Drumlanrig: The Castle, Its People and Its Paintings

With its picturesque domes, walls of pale pink sandstone and splendid Dumfriesshire setting, Drumlanrig is one of Scotland’s most romantic castles, its story entwined with that of the country itself. Today’s castle was superimposed on a medieval Douglas stronghold by the 1st Duke of Queensberry and took a decade to build. Finished in 1689, its North Front is a stunning stage set of dressed stone, classical pilasters and carvings of swags, scrolls and spooky faces. The 2nd Duke, known as ‘The Union Duke’ for his role in the 1707 Act of Union, added the great oak staircase, while his son created the vast gardens. The 4th Duke, a rakish cousin known as ‘Old Q’, left it to future Dukes of Buccleuch and Queensberry to rescue the castle and fill it with treasures, including Rembrandt’s luminous Old Woman Reading.