Doctor’s talk on castle restoration

The man behind the restoration of a historic Angus castle will deliver a talk in Kirriemuir this week.

The baronial-style Balintore Castle near the town fell into disrepair in the 1960s but is slowly beginning to resemble its former self.

Dr David Johnston, who has described the castle’s restoration as his life’s work, will give a talk to Saltire Society Scotland about the project at Kirriemuir Parish Church Hall on Thursday at 7.30pm.

Built in 1860 and abandoned 100 years later, silence prevailed over its empty halls for half a century.

It was built for David Lyon, a politician who had inherited a fortune made through the East India Company.

Most recently, Balintore was utilised as a shooting lodge, but due to dry rot appearing it became uninhabited in the 1960’s.

The castle has been on the Buildings at Risk Register for Scotland since the record began in 1990 and was briefly owned by Angus Council before it was sold to Dr Johnston in 2007 on the condition it was restored.

Boasting 50-plus rooms, the castle once featured a dining room, drawing room, library, saloon and a double-height great hall, with a canted-bay window offering views across the valley.

Dr Johnston is in the process of applying for listed building consent to fix the interior walls in the main body of the castle.