Murthly Castle

Murthly Castle stands near the village of Murthly in Perth and Kinross. It began as a small tower house with walls only 4.3 metres long in the 16th century. The Steuart family bought it in 1615 and kept enlarging it through the 17th and 18th centuries. A new wing was added around 1800 and a grand rebuilding started in 1838, though it was never finished. The castle is listed at the highest Scottish heritage category, A, together with its gardens and two nearby monuments. The castle’s Roman Bridge lies 1.3 kilometres west along the drive. Built in the mid-19th century, it copies Roman aqueducts with six wide arches and rusticated stonework. Its broad approach paths narrow as they reach the bridge, and small projections mark each arch. Though now overgrown and on the at-risk register, the bridge is still considered sound. Close by, the Birnam Burn bridge forms part of the same protected group. The Chapel of St Anthony the Eremite sits 350 metres north of the house. A 16th-century chapel once stood on the site. The present Catholic chapel, begun in 1846, is one of Scotland’s earliest post-Reformation churches and was designed by James Gillespie Graham in a neo-Romanesque style. Inside, Alexander Christie’s decoration uses gold, marble and elaborate woodwork by Charles Trotter. James Ballantine’s stained-glass windows complete the rich interior.