The Drawing Room

The Rev. John Stirton, in his book on Glamis writes of the Drawing Room, formerl y Earl Patrick's 'Great Hall' thus: 'The most splendid apartment in the Castle. It is sixty feet long by twenty two feet broad and has a fine arched ceiling of beautiful old plasterwork, bearing the monograms of John, second Earl of Kinghorne and his Coun tess, Margaret Erskine, daughter of the Earl of Mar, and the date, 1621. The 3rd Earl had a great liking for this room and speaks of it in his "Book of Record" as "my great hall which is a room that I have ever loved". Three great windows, deeply embrasur ed in the walls, which here are eight feet in thickness, give light to the room.' A chamber at one end of the room formed out of the thickness of the walls is called the Powder Room.

The bleak stones which must have characterised its original appeara nce were plastered and the 2nd Earl continued the process by employing several stuccoists working in the Italian style to embellish the ceiling and to create a frieze. Thus the room evolved from primitive Great Hall to elegant Drawing Room. The plaster ov ermantel with its caryatids and royal arms was probably completed a few years earlier. The white plaster has been picked out in colour and now shows the royal arms in all the glory of its heraldic colours surrounded by a green thistle and rose motif and t his is as it should be. The delicate pink wash on the walls makes a perfect background for the family portraits which abound in this room, notably the enormous conversation piece of the 3rd Earl with his sons and hunting dogs (the 3rd Earl made many addit ions to the castle including the Chapel). This picture is particularly interesting as it shows the Castle as reconstructed by the Earl almost to its present appearance and some of the outer gates and walls which have disappeared can be distinguished.

Another notable portrait is that of the young 9th Lord Glamis (afterwards 1st Earl of Kinghorne) aged eight by an unknown artist of the school of Clouet backed with a portrait of his secret ary George Boswell. Beneath the large conversation piece are portraits of Lady Arbella Stuart, King Charles I and Queen Elizabeth I.

Especially interesting is the fine portrait of John Grahame of Claverhouse, Viscount Dundee, known as 'Bonnie Dundee' . One of Scotland's most dashing heroes, he supported King James VII and II at the Revolution of 1688 and raised an army in the Highlands with the help of Cameron of Locale. At a fierce battle in the perilous Pass of Killiecrankie he defeated William III' s General Mackay but in the moment of victory fell mortally wounded. According to Michael Barrington this portrait, by Kneller, inspired Scott, who saw it on his visit here, to describe it in 'Redgauntlet'. Dundee's seat was at Claverhouse Castle. Nothing remains of it above ground but the site near Glenogilvy is known and is now part of the Glamis estate.