‘I like to think my grandparents and the old laird are watching me work at the castle’
Julie Armour, visitor experience manager at Brodie Castle, Forres, has fond memories of the fruit tarts her grandmother would sneak her on the days the laird of Brodie Castle in Forres would go shooting.
“My grandparents both worked at Brodie Castle, so we spent every summer there,” she recalled.
“My granny Jean was cook and housekeeper for Ninian Brodie, the 25th laird. On the days he and local landowners would meet up to shoot pheasants, my granny would do a lot of cooking and she would sneak me some raspberry and lemon curd tarts as a kid. So I have a fond memories of that.”
Armour is the visitor experience manager at the historic site that was home to Clan Brodie until it was taken over by the National Trust Scotland in the late-1970s. She has worked there for 20 years.
“My grandparents retired in the 90s so
I still remember them working here,” said Armour, 45, who lives in Forres.
“My grandad, George McCulloch, came here to work when he was 14 and retired on his 65th birthday, so it’s the only job he ever had. He began as a gardener and retired as head forester.
“My grandad kept working for the National Trust when they took over the property, while my granny continued to work for Brodie in the private apartments he lived in. She retired in 1995.”
Armour’s mother, Heather Maine, began working at Brodie Castle as a housekeeper, aiding her mother, in the 80s. She left in 1995 and now works the Post Office shop in Forres. Armour’s aunt and cousin also worked briefly in the National Trust tearoom.
Now, Armour’s son, Tom, 18, works in housekeeping at the castle, making him the fourth generation of the family to be employed there. Her daughter Jayne, 20, who studies occupational therapy at university, also works there in catering during the summer.
“Ninian Brodie, who I knew well, always loved showing people around his home, even before the National Trust took over, so I love that I’m able to carry on that legacy,” added Armour.
“I like to think that my grandparents and old Brodie are watching over on me here and thinking, ‘there’s Jill running about and still looking after Brodie’.”