Blair Drummond Motte

Blair Drummond Motte occupies a site at the western end of a glacial ridge overlooking land that is now drained level farmland. It sits within the wider estate of Blair Drummond, and is not accessible by any public paths. The ridge  – which is visible from the main road – is covered with trees, and the motte itself has been mutilated by the erection of an 18th century obelisk on the top with an ornamental garden around it. Both the garden and obelisk are in a poor state of repair.

The motte itself is towards the larger end of this type of castle. The summit is oval in shape, measuring about 21 metres by 17, and rises about four metres above the ambient ground level of the ridge to the east, whilst to the west it drops about eight metres. It is described as being surrounded by a ditch, but it is likely that to the west at least this has the appearance of a terrace rather than a ditch. The measurements given are that he ditch is 2 metres wide, with a slight counterscarp on the northern side of about 0.50 metres. It is also noted that a path has been created to the south-west which acts as a causeway across the ditch. A short distance to the west is the ruined parish church, dedicated to St Lolan and burial ground. The church was originally granted to Cambuskenneth Abbey by King William the Lion in the 1190s, and a slight mound in the burial ground marks the original location; the ruin was in use by the end of the 17th century at least as a memorial of 1686 occupies part of it, and replaced as the parish church in the early 19th century.

The church served the parish of Kincardine, and was presumably part of a small planned settlement. To it’s south-east, and to the south-west of the motte, is the site of the old castle of Kincardine, which remained in ruinous form into the 18th century. Tradition states that it was the site of the castle of the Muschetts of Kincardine, (originally Montfichet) and that it passed to to the Drummond family in the 14th century – and whilst Richard de Munfichet was granted the lands of Kincardine at the same time the church was granted to Cambuskenneth, and Malcolm de Drummond was certainly granted it in barony in 1364, it seems an odd location, given the presence of the motte in a far more defensible location, and that the old tower house at Blair Drummond itself is most likely late 14th/early 15th century. Yet the “walls and moat” survived in intelligible form until the late 18th century. Roy’s map suggests that a settlement of Kincardine survived into the mid 18th century, and I personally am inclined to think ruins of the settlement were misinterpreted as the old castle – which was in fact up on the ridge, and was replaced by the Drummonds by the great tower after a period of abandonment.

HES Canmore database entry