Overview
Only the exterior of Balvaird Castle can be viewed.
Appreciate the comfort and security of life as a wealthy landowner in the 1500s at this unusually complete tower house complex.
Balvaird Castle was likely built in the late 1400s, with significant additions made in the 1500s. Most tower houses from this period now stand alone in their surroundings, but at Balvaird the visitor can see it in a fuller context. The four-storey tower itself is accompanied by:
- inner and outer courtyards
- service buildings – now represented mostly by wall footings
- a formal walled garden
- a large walled ‘pleasance’, or park
Balvaird Castle was home to the Murrays of Balvaird, who extended and remodelled the property over the next 150 years or so. They eventually left Balvaird for Scone in 1658. The castle wound up as accommodation for farm labourers.
