Orchil Castle has had an eventful boom-and-bust life since it was built in 1867.
The Scots Baronial building, which was designed by architect Andrew Heiton Junior, has survived two fires, in 1917 and 1967.
It also welcomed guests including King George VI, operated as a foster home, and a literal pigsty, when a local farmer allowed his wards to roam freely in the house, before its restoration in the 2010s.
It’s twice been owned by the Dawson family, who are currently selling the category B seven bedroom property, with 56 acres, including its own loch, and a separate two bedroom cottage and three bedroom flat, via estate agents Fine & Country for £2.1m.
We asked the owner’s son, Fernando Perez-Buchanan, to tell us more.
Why is it time to move on?
We have decided the project was an endeavour that we would struggle to achieve for various reasons and we believe it is time to allow Orchil to be restored by someone more able to undertake the project. My mother bought Orchil almost ten years ago with the aim to restore it back to the magnificent country house it once had been. We live permanently in the south of Europe, so our intention was never to live there on a permanent basis. We believe that it would make a fine luxury rental for foreigners wishing to spend time enjoying Scotland at its most glorious. It has Gleneagles just down the road, Glasgow and Edinburgh within an hour’s drive, and is near to St Andrews and Loch Lomond, where you can find the best golfing in the world. It’s also near some of the best shooting and hunting estates in Scotland, so it would make an ideal luxury rental that we could also enjoy when available. Covid and the escalation of building cost in the UK unfortunately made it too much of an endeavour for us to undertake. We hope Orchil finds a match that secures its future - a future we believe it deserves.
Tell us about you mother’s childhood there
She lived in Orchil until she was 12 when her grandfather sold it in 1949. Before then, it was a very exciting time as she belonged to a large family. There was a constant flow of visitors from all over the world. She remembers a household of over 40 people that ran the house, the home farm, the grounds and the shooting/fishing side of the estate. Although too young to participate in the social aspects of Orchil she would sneak down to the main landing and spy through the banisters of the staircase. Many members of the staff either lived on site or in the nearby village of Braco so there was an abundance of children with whom she played. When the pond in front of the house froze over all the staff and the Dawson family would cease working and the day was spent curling, ice skating, eating and enjoying merriment in general. My mother also remembers a multitude of children that arrived at Orchil from Liverpool during the war. They were sent to the countryside for safety during the German bombing campaign. The main gates to Orchil were removed and sent off to be recycled for the war effort. During the war period, the drive was used as an arms depot, with boxes of shells lining the main driveway. Her grandfather would spend many hours on the tower looking out for enemy bombing aircraft and would forewarn the Liverpool authorities of imminent danger.
What are your favourite rooms?
The main hall and the living room are two of my favourite spaces. The main hall receives plenty of light and is spacious and cosy at the same time. The living room is a bright room and when the fire is lit it is very warm. Again, this is a very spacious room that looks onto the meadows down to the pond and also onto the main drive. It’s as wonderful a room to find peace and quiet as it is to receive guests.
Favourite outdoor spaces?
The front lawn because it has sun all day, from daybreak to sunset. The view is outstanding as it looks onto the pond which is always busy with resident and migratory fowl. The resident family of swans are always with cygnets it seems, there’s a local osprey that keeps the trout count in check, ducks galore in various types, and we have seen kingfishers and geese descending on the meadow by the pond, roe deer and pine martins. Weather permitting, we often have picnics and barbeques on the front lawn.
What do you think are the most interesting facts about the castle's history?
My great grandfather bought Orchil in 1927. It had just been reconstructed after a fire destroyed it extensively, so there was no need to do much. He did install central heating throughout the house and had a cottage built to house a generator. He also built a squash court that was demolished in the Seventies. Two houses were built close to the main entrance to the Orchil estate for his sisters. My great grandfather was the son of Peter Dawson - a titan in the whisky industry and worthy of looking up. Incidentally, he was a faithful reader of The Scotsman till the day he died. The interesting visits from the Duke of Kent and his brother the future King George VI are due to my great great grandfather being in the Royal Company of Archers, the personal guard to Royals in Scotland. The Duke of Kent is said to have enjoyed the gastronomical delights Orchil had to offer as well as one of the best wine cellars in Scotland at that time. His best friends were Brigadier Sterling (father of David Sterling who created the SAS in WWII and Sir Walter Maxwell Scott, grandson of Sir Walter Scott).
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