Dundee-Based PCA Member Awarded Timber Preservation Contract By Historic Perthshire Castle

WELL known PCA members, Intona Limited of Dundee, were delighted to have been awarded the contract to carry out timber restoration work at the historic Drummond Castle near Crieff in Perthshire, Scotland. The castle, with its fabulous gardens which are open to the public, dates back to 1490. Intona director Ron Mitchell was delighted to be approached for his firm to carry out the work on such a prestigious location.

Ron explained ‘We have carried out work on Drummond estates and the castle in the past, however this new timber preservation contract was particularly demanding due to the history, age and fabric of the internal location where the actual work was being carried out. Apart from renewing and treating existing timber, we had to ensure that we paid 100% attention to the preservation of the internal fabric of the building such as the ceilings, cornices and wall coverings in the surrounding rooms to where the actual work was being carried out. ‘To protect the castle interior for example, materials had to be delivered via specially erected external scaffolding. Protection on this project was every bit as vital as preservation’ explained Ron.

Drummond Castle was built on a rocky outcrop by John, 1st Lord Drummond around 1490. The 2nd Earl, a Privy Councillor to James VI and Charles I, succeeded in 1612 and is credited with transforming both the gardens and the castle between 1630-1636. The Keep still stands but the rest of the castle was restored and largely remodelled in 1890. Queen Victoria visited Drummond Castle in 1842, she and Prince Albert ‘walked in the garden which is really very fine, with terraces, like an old French garden’. In 1978, the family formed the Grimsthorpe and Drummond Castle Trust to maintain the castle buildings, gardens and surrounding park for the benefit of future generations with the gardens featuring more recently in the United Artists film “Rob Roy” featuring Liam Neeson, John Hurt and Tim Roth. More recently, the gardens featured in the hit TV series ‘Outlander’.

The contract lasted approximately seven weeks and was a fine testament to the skills and attributes of Intona’s highly skilled operatives