Balvaird Castle in Perthshire is a traditional late medieval Scottish

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 ...

. It is located in the

Ochil Hills The Ochil Hills (; gd, Monadh Ochail is a range of hills in Scotland north of the Forth valley bordered by the towns of Stirling, Alloa, Kinross, Auchterarder and Perth. The only major roads crossing the hills pass through Glen Devon/ Gle ...

, around south of Abernethy. The name Balvaird is from ''Baile a' Bhàird'', 'Township of the Bard' in

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 ...

. Balvaird Castle is a

scheduled monument In the United Kingdom, a scheduled monument is a nationally important archaeological site or historic building, given protection against unauthorised change. The various pieces of legislation that legally protect heritage assets from damage and d ...

, and is in the care of

Historic Environment Scotland Historic Environment Scotland (HES) ( gd, Àrainneachd Eachdraidheil Alba) is an executive non-departmental public body responsible for investigating, caring for and promoting Scotland's historic environment. HES was formed in 2015 from the me ...

. The spelling of its name has many variations, including Balverd, Balverde, Balward, Balwaird and Baleward.

Origins

Balvaird was built around the year 1495 for Sir Andrew Murray, a younger son of the family of Murray of

Tullibardine Tullibardine is a location in Perth and Kinross, Scotland, which gives its name to a village, a castle and a grant of nobility. The village of Tullibardine is a settlement of approximately forty dwellings about southwest of Perth. It lies in the ...

. He acquired the lands of Balvaird through marriage to the heiress Margaret Barclay, a member of a wealthy family and daughter of James Barclay of Kippo. It is likely that Balvaird Castle was built on the site of an earlier Barclay family castle. Substantial remnants of earthwork fortifications around the Castle may survive from earlier defences. Balvaird is first mentioned in the written historical record in 1498 as 'the place of Balward' in the Register of the Great Seal of Scotland.

Additions and later history

Over the years the castle was extended and altered. A

gatehouse A gatehouse is a type of fortified gateway, an entry control point building, enclosing or accompanying a gateway for a town, religious house, castle, manor house, or other fortification building of importance. Gatehouses are typically the most ...

was built in 1567. An outer courtyard was attached to the main gate which possibly contained stabling as well as adding an extra layer of defence to the castle. Another courtyard to the south was a garden, while a much larger walled area to the north-east was an

orchard An orchard is an intentional plantation of trees or shrubs that is maintained for food production. Orchards comprise fruit- or nut-producing trees which are generally grown for commercial production. Orchards are also sometimes a feature of la ...

or 'pleasance.' The family continued to live at Balvaird until they were elevated to the Viscountcy of Stormont (ancestors of the Earldom of Mansfield) and in 1658 moved to the rather more comfortable

Scone Palace Scone Palace is a Category A- listed historic house near the village of Scone and the city of Perth, Scotland. Built in red sandstone with a castellated roof, it is an example of the Gothic Revival style in Scotland. Scone was originally the ...

, near

Perth Perth is the list of Australian capital cities, capital and largest city of the Australian states and territories of Australia, state of Western Australia. It is the list of cities in Australia by population, fourth most populous city in Aust ...

. Thereafter the castle continued to be inhabited, though not by the family itself. In its later days, it probably accommodated farmworkers. In 1887, MacGibbon & Ross note the presence of a 'recumbent statue lying in the castle', that could have been that of Lady Margaret Barclay, who married the first Sir Andrew Murray in 1495. Having been restored and partially excavated in recent years by

Historic Scotland Historic Scotland ( gd, Alba Aosmhor) was an executive agency of the Scottish Office and later the Scottish Government from 1991 to 2015, responsible for safeguarding Scotland's built heritage, and promoting its understanding and enjoyment. ...

, by whom it is maintained, the castle is a particularly fine and complete example of a traditional late medieval Scottish tower house. The site is open at all times, but the castle itself has not been open to the public for several years for safety reasons, due to structural deterioration. Balvaird Castle is the

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