Methven Castle Methven Castle is a 17th - century house situated east of Methven , in Perth and Kinross , Scotland . History . The lands of Methven were owned by the Mowbray family from the 12th century . The Mowbrays supported the claim of John Balliol against Robert the Bruce , and on the latter ' s victory , Methven was confiscated by the crown , and given to Walter Stewart , the Bruce ' s son - in - law . His descendant , Walter Stewart , Earl of Atholl , was deprived of the lands following his involvement in a plot to kill King James I . The castle sustained a siege in 1444 , and was visited by King James II in 1450 . King James IV visited several times in the 1490s . Methven Castle was the home of Margaret Tudor ( 1489 - 1541 ) , queen of James IV , King of Scots , and daughter of Henry VII of England , after her third marriage to Henry Stewart , 1st Lord Methven in 1528 . Margaret Tudor died here on 18 October 1541 . After the third Lord Methven died without heir in 1584 , King James VI gave Methven to his favourite , the Duke of Lennox . In 1664 the estate was purchased by Patrick Smythe of Braco . The present building is dated 1664 , and was designed and built by the mason - architect John Mylne . It may incorporate older work , The Smythe family remained in possession throughout the 18th and 19th centuries , making additions to the castle and the grounds . In 1923 the castle was sold , and changed hands several times until 1984 , when restoration work began . The east wing was demolished , following the west wing which was pulled down in the 1950s , leaving only the 17th - century house , which was given a new roof . The castle remains in private ownership , and is a category A listed building . Architecture . It comprises a square , four - storey main block , with narrow circular towers at each corner . These have ogee - shaped roofs , and the whole building is harl ed . The north front has a pair of crow - stepped gable s , linked by a balustrade . An east wing was added first , then a western extension with a bay window , built around 1815 , probably by James Gillespie Graham . Graham produced designs for rebuilding the whole structure , but this was never carried out . The building also had a clock tower , but this was demolished around 1965 . Inside , the building was remodelled in 1800 , and only a stair remains of the original interiors . Grounds . Parkland was laid out around the castle from the late 18th century . David Smythe , Lord Methven planted many of the woodlands , and a walled garden was constructed in 1796 . In 1830 a pinetum , an arboretum consisting of conifers , was established , and is considered the first in Scotland . David ' s son William continued to expand the estate and constructed glasshouses . Although the woodlands continued to be managed into the 20th century , the gardens were neglected and numerous trees felled , including much of the pinetum , in the 1950s . The largest surviving tree is the Pepperwell Oak , with a girth of , as measured in 1985 . In 1883 this tree was thought to be already 400 years old . The parks and gardens are listed in the " Inventory of Gardens and Designed Landscapes in Scotland " , the national listing of significant gardens .