during the wars that secured Scottish independence. In 1323, Bruce rewarded him with the lands and forest of Drum, along with the tower that already stood on the property. The royal charter that conveyed this...

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Image: Astrid Horn | CC BY-SA 2.0

]]> Sat, 14 Mar 2026 00:00:00 GMT https://qualla.com/_m/g/f/n/k/drum-castle-wp/gfnk-drum-castle-bruces-gift.mp3 0:06 3 full Drum Castle: Jacobean Expansion https://qualla.com/drum-castle/ Photo credit Alan Findlay, CC BY-SA 2.0. In 1619, the 9th Laird added a Jacobean mansion house to the medieval tower, creating the architectural contrast that defines Drum today. The mansion is a comfortable domestic building with large windows, decorative plasterwork, and the amenities expected by a seventeenth-century...

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Image: Alan Findlay | CC BY-SA 2.0

]]> Sat, 14 Mar 2026 00:00:00 GMT https://qualla.com/_m/g/f/n/k/drum-castle-wp/gfnk-drum-castle-jacobean-expansion.mp3 0:06 4 full Drum Castle: The Garden of Historic Roses https://qualla.com/drum-castle/ Photo credit Stanley Howe, CC BY-SA 2.0. The walled garden at Drum contains a collection of historic roses arranged chronologically, telling the story of rose cultivation from the seventeenth century to the present. The collection was established by the National Trust for Scotland after it took ownership and includes va...

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Image: Stanley Howe | CC BY-SA 2.0

]]> Sat, 14 Mar 2026 00:00:00 GMT https://qualla.com/_m/g/f/n/k/drum-castle-wp/gfnk-drum-castle-the-garden-of-historic-roses.mp3 0:06 5 full Drum Castle: The Weight of Continuity https://qualla.com/drum-castle/ Photo credit John Preston Neale, Public domain. What distinguishes Drum from the many other castles of Aberdeenshire is the sheer duration of its single-family occupation. The Irvines held Drum through the Scottish Wars of Independence, the Reformation, the Covenanting wars, the Jacobite risings, and the agricultural and indus...

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Image: John Preston Neale | Public domain

]]> Sat, 14 Mar 2026 00:00:00 GMT https://qualla.com/_m/g/f/n/k/drum-castle-wp/gfnk-drum-castle-the-weight-of-continuity.mp3 0:06 6 full