The Brodies
have been at Brodie since 1160 when Malcolm IV endowed the lands. The 25th
Chief, Ninian Brodie of that Ilk, had the castle passed to the Trust in 1980 but continues
to live there and takes an active part in the running of the estate.
From the entrance hall, with
the guardroom off, one enters the library, where the pillars are merely decorative and
hold books. The secondary stair, with its stainglass window of the Brodie arms, leads to
the dining room, the ceiling of which is a rich fenestration of wooden carvings. The Blue
Sitting Room has a vaulted plaster roof. The Red Drawing Room was the castle’s
original high hall, and is now adorned with a gothic fireplace. The drawing room follows,
then a series of bedrooms, then a nursery and on to the main staircase. The kitchen is
fitted out to reproduce its look when it was added to the castle in early Victorian times.
Brodie as it stands today
owes much to the architect William Burn who enlarged it in 1824. However, the original
Z-plan castle of 1567 survives, and the harling blends the various additions beautifully.
In 1645 the castle had been partially destroyed by fire by Lord Lewis Gordon during the
Montrose campaigns. Alexander, 19th Brodie, was the Lord Lyon King of Arms, and
his family’s interest in arms is clear from those on display.
The policies of 175 acres are
also owned by the Trust, and the grounds are richly wooded. In the spring there is also a
magnificent display of daffodils, established by the 24th Laird, who bred over
400 varieties himself. The ninth-century Rodney Stone, a Pictish symbol stone, stands by
the drive. |
