Drumlanrig: The Castle, its People and its Paintings

With its pink sandstone, many domes and splendid Dumfriesshire setting, Drumlanrig is one of Scotland’s most romantic castles, its story entwined with that of the country itself. The 1st Duke of Queensberry took a decade to transform his medieval Douglas stronghold: by 1689, the North Front was a vision of dressed stone, 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, his son 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 house and fill it with treasures, such as the 3rd Duke of Montagu’s luminous Rembrandt portrait, Old Woman Reading.

This prestigious third edition also includes Drumlanrig’s gardens and a selection of surrounding landmarks, including Charles Jencks’s magical cosmic landscape, the Crawick Multiverse. The paperback edition will follow in Spring 2023.