Jump To Section:
Clan Graham are one of Scotland’s most powerful and prestigious families, so naturally, they have held some pretty impressive homes over the years! Come along with us to explore several classic castles and envision the dramatic lives your ancestors once led within them.
Discover the Castles of Clan Graham
Mugdock Castle
It seems right to begin with the clan’s historic seat, the mighty Mugdock Castle.
Mugdock Castle can be found around 12 miles north of Glasgow, and served as the Graham’s ancestral home between 1372 and 1700. From its early days, it was clearly designed to fit the family’s fearsome reputation as warriors, and also their high place in noble society.
The surrounding land was protected by Mugdock Loch, providing the castle with a natural defence, and giving the Grahams an immediate edge over any approaching attackers, while the castle itself was surrounded by a curtain wall, again adding an inbuilt protective measure.
Inside was a courtyard, a great hall, and plenty of accommodation for high-ranking guests.
Unfortunately, Mugdock attracted the attention of a number of enemies, who staged various violent sieges. In 1641, it was partially destroyed under the instructions of Parliament to punish James Graham, the Marquis, who was being held as a political prisoner in Edinburgh Castle at the time. When he was eventually executed in 1650, Mugdock and its lands were passed on to the Marquis of Argyll, Archibald Campbell, but luckily it didn’t take long for the Grahams to regain their grand seat. In 1655, Mugdock was returned to Clan Graham, and a long and continuous process of restoration began.
In 1682, the Grahams acquired Buchanan Auld House, which they thought was more suitable for the title of Marquis and their ever-growing prestige, but they hung on to Mugdock all the same. After the family finally did let go, however, Mugdock went on to serve a number of interesting purposes and a few more notable owners!
During WWII, the house was used by the government to host essential wartime work, then in 1945, Hugh Fraser, who you may know as the owner of the famous House of Fraser, purchased the land. His son, Sir Hugh Fraser, 2nd Baronet, gifted Mugdock and its estates to the Central Regional Council to use as a country park, saving this great historical relic for another generation, and opening it up to the public.
It is now an extremely popular visitor attraction, offering both history and rural beauty to countless tourists and locals alike. You’ll be glad to hear that the Graham’s heritage is also honoured, as the castle remains host a collection of fascinating artefacts and documents related to the clan.
If you are looking for a way to connect with your brave and celebrated ancestors, or just for a peaceful retreat near to the city, we think Mugdock would be perfect!
Buchanan Auld House & Buchanan Castle
Now we have explored the Graham’s historic clan seat, let’s find out where they went from there. As we mentioned before, in the late 17th century, the family moved to Buchanan Auld House in Stirlingshire. They quickly set about making the house their own, and made substantial alterations, hiring architect William Adam to redesign the building and surrounding lands. Later, the 3rd Duke of Montrose also hired William Henry Playfair to make further additions. The family lived a happy and fulfilled life at Buchanan, building a reputation for raising and training winning racehorses.
Unfortunately, in 1852, tragedy struck.
The story goes that, while the Grahams were away for Christmas, the housekeeper enjoyed slightly too much to drink, and fell asleep when they had intended to watch over the fireplaces. They then woke up in a panic to find the entire house in flames. Many valuable Graham artefacts were sadly lost to the fire, and the house was completely destroyed.
The Grahams, though, were not willing to give up on their ancestral home so easily, so they commissioned William Burn to create the newer, bigger, and better Buchanan Castle!
The result was an impressive and extravagant building with classical turrets, steeped gables, and a sweeping entrance, a grand home fit for a grand family.
They stayed in the castle until 1925, when it was sold to become a hotel and a golf course. However, plans changed during the war when it was temporarily converted into a hospital and hosted one notorious patient.
Rudolph Hess, Hitler’s deputy, seems to have tried to make peace negotiations with the British government by contacting General Ian Hamilton. He wrote to Hamilton in September 1940, requesting to meet, but the letter was intercepted by MI5 so never reached him.
Despite this, Hess decided to fly to Scotland to try to talk to him in person and set off from Augsburg-Haunstetten on the 10th of May 1941. He made it to Scotland but got lost when looking for his ultimate destination of Dungavel House and started to run dangerously low on fuel. Consequently, he was forced to abandon the aeroplane, parachuting to the ground below.
He crash-landed at Floors Farm just south of Glasgow, where local ploughman, David McLean, discovered him. He gave a fake identity and said he had an important message to deliver to the Duke of Hamilton. Luckily, his real name was quickly revealed, and he was sent to the hospital at Buchanan Castle to be treated for the injuries he’d sustained in his emergency landing and was watched closely by security services. It is not known exactly how long Hess stayed at Buchanan, but from there he was transferred to the Tower of London, then Mytchett Place in Surrey, where he was kept as a prisoner of war.
After the war, the golf course was briefly reopened, but the house soon fell into disrepair. In difficult financial times, the roof was removed to avoid taxes in 1954, which caused the rapid decline of the building to speed up.
Nowadays, while it sadly lays in ruins and is overgrown with foliage and weeds, Buchanan Castle is a category B listed building, and remains a striking sight to see.
It is still technically Clan Graham’s official seat and is rich with fascinating history. It is not available for the public to explore and is surrounded by plenty of fences and warnings, but you can get a good view from a safe distance!
We hope you have enjoyed exploring a few of Clan Graham’s great historic homes with us and feel a bit closer to your noble ancestors. Please do get in touch if you have been to, or plan to go to any of these fascinating spots! We’d love to hear about your experiences.
If you’d like to learn more about the mighty Grahams, head over to our Clan Graham page and keep an eye out for the rest of our content over December, as we will be focusing on this fascinating family for the whole month!
Image Sources:
Mugdock Castle, Mugdock Country Park, East Dunbartonshire. Origins of this Graham Castle date back to late 14th century by Brian D Osborne, CC BY-SA 2.0
The interior of the courtyard formed by the ruins of Buchanan Auld House, located in Stirlingshire, Scotland by Abcdef123456 at English Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0
The eastern elevation of the ruins of Buchanan Castle, located in Stirlingshire, Scotland by Abcdef123456 - Photograph taken in person during a visit to the subject location. Previously published: No, CC BY-SA 4.0
