Ochtertyre in 1860
Ochtertyre -tales of mass murder and romantic poetry !
Excerts from
“Beauties of Upper Strathearn “ – an 1860 Tourist Guide
The mansion house is situated about half way down the slope
and is a plain modern and commodious building. At the foot of the slope there
is a beautiful sheet of water, on the promontory of which stands the donjon of
an old fortress that once occupied the whole of the promontory. To the west of
the mansion house there is an observatory most picturesquely situated and
designed.
Granite Lodge
The tourist , sending forward his vehicle to the lower west
lodge , may enter the grounds by the
east avenue at what is called the
Granite Lodge .On the left , at half distance between the lodge and the
mansion may be seen the family mausoleum
, a massive and tasteful structure of
Gothic architecture, erected in 1809 and adorned with suitable windows of stained glass. On a black marble tablet,
under the large window at the west end, are recorded the names , ages , marriages , off spring and burial places of the direct line of
the family ( Murray ) since the middle
of the fifteenth century . One of the family died on the fatal field of
Flodden. A churchyard enclosed by a neat modern wall surrounds the mausoleum where formerly stood the Parish Church of Monzievaird founded fourteen hundred years ago
by St Serf who was afterwards
styled the Apostle of the Orkneys .
At a short distance to the west of the mausoleum there is a
well still bearing the name of the saint. The old church in 1511 was the scene
of a fearful tragedy, which Sir Walter Scott has narrated in his introduction
to the “Legend of Montrose”. There had been an old feud between the Murrays and
the Drummonds. A bloody battle was fought between them at Knock Mary (an
eminence at the south side of the Earn near Crieff). The Drummonds had been
defeated and the Murrays were returning home with the cattle and goods of their
defeated foes. The Drummonds received
unexpected succour by the arrival of
Campbell of Dunstaffnage with a large body of his clansmen. They had come to
avenge the death of Drummond of Mewie or Lennoch., Campbell’s father in law who
had been killed by the Murrays. The Drummonds and Campbells united their
forces and followed the Murrays, who
seeing their danger, took refuge in the Church of Monzievaird. They did so,
without being perceived by their
pursuers and had been able to assemble their wives and children with them. The
avengers, as they called themselves, were baffled in their pursuit and were
about to disperse when one of the Murrays
shot an arrow from a window of
the church thus revealing the place of their retreat .Every combustible that could be procured was
gathered around the building which was thatched
with heather and burned quickly to the ground . There were one hundred
and sixty men, with their wives and children thus burned
to death in that old church .Only one of the Murrays escaped and this
happened through the connivance of a
Drummond who was so hated and persecuted
by his clan on this
count that he had to take
refuge in Ireland .He was there
for many years and only returned when the Murrays had acquired sufficient power to reward and protect him .
They gave him a small property between
Strowan and Comrie and its name still bears testimony
to his exile , for it is called Drummond – ernoch , that is ,
“Drummond the Irishman “ .In consequence of this massacre , James lV brought the Drummonds to a stern reckoning
and caused the Master of Drummond with a
number of his followers to be executed at Stirling .The church was soon afterwards rebuilt on the same site and with some
alterations remained the Parish Church till the beginning of the present century .When the foundation
of the mausoleum was being prepared an immense quantity of bones were found
which bore unquestionable evidence of burning.
A little onward from the mausoleum, the tourist gains a
point which commands a beautiful view
of the lake and the surrounding scenery. The lake covers about thirty Scottish
acres and abounds with pike and perch. The old fortress on its northern bank
was surrounded by a deep and broad ditch which is still sufficiently marked.
When recently cleaned out a horse shoe of a peculiar form was found in it. The fortress is said to
have belonged to the Red Comyn whom Robert Bruce killed before the High Altar
of the Convent of the Minorites at Dumfries. About eighty yards west of the
ruin is a small artificial island which
tradition alleges to have been the prison of the castle.
Castle Cluggie
At the west end of the lake is a large mound where those who
died of the plague which ravaged the district in the reign of Charles l, were
buried.
On the south, is the scene of the Battle of Monzievaird
which was fought in 1003 and where Kenneth lV was killed. There is a cairn on
one of the heights overlooking the valley and is called Cairnchaiachan – the
cairn of Kenneth. Kenneth was buried on
Iona in tradition with previous royalty.
Ochtertyre is the residence of Sir William Keith Murray –
fourteenth in the line of descent from the founder of the branch of the family.
In the preceding thirteen generations, the father has invariably been succeeded by his eldest son, there never
having been any collateral descent.
The observatory next to the
mansion house was erected in 1852. In front of the observatory on a stone
platform five feet above ground level is a stone pier carrying an improved iron
equatorial of a simple construction suitable for as six feet
telescope and on ground level are
two massive wood stands furnished with
simple iron equatorials for portable
instruments . These are especially fitted up for the use of visitors and out of
door observations.
The Laird with his telescope
The Observatory now a staff cottage
It is well known that Burns
visited Ochtertyre in 1787 and left behind a poetic memorial of his visit. The
house in which he visited is now demolished and was located to the north west
of the present building. It was here Burns met the beautiful Euphemia Murray of Lintrose . She later married a Mr
Smythe of Methven who was a Lord of Session .
Blithe , blithe and merry was she
Blithe was she baith but and ben
Blithe by the banks of the Earn
But blither in Loch Turret Glen
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