Ashintully Castle, located near Kirkmichael, north of Blairgowrie, in the county of

Perthshire Perthshire ( locally: ; gd, Siorrachd Pheairt), officially the County of Perth, is a historic county and registration county in central Scotland. Geographically it extends from Strathmore in the east, to the Pass of Drumochter in the nor ...

Scotland Scotland (, ) is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Covering the northern third of the island of Great Britain, mainland Scotland has a border with England to the southeast and is otherwise surrounded by the Atlantic Ocean to th ...

, was built in 1583 as a fortified

tower house A tower house is a particular type of stone structure, built for defensive purposes as well as habitation. Tower houses began to appear in the Middle Ages, especially in mountainous or limited access areas, in order to command and defend strate ...

by the Spalding family; the Feudal Barons of Ashintully. The Spalding Barons were chiefs of the Spalding Clan and followers of the

Duke of Atholl Duke of Atholl, named for Atholl in Scotland, is a title in the Peerage of Scotland held by the head of Clan Murray. It was created by Queen Anne in 1703 for John Murray, 2nd Marquess of Atholl, with a special remainder to the heir male of ...

, the Chief of the Murray Clan. The Spaldings of Ashintully and their cadet branches were Jacobites, or followers of the

House of Stuart The House of Stuart, originally spelt Stewart, was a royal house of Scotland, England, Ireland and later Great Britain. The family name comes from the office of High Steward of Scotland, which had been held by the family progenitor Walter ...

. The castle is reached from the B950 road to the Northeast of Kirkmichael. The name ''Ashintully'' is an anglicised spelling of the

Gaelic Gaelic is an adjective that means "pertaining to the Gaels". As a noun it refers to the group of languages spoken by the Gaels, or to any one of the languages individually. Gaelic languages are spoken in Ireland, Scotland, the Isle of Man, and Ca ...

''Eas an Tulaich'' and means "cascade of the hillock". In 1597 the

Earl of Atholl The Mormaer or Earl of Atholl was the title of the holder of a medieval comital lordship straddling the highland province of Atholl (''Ath Fodhla''), now in northern Perthshire. Atholl is a special Mormaerdom, because a King of Atholl is repor ...

and his followers attacked Andrew Spalding at Ashintully, bringing great guns, hagbuts, and pistols and raising fire at the house. In the mid 19th century it was occupied by R J R Ayton.Perth Post Office Directory 1860: List of Noblemen and Gentlemen's Country Seats

Location

References

External links

The Spaldings of Ashintully, Perthshire, Scotland
* ttp://www.satelliteviews.net/cgi-bin/w.cgi?c=uk&UF=-2588646&UN=-3561752&DG=BLDG Satellite View of Ashintully Castle*MyClan.com
Armigerous Clan Spalding
{{Authority control Houses in Perth and Kinross Castles in Perth and Kinross Category B listed buildings in Perth and Kinross Listed castles in Scotland