moulin inn perthshire brewery b&b
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
moulin inn perthshire brewery b&b, holiday accommodation perthshire, guest house perthshire, scotland moulin inn, perthshire brewery b&b, tourist short breaks, booking uk, reservation lodgings, hospitality comfort, peaceful country views, visit quality brewery, beauty countryside, cycling walking riding, fishing activity, bird watching pitlochry, blair atholl, moulin inn perthshire brewery b&b
Elcho Castle was built at a period when domestic comfort, convenience and privacy were coming to be regarded as increasingly desirable by the greater landholders. Yet the times were not yet so settled that it was wise to dispense completely with the means of defending oneself from the attacks of rivals, while the trappings of defensibility might also be seen as something of a status symbol associated with land holding. What we see at Elcho, therefore, is a fascinatingly ingenious response to these differing needs, which provided its fortunate occupants with accommodation of a very high standard together with a considerable degree of security. The walls are mainly of rubble masonry, much of which may have been taken from the quarry to the north of the house, while the dressings to the windows, doorways and corners are of dressed ashlar. Originally, of course, all of this would have been covered by lime render, masking any irregularities that are now evident, and slight traces of this render may still be seen.
Towards the entrance courtyard on its south side, the house presented an elongated facade with a square entrance tower at its western angle. Although not symmetrical this facade was carefully composed to give an appearance of measured regularity. At the wall head the massing was enlivened by a restrained display of turrets, dormers and conically-roofed turrets. The tower, which had the only entrance to the house at its base, was the only part of the house to have an open wall-walk behind a parapet, giving it externally something of the appearance of a distinct tower-house.
Thee flanks of the courtyard in front of the house were probably originally defined by ranges, of which part of that on the west survives. At the south-eastern angle of the courtyard, behind the modern house, is a round tower from which it was possible to fire along the adjoining courtyard walls, and there may have been similar towers at the other angles. There were probably further courtyards to contain ancillary buildings such as stables and farm buildings, and there would also have been gardens and orchards. Immediately to the north of the castle, where there is the quarry, there was no need for defensive walls. The face of the house overlooking the quarry is much less regular than that towards the courtyard, with three unequally spaced towers along its length; dearly there was less effort to create impressive architecture here, and it is on this side that most of the latrine chutes are concentrated; nevertheless, the results are attractive to modern eyes.
The single entrance doorway at the base of the south-west tower opened onto the spacious spiral main stair within the tower, which rose no higher than the principal rooms on the first floor. Members of the family and their visitors would proceed straight up the stair to that level, because the whole of the ground floor was occupied by the kitchen and associated larders and storerooms. These are all covered by stone vaulting which created a fire-proof barrier and gave greater structural strength to the building as a whole. Piercing the walls of the ground floor are seventeen gun-loops which would have effectively discouraged .11 but the most persistent unwanted visitors. In the sills of some of these loops are wooden battens with a central hole, which would have allowed the hand-held guns to be swivelled through the splayed mouth of the opening. Though there are windows at this level, they are smaller than those at the upper levels and stoutly barred. The kitchen is the first of the rooms to open off the corridor along the courtyard side of the ground floor. It has a large arched fireplace, within which most of the cooking took place over an open fire, and at the back of which is a bread oven.