For centuries the Graeme family lived at Inchbrakie, east of Crieff. The ancient moated Inchbrakie Castle, home to many generations, was replaced by an elegant mansion early in the eighteenth century, but by the later years of the following century the family were selling up, and this little summerhouse commemorates their long association with the estate. It is currently overgrown, but read on and a little more will be revealed.
In 1878 Inchbrakie was advertised for sale, with the agents noting that ‘it is seldom so desirable a Residential Property comes into the market’. No buyer could be found until 1882, when it was announced that Charles Stirling Home Drummond Moray (1816-1891), who owned the adjoining estate of Abercairney, had purchased the house and land.
Moray added the land to his substantial holdings, but the house was surplus to requirements. In April 1883 the furniture and household effects were sold, and in August a sale of building materials was held including doors, windows and mantelpieces.
Some of the stone must have been stored away for in 1888 work began on a ‘kindly memorial’ which was constructed using fragments of balustrade, pillars and dressed stone. News that a ‘memorial of the seat of an ancient family’ had been built on the Inchbrakie estate was reported in Scottish newspapers in December 1889.
The seat stands on a tranquil, leafy lane, rich with birdsong but, as the title photo shows, Mother Nature has been a little too bountiful of late, and a beech tree is engulfing the memorial. The ever-helpful Uncouth Companion kindly dragged back some of the foliage to allow the Flâneuse a better view:
The back wall has a carved family crest, salvaged from the demolition, and an inscription recording the seat’s history.
The building is marked on Ordnance Survey maps from 1899 as ‘seat’ and is listed (Category B) as ‘Inchbrakie Bower’. Consult a map to find your way to the spot and enjoy the pleasant walk to the seat (after a very hot July holiday climbing up hills to find Scottish follies, the Flâneuse was delighted to discover that the route was fairly level).
A reminder to readers that the annual Heritage Open Days in September are a great way to see follies in England that are not usually accessible – the link above (highlighted in red) will take you straight to the follies list. In Wales there are Open Doors days, and Scotland has Doors Open Days, both also in September – the Flâneuse couldn’t find any follies but you can search for yourself via the links.
Thank you for reading. As ever, your thoughts are very welcome and you can get in touch via the contact box at the foot of the page.
