Fingask Castle Fingask Castle is a country house in Perth and Kinross , Scotland . It is perched above Rait , three miles ( 5 km ) north - east of Errol , in the Braes of the Carse , on the fringes of the Sidlaw Hills . Thus it overlooks both the Carse of Gowrie and the Firth of Tay and beyond into the Kingdom of Fife . The name derives from Gaelic " fionn - gasg " : a white or light - coloured appendage . Fingask was once an explicitly holy place , a convenient and numinous stop - off between the abbeys at Falkirk and Scone . It was later held by the Bruce family , and then by the Threiplands . In the eighteenth century it was a nest of Jacobites and was forfeited . Since 1969 the castle has been a Threipland property again . Today , though still riddled with shrines , it is best known for its garden and parties . Fingask , referred to as " a jewel in the bosom of a glen " by an anonymous writer , is also home to the Fingask Follies , an annual musical event that takes place in late May and early June . The castle is a Category B listed building , and the estate is included on the " Inventory of Historic Gardens and Designed Landscapes " , the national register of significant gardens . History . There are mentions of the lands of Fingask in the Foundation Charter of the Abbey of Scone by Alexander I . The date of the charter is said to be 1114 or 1115 . The Bruce family owned the lands of Rait , including Fingask , from the 15th century . The Bruces were descended from the senior line of the Bruces of Clackmannan , which included Sir David Bruce who married Janet , daughter of Sir William Stirling of Keir . Their son , Robert Bruce held charter of Rate ( Rait ) in 1484 , confirmed 1488 , and his son David resigned his right to Clackmannan to his uncle in February 1506 / 7 . At the time when Patrick Bruce was laird , a stone was set into the house showing the date 1594 . A tombstone near the ruined church of Rait reveals : The last of the Bruce lairds of Fingask was Laurence Bruce , whose " pecuniary involvements necessitated the sale of the estate for the behoof of his creditors in the year 1671 " . Threipland baronets . In 1672 Patrick Threipland purchased the estate , which was erected into a barony the same year . He renovated the building and laid out the gardens , and in 1674 he added the neighbouring Braes of the Carse tower house and estate of Kinnaird to his realm . The same year he was knighted for his diligence in the suppression of conventiclers , and in 1687 he was created a baronet of Nova Scotia , although he died a prisoner at Stirling Castle for adherence to the ousted King James VII , in 1689 . His son David , 2nd Baronet , ( c . 1670 – 1746 ) joined the Jacobite rising of 1715 , and fought with the Earl of Mar against the government at the Battle of Sheriffmuir . When the rising failed , the baronetcy was attainted by act of parliament and Fingask and its estate was forfeited . Fingask was purchased for £9 , 606 6s 4 . 5d by the York Buildings Company , an English waterworks company which had begun to specialise in forfeited land . The company held the property until 1783 , meanwhile leasing it to Dame Katherine ( Kattrin ) Threipland , " the lass of Gowrie " ( d . 18 March 1762 ) , daughter of the 2nd baronet . Fingask Castle was badly damaged in 1745 by government troops , as the Threiplands once more supported the Jacobites in the second Jacobite rising . David Threipland ( 1694 – 1745 ) , son of the 2nd baronet , was killed at the Battle of Prestonpans . His half - brother Dr . Stuart Threipland ( 1716 – 1805 ) , repurchased Fingask in 1783 at a sale of forfeited land , for £12 , 207 . He married firstly at St . Paul ' s , Edinburgh , in 1753 , Jannet , daughter of David Sinclair of Southdun , Caithness , and secondly at St . Paul ' s Edinburgh , in 1761 , Jannet daughter of Richard Murray of Pennyland , heiress of her cousin Grizel Budge ( d . 1798 ) of Dale & Toftingall , Halkirk , Caithness . His sister Miss Euphame ( " Aunt Effie " ) Threipland ( 1713 - ) is said to have run the estate in his absence . Dr Threipland was President of the Royal Medical Society from 1766 . In 1826 , the attainder of 1715 was repealed by Act of Parliament , and Sir Patrick ( aka Peter ) Budge Murray Threipland ( 1762 – 1837 ) , an advocate , was restored to the dignity of a baronet . He later served as Deputy Lieutenant for Perthshire and Caithness . In 1792 he married his first cousin once - removed Jessy ( d . 1855 ) , daughter of William Scott Kerr of Chatto or Thirlestane . Her grandmother was a daughter of Sir David Threipland , 2nd Bt . , by his first wife . Between 1828 and 1831 Sir Patrick added to the front west part of the house . Embellishment and building onto the south front continued until 1840 . Sir Patrick - Murray ( aka Peter ) Threipland , 5th Bt ( 1800 – 1882 ) , was educated in Edinburgh and Paris . He served as a major in the Perth militia , retiring in 1843 , and was a Commissioner for Supply for the counties of Perth and Caithness . He was also a Justice of the Peace and Deputy Lieutenant of Perth and Caithness . Before and after his mother died in 1855 he lived at Fingask with his three elder sisters . The UK Census of 31 March 1851 records a staff of seven at Fingask : Housekeeper ( Jean Oswald ) ; Ladies Maid ( Mary Gray ) ; Cook ( Margaret Stewart ) ; Sir Peter ' s House Maid ( Mary McLagan ) ; Butler ( David Chalmers ) ; Footman ( John Bertram ) ; and Coachman ( Andrew David ) . Mrs Drummond of Megginch Castle described the family : When Miss Jessie died in May 1871 , Mrs Drummond reported that the " life of the old house went out " . On the death of Sir Patrick in 1882 , the Threipland Baronetcy became dormant . Fingask was left to his first cousin ' s second son , William Scott Kerr , who subsequently changed his name to William Murray Threipland . In 1915 he was appointed to command the newly - raised Welsh Guards , and became Colonel of the regiment in 1937 . Other owners . The castle passed out of the Threipland family again in 1917 , when it was bought by whisky merchant Sir John Henderson Stewart , 1st Baronet . In 1917 the Fingask estate was made up of . This comprised arable , hill , and woods . The rental of the Fingask , and those of the much smaller estates of Kinnaird , and Inchmichael ( which he had added ) , had given Sir John an annual rental return of £4 , 000 . Sir John became heavily indebted due to the Prohibition of alcohol in the United States , and committed suicide at Fingask on 6 February 1924 . The estate was bought by H . B . Gilroy of Ballumbie in 1925 . The house was saved from ruin but wholly re - modelled , all spiral staircases removed and nineteenth - century frontal additions demolished . Return to the Threipland family . In 1969 the estate returned to the Threipland family , when it was bought by Mark Stepney Murray Threipland , grandson of Colonel William Murray Threipland . Mark was the son of Patrick Murray Threipland and Marged Howard Stepney ( a descendant of the 2nd Lord De Tabley and Jerome de Salis , amongst many others ) . By this time the estate had been reduced to . He , his wife , Molly and their son , Gavin , lived there for twenty - five years in which time they planted many hundreds of trees . In 1996 Fingask was bought by Andrew Murray Threipland , son of Patrick Murray Threipland and Leslie McNair Scott in 1996 . The castle . The castle itself is dated 1592 , and was built around a 12th - century structure . Between 1828 and 1840 additions were made to the south and west of the castle . Sir Patrick Threipland , 4th Baronet ( 1762 – 1837 ) laid out the park , and his son planted the topiary gardens and installed statuary . Gardens . The garden is renowned for its topiary , but also features " The Pavilion " , a picturesque venue for things such as colloquia and wedding parties . There are statues by David Anderson , sculptor , of Perth , of characters from Scots literature . Works depicted include Alexander Wilson ' s " Watty and Meg " , Burns ' " Willie Brew ’ d a Peck o ’ Maut , And Rab and Allan cam ’ tae Pree " , Sir Walter Scott ' s " Last Minstrel / Ossian " , and Burns ' Tam O ' Shanter and Kate . By other sculptors are also to be found the naked black figure of Doryphoros ; a full length statue of William Pitt the Younger , and some small pieces by Charles Spence . Off the drive , in a sheltered glen , is the Well of St . Peter with the " Linn - ma - Gray " flowing beside it . On a stone above the well are the appropriate lines : Fingask Follies . The Follies is an annual musical revue conceived at Fingask by the current owner , Andrew Threipland . The show comprises two acts of 35 minutes with an hour break for supper . The fifteenth Follies season took place in May 2010 . Originally the Follies ran for 3 nights ; it has now expanded to 16 shows : 8 nights at Fingask and a tour taking in venues in Edinburgh ( the New Club and the Royal College of Physicians of Edinburgh ; Glasgow ( the Glasgow Art Club ) ; Aberdeen ( Crimonmogate house ) ; Dumfriesshire ( Balgray ) ; Peebles ( Eastgate Theatre ) ; Norfolk ( Stradsett Hall ) ; Hertfordshire ; and London ( the Polish Club ) . Past venues include : Blairquhan ( chez the late Jamie Hunter Blair ) ( 2000 – 2005 ) ; Scone Palace ( 2006 ) ; Caprington Castle ( Ayrshire ) ; Fowlis Castle in Rosshire ( 2007 ) ; Guards ' Club ( 2007 ) ; and Flintham in Nottinghamshire ( 2004 ) . Fingask Subscription Mural . This subscriptive and accretive mural by Ivan Govorkov and Lena Gubanova of St . Petersburg is designed partly to raise money for the Fingask Follies . The wall painting , which in the main measures 180 by , is added to each spring and now has already nearly 60 objects , including 35 portraits . The painting features portraits of Follies patrons Sir James Cayzer , Bt ; Vicky Jardine Patterson ; Claire Enders ; Heloise Thomson ; Chic Murray ; a cat , Harry Wood , ( sponsored by Alexander McCall Smith ) ; Richard Marner ; Sir Mark and Lady ( Judy ) Moody - Stuart ( he is a descendant of Alexander Moody Stuart of Rait ) ; and Follies performer Lofty Buchanan . This is thought to be the only active subscription portrait in existence . Popular Culture . Fingask Castle was the venue for the marriage of The Deep Red Sky drummer John Alexander and Louise Blackhall in November 2012 .