dog friendly pitlochry b&b
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
dog friendly pitlochry b&b, holiday accommodation, dog friendly guest house perthshire, dog friendly pitlochry scotland, b&b tourist short breaks, booking uk, reservation lodgings, hospitality comfort, peaceful country views, visit, quality, beauty countryside, cycling walking riding, fishing activity, bird watching pitlochry, blair atholl, dog friendly accommodation pitlochry, b&b
Located at Easter Elcho, Rhynd in Perth and Kinross, Elcho Castle was built in the latter half of the 16th century for the Wemyss family, whose descendents still own it, although it is now in the care of Historic Scotland. Overlooking the River Tay, the tower-shaped castle has many original features, including the ruins of the courtyard, the chapel and a round tower with kiln.
Elcho has been in the ownership of the Wemyss family for five and a half centuries, if not longer. It was part of the possessions confirmed to Sir John Wemyss of Wemyss by James III in 1468, and is still owned by the earls of Wemyss. The date when the present castle began to be built is uncertain, though it was probably in the third quarter of the sixteenth century. We know that the lands were confirmed to Sir John Wemyss in 1552, and this may have been a way of ensuring that his title to it was sound before he started a major campaign of rebuilding. He was certainly able to sign a charter at Elcho in 1558, though that does not necessarily mean that the new house was complete, since there must already have been a house on the site before the one we now see. However, there is a record that in 1570 the laird of Wemyss owed the late Thomas Bryson or Boynting the sum of £7 for ironwork, and it is tempting to suspect that this was for the wrought iron grilles or yetts at the windows and main doorway, and that the main work was complete by then.
The house we now see was never intended to stand in isolation, and work on the ancillary buildings associated with it probably continued over several generations -to meet changing requirements. The remains of a range which ran along one side of the main courtyard of the castle have the initials IEW on the gable, perhaps in reference to John earl of Wemyss. The earldom was created for him by Charles I in 1633 and he died in 1649. Around the house and the courtyards immediately associated with it would have been a small dependent township, of which the modem farm and houses in the area are the successors. There was a small boat anchorage below the castle at the junction of the River Tay with the bum which runs down the east side of the castle. Boats may also have been able to enter the quarry immediately north of the castle, which used to be flooded and connected to the river by a short cut.
It is not certain when the castle ceased to be a principal residence of the Wemyss family, though it was perhaps after the seventh earl acquired the Gosford estate, in East Lothian, in 1781. Elcho probably housed tenants and farm labourers after it was no longer used by members of the family. Nevertheless, it continued to be important to the Wemyss family since, until quite recently, the heirs of the earls of Wemyss bore the title of Lord Elcho. It was re-roofed in about 1830 by the eighth earl, and it was probably around the same time that the cottage on the west side of the courtyard was built. The eleventh earl placed the castle in the care of the state in 1929, and it is now cared for by Historic Scotland on behalf of the Secretary of State for Scotland.