Estates and historical sites that are associated with the Clan Murray include amongst many others: 

• Abercairny Castle was a 19th-century castellated mansion which replaced earlier structures on site, the earliest of which on record was a modest tower house of the 16th-century. This may have incorporated an earlier building, but it is likely that up until the mid-15th-century what was here was an undefended manorial centre of some description. In the  late 18th-century plans were made to build a new house, but these were not realised, and the earlier repairs and extensions were kept until the early 19th-century, when it was demolished, and a new mansion was started in 1804. This house was added to until about 1870, and was eventually demolished in 1960, to be replaced by a much smaller building.
• Amhuinnsuidhe Castle is about 8 miles north-west of Tarbert on the island of Harris. Set in a beautiful wild spot with fine views, Amhuinnsuidhe (pronounced ‘avuin-suey’) Castle, which was designed by David Bryce, is a substantial baronial mansion rising to four storeys in the tower, which dates from the 1860s. The castle has corbelled-out battlements with open rounds. The road passes very close to the building, and the place was originally called Fincastle. The castle has a hillside garden, and is set in 55,000 acres of estate. The house was built for Charles Murray, 7th Earl of Dunmore, then was sold to Lord Leverhulme, who died in 1925. J. M. Barrie, author of Peter Pan, rented the castle in 1912. 
• Avoch Castle also known as Ormond Castle, three miles south-west of Fortrose on the Black Isle was formerly in Moray and a property of the Murrays. It was once a strong castle but little remains. Sir Andrew Murray died at Ormond Castle in 1338 and the lands went to the Douglases. 
• Ballencrieff Castle, also known as Ballencrieff House, is a large tower house located three miles north west of Haddington, and one mile south of Aberlady ijn East Lothian. The castle was built in 1507 when King James IV ordered his private secretary James Murray to build himself a fortified house at Ballencrieff. It was destroyed in or around 1545. From around 1550 to 1580 the house was owned (and presumably rebuilt) by David Borthwick, Lord Lochill who renamed it Lochill Castle. In 1608 the Ballencrieff estate was bought by Sir Bernard Lindsay and then to Sir Patrick Murray in 1632, In 1679 it passed to Sir Peter Wedderburn. General James Murray, a Governor of Canada, was baptised in Aberlady, and is said to have been born at Ballencrieff in 1721. If so this suggests that his father Alexander, 4th Lord Elibank, George's father, was then resident there. The house burnt down accidentally in 1868, and a small garden cottage was built using the stone from the castle. The cottage still currently stands within the grounds of the walled garden. The castle stood roofless until it was restored between 1992 and 1997. It is now privately owned.
• Balvaird Castle, four miles south of Bridge of Earn, Perthshire is a well preserved L-plan tower house that originally belonged to the Clan Barclay but passed to the Murrays of Tullibardine in 1500, and part of the feudal Lordship and Barony of Balvaird. The Scottish feudal Barony of Balvaird was originally granted by a Crown Charter of Confirmation in favour of Lord Andrew Murray "of the lands and Barony of Balvaird" dated 16th March 1624. The Barony is described in Latin in the crown grant as "terrarum et baronie de Balvaird". In 1673, a Crown Charter of Erection of the Lordship of Balvaird was granted in favour of David Murray, 5th Viscount of Stormont. The subjects of the charter are narrated in English as "all and whole various lands incorporated into the Lordship and Barony of Balvaird, together with the tower, fortalice and manor place of Balvaird”. The previous Lord of Balvaird was Alexander Murray, 9th Earl of Mansfield, who had inherited the title from his father William Murray, 8th Earl of Mansfield. The title passed by deed of assignation to the present Lord of Balvaird, American Brady Brim-DeForest, in 2017. Brim-DeForest owns both the castle of Balvaird and separately the titular feudal barony of Balvaird. 
• Balvenie Castle was a mighty stronghold for more than 500 years, most likely built for Alexander Comyn, 2nd Earl of Buchan. The vast territory ruled over by the Comyns stretched from the Moray Firth to what is now Fort William. Robert the Bruce overthrew the powerful lords in 1306, taking Balvenie Castle in 1308. Balvenie then disappears from historical record until the early 1400s, when Sir James Douglas held it. After the Black Douglases’ downfall in 1455, King James II granted the castle to his half-brother, John Stewart, Earl of Atholl. His descendants held Balvenie for the next 250 years. The 4th Earl of Atholl built the Atholl Lodging in the mid-1500s, during the reign of Mary Queen of Scots. Each year, the Stewarts paid the princely sum of a single red rose by way of rent for Balvenie every year on the feast of John the Baptist.
• Blackbarony Castle formerly known as Darnhall, is a historic house at Eddleston in the Scottish Borders. The remains of a 16th-century tower house, built by the Murrays of Blackbarony, form the oldest part of the building. Sir Alexander Murray, 2nd Baronet, purchased the nearby estate of Cringletie in 1666. Sir Archibald Murray, 3rd Baronet (died circa 1700) was a soldier and from 1689 served as "Sole Master of Work, Overseer, and Director-General of their Majesties' buildings" to King William II and Queen Mary II, filling the post which had been vacant since Sir William Bruce's dismissal in 1678. The house was extended in the 18th-century, resulting in the present facade. In 1771 Blackbarony passed to the Murrays of Elibank, who retained ownership until 1930. Further enlargements were made in the 19th-century, and in the first half of the 20th-century the house was converted to hotel use, and is protected as a Category B listed building. Situated within the grounds lies the Great Polish Map of Scotland, a large relief model of Scotland. The last Murray to live in the house was Alexander Fox Murray, who sold it as a hotel in 1927. It is believed to be his apparition who appears in the Tweeddale room, as if sitting in a rocking chair and staring at the fireplace, which was bricked up in the late eighties. He ignores any witnesses and slowly fades away, accompanied by the smell of cigar smoke and brandy. Many people have seen his ghost and he is now known affectionately as 'Auld Reekie'.
• Blair Castle, ancestral seat of the Dukes of Atholl, the chiefs of Clan Murray. The castle is now a large white-washed mansion that incorporates part of an old thirteenth century castle. The Clan Comyn once had a stronghold at Blair Castle and the property was then owned by the Stewart Earls of Atholl, but in 1629 it passed by marriage to the Murrays who became Earls, Marquesses and Dukes of Atholl. During the Scottish Civil War, James Graham, 1st Marquess of Montrose used Blair Castle as a mustering point before the Battle of Tippermuir. In 1653 the castle was besieged, captured and partially destroyed with gunpowder by the forces of Oliver Cromwell. However, the castle was still complete enough for the Earl of Atholl to try and recapture it in the following year. John Graham, 1st Viscount Dundee (Bonnie Dundee of Claverhouse) garrisoned the castle and his body was brought back there after he was killed at the Battle of Killiecrankie in 1689. During the Jacobite rising of 1745 Charles Edward Stuart (Bonnie Prince Charlie) stayed at the castle. However, the following year the castle was occupied by British-Hanoverian forces and it was then besieged and damaged by Jacobites under Lord George Murray and as such is the last castle in Britain to have been besieged. In 1787 the castle was visited by Robert Burns. The castle is also home to the Atholl Highlanders who have their yearly spring gathering there. Although Blair Castle is still the seat of the Duke of Atholl, chief of Clan Murray he now lives in South Africa, but the castle is open to the public.
• Bothwell Castle, a few miles north-west of Hamilton, South Lanarkshire was a property of the Murrays (or Morays) from the middle of the twelfth century and it had passed to them from the Clan Oliphant. During the Wars of Scottish Independence Bothwell Castle changed hands between the English and the Scots on several occasions and held a strategic position. The castle was the headquarters of the English Aymer de Valence, 2nd Earl of Pembroke but was surrendered to the Scots in 1314. The keep was demolished at this time and although it was later made defensible it was never restored to its former glory. The castle was rebuilt by Edward Balliol but in around 1337 it was taken by the Scots and again slighted by Sir Andrew Murray. The last Murray laird of the castle died of plague in about 1360 and the property passed to the Earl of Douglas, then to the Douglas Earls of Angus, then to the Hepburn Earls of Bothwell, then back to the Douglas Earls of Forfar. 
• Broughton Place: Sir John Murray of Broughton, 7th Baronet of Stanhope (circa 1715 – 6 December 1777), also known as Murray of Broughton, was a Scottish baronet, who served as Jacobite Secretary of State during the 1745 Rising. He was responsible for Jacobite civilian administration, and was by contemporary accounts hardworking and efficient. Captured in June 1746 after the Battle of Culloden, he gave evidence against Lord Lovat, who was later executed. Much of his testimony was directed against those who promised to support the Rising, but failed to do so. Released in 1748, he retired into a life of relative obscurity until his death in 1777. Although denounced as a traitor by some of his former colleagues, he retained his Jacobite beliefs. Murray used to visit Sir Walter Scott's father, who was his lawyer, and that after each meeting, his father would throw any cup used by Murray out of the window, exclaiming "Neither lip of me nor of mine comes after Mr. Evidence Murray's."
• Cally Palace, Gatehouse of Fleet, formerly known as Cally House, is an 18th-century country house in the historical county of Kirkcudbrightshire in Dumfries and Galloway, south-west Scotland, was commissioned by James Murray of Broughton, a grandson of the 5th Earl of Galloway and of the 9th Earl of Eglinton. The remains of a 12th-century motte are located in the grounds. Murray inherited the land on the death, in 1751, of his father, who had consulted William Adam about a new house at Cally in the 1740s, although nothing had then been done. While travelling in Rome in the mid-1750s, James Murray met the young architect Robert Mylne, who prepared the first plans while still abroad. The building was complete by 1763, and over 1,000 acres (400 ha) of grounds were laid out with orchards and pleasure gardens, as well as hothouses and deer parks. Murray later served as MP for the constituency of Wigtownshire from 1762 to 1768, as well as serving as Receiver General for Scotland in 1783. His grandson, Alexander Murray, made alterations to the house, including the portico by John Buonarotti Papworth. Further alterations were made in the 1850s, and the grounds were landscaped by William Dewar. In the later 19th-century and early 20th-century, the house was let out, and the last tenant was the Maharaja of Jind who lived there between 1930 and 1932. Elizabeth Murray Usher, who inherited Cally in 1924, sold the house and grounds to the Forestry Commission in 1933. The house and 100 acres (40 ha) was sold on and converted into a hotel, which opened in 1934. It was used as a residential school for evacuees from Glasgow during the Second World War, reopening in the later 1940s. The Forestry Commission planted around 525 acres (212 ha) of the estate. The house is now a country house hotel and golf resort.
• Castle Cluggy [see also Ochtertyre House and Mausoleum]: The History of Castle Cluggy - ancestral seat of the Murrays of Ochtertyre is available to purchase. It is an illustrated book covering a cadet branch (branch descending a younger son of a patriarch) of the Murrays of Tullibardine. While the Tullibardine Murrays moved on to Atholl, the Ochtertyre Murrays have held these lands in Strathearn through to the present and have an intricate and fascinating history in the area.
• Comlongon Castle, eight miles south-east of Dumfries was held by the Murrays of Cockpool from 1331. It is a substantial keep and tower that rises five storeys and stands alongside a castellated mansion. It is regarded as one of the finest preserved examples of a border stronghold. Built of pink dressed sandstone, with a rubble insert, on a wide plinth base, to act as a strengthener on what was once marsh ground. Measuring 50 feet square and standing 70 feet high, it retains many original and unusual features. Upon climbing a short series of steps, one reaches the arched entrance, this doorway is the only way in and out of the keep and was so consequently formidably protected. Firstly a huge 4 inch thick studded oak door faced any intruder. However, this was vulnerable to a concerted attack, and not fire proof, so immediately behind was hinged an iron gate or yett. The yett was an ingenious defensive feature, wrought in such a fashion as to make it almost impossible to dismantle. Indeed, so difficult to deal with were these yetts, that in 1606 the privy council ordered their destruction in all strong places in the Borders as a consequence of the endemic local feuding. Comlongon managed to retain its original yett by virtue of Sir Charles Murray who was made warden of the western marches in 1459. Behind this yett, on the right is a porter's recess. The porter was considered an important official, as in the first instane it was his responsibility to either grant or deny access for visitors to the castle. The lower level or the barrel vaulted chamber served as a secure storage chamber for the keep. This chamber was divided into two levels, the lowest containing the well fed by a natural spring, vital in case of siege. On this ground level, fuel and fodder were stored. The upper level contained food for all the castle occupants, hopefully above any vermin infestation. Meat hooks can still be seen projecting from the ceiling. The basement contains a display of three mumified cats, uncovered during recent excavation, believed to have been sealed up alive whilst the castle was under construction. These relics were thought to protect the occupants from evil spirits. The whole basement is designed to be virtually fireproof in the case of accident or attack, or to burn out rapidly before consuming the upper residential levels. There are two staircases leading from the basement to the next level – The Great Hall. It is set in 120 acres of secluded grounds, including ornamental ponds, sweeping lawns and woodlands. It lies just nine miles from Dumfries and six from Annan, close to the Solway shore. The unaltered medieval castle still retains its dungeon, chapel, laird's hall, and concealed rooms within its 13 ft. thick walls. 
• Cringletie House: Sir Alexander Murray of Black Barony obtained a Crown charter of the lands in 1666 and had a house built for his second eldest son. This was the first Cringletie House. Two centuries later the house had fallen into disrepair and its then owner, Brigadier General James Wolfe Murray, decided to replace it with the present house. It was designed by the famous Scottish architect, David Bryce (1803 – 1876) who is responsible for many landmark buildings across Scotland. With numerous features typical of Bryce’s work, such as the distinctive small towers at the corners of the top floor, the house was completed in 1863. In 1904 a new family name appears – the Sutherlands. Elizabeth, one of Wolfe Murray’s daughters, married Sir George Henry Sutherland. To commemorate the marriage an artist was commissioned to paint the ceiling in the drawing room. It is based on an Italian painting and personalized to include the monogram of the couple G E S. In 1921, James Wolfe Murray’s grandson (Captain George Wolfe Murray) leased Cringletie to his brother-in-law, Sir George Sutherland. Sir George modernized the house – enlarging rooms, adding bedrooms & bathrooms and transforming it from a Victorian family home to a much grander country house. Other improvements undertaken by Sir George and later his son, Lt-Col Arthur Sutherland, included planting trees and thousands of daffodil bulbs around the estate.

• Dollerie House: Dollerie House in Crieff, Perthshire, belonged to the Murray family since they took ownership of its grounds in the mid 16th-century. In 2015, it was sold for the first time in 500 years. The house is set in 90 acres of parkland and has eight bedrooms spread over an annexe, south wing and separate cottage set in its grounds. Among its most unique features is a crooked bridge designed to scare off witches or supernatural spirits. It was listed by Savills at £1.5million and was sold to a private buyer after spending two years on the market. Among its unique features is a crooked bridge designed to ward off witches and evil spirits and a plaque dating back to the mid 1700s. The main house is thought to have been built in 1780 to replace the original tower house which lay 100 yards north. It was demolished and used for storage thereafter.  The newer building features a plaque, brought from the old house and dated 1741, which reads: 'In humane life thers nothing stedfast stands youth riches glorie fades deaths sure att hand'. The inscription is signed AM (Anthony Murray), with a Murray star. Five years later a son of the family was killed at the historic  battle of Culloden. Its most unique feature is a crooked bridge over a burn designed to thwart witches from approaching the house. At the time it was said supernatural spirits would not be able to make the crossing if they could not see the other side. The bridge bears a date stone of 1778 and has a heavily fortified gate which divides two parishes. 

• Drumsagard Castle near Cambuslang, South Lanarkshire, was a motte and bailey castle made of very heavy stone and built on the site of a such earlier timber fortification on top of an artificial mound. The mound was used to keep the fortification above flood-prone land. The area was also known as Drumsargart or Drumsargard, meaning 'ridge of the priest'. It is still possible to see part of this artificial ridge, about 100 yards south-west of Hallside village near Cambuslang. The castle was the caput of the barony of Drumsagard, which was held in the 13th-century by the Oliphant family, before it passed by marriage to the de Moravia family. The land originally belonged to John Moray of Drumsagard but it was forfeited in 1306 by King Edward I for supporting Robert the Bruce during the Wars of Independence. Like the massive Bothwell Castle, built by John's relative Walter Moray, a few miles to the east, it passed to the Douglas family in 1362 by the marriage of Archibald Douglas, Earl of Douglas to Johanna, daughter of Thomas Moray of Bothwell. The Hamilton family were granted the lands in 1452. With the demise of the Black Douglas family in 1455, Drumsagard was gifted to the Duke of Hamilton by James II. However, it was allowed to fall into ruin and by 1770 the last stones of the castle had been removed to build the nearby Hallside farms nearby. An eponymous housing development now surrounds the site of the castle.

• Duffus Castle: Duffus Castle is situated four or five miles North of Elgin, in a rural location, surrounded by fields and accessed by a single track road. A small car park for visitors lies just outside the castle boundary fence. The property is in the care of Historic Scotland and may be visited free of charge at any time. There are no staff on duty at the castle and interpretative material for visitors is provided via notice boards and sign-posting. The elevated position of the ruin with regard to the surrounding countryside makes it possible to clearly view the surrounding area for some miles. Duffus is rather an impressive ruined, stone-built castle. The present structure, uninhabited for at least two hundred years, is primarily of 14th century origin, though a Norman style wooden motte and bailey castle occupied the site from the 1100s, when it was constructed by Anglo-Norman settler, Freskin de Moravia, who had settled in Moray at the invitation of King David I. The lordship of Duffus later passed, through failure of the male line of Freskin, to the Sutherland family. It can also be noted that a son of the male Freskin line, Andrew Moray, gained fame as an associate of Sir William Wallace, dying from wounds received in the Battle of Stirling Bridge in 1297. Generally however, the history of Duffus Castle would appear to have been fairly peaceful. Research at Elgin reference library and at Aberdeen University Library failed to uncover any hint of bloodshed or dastardly deeds of the sort which so often appear to be associated with hauntings.
• Dunkeld House: The first residence of the Earls of Atholl was blown up by Cromwell’s troops in 1654 and old Dunkeld House was begun in 1676 to replace it. It was situated in old Dunkeld, close behind the Cathedral. In 1828 a London architect, Mr. Hopper, reported on the dangerous condition of the house and persuaded the 4th Duke to build another. At this time the Duke had bought an old inn that was situated on the Cathedral lawn and in 1811 this was made into the dwelling house for Miss Ogg, the retired Governess . However, the inn was now needed for the Duke himself to live in during the building of the new house and Miss Ogg was sent to the Isle of Man which was at that time owned by the Atholls. The Duke took up residence in the old inn, which had been enlarged and renamed St. Adamnan’s Cottage. Queen Victoria stayed there on more than one occasion and she describes it in her many journals of her trips to Scotland. During the building of the new house, it was referred to as the Palace and was large enough for a coach and four horses to turn in the hall. The Duke of Atholl died having spent between £20,000 and £30,000 but his palace, with its 96 foot gallery, vast staircase and elegant chapel, was only half finished and his successor did not have the money to continue the building project. It was October 1897 when the 7th Duke decided to build a new house situated a mile further up the river between the King’s Seat and the American Gardens which was to become the present Dunkeld House. This was enjoyed for many years as the country estate of the Atholls. During the early stages of the estates’ history, the second, third and fourth Dukes (the 4th being known as the planting Duke) planted an incredible 14 million larch trees plus millions of other trees between 1738 and 1830 and it is thanks to them that Perthshire enjoys its title of Big Tree Country. Details such as the stunning stained glass window bring this history to live. The window shows the Atholl Arms and motto, the origins of which go back to 1475 when King James III of Scotland sent Lord Murray to capture the rebellious Lord MacDonald, the Lord of the Isles. The King gave him a dagger to protect himself, fetters (chains), and a key with which to lock them. Lord Murray succeeded in capturing the Lord of the Isles and brought him back to the King. For this service he was granted the Forest of Cluny and took as his motto ‘Furth, Fortune and Fill the Fetters’. In 1703, the Earldom of Atholl was altered to the Dukedom of Atholl.
• Dunmore Park, a castellated Tudor-Gothic mansion house was designed by William Wilkins and built in 1820-5 for George Murray 5th Earl of Dunmore (1762–1836). Dunmore Park was occupied by the Murray family until their departure in 1911 and remained as a private home until 1961. After a short spell as a girls school from then until 1964 it was abandoned. It was partly demolished and shorn of detail in 1972. The roofless shell remains to remind us of its grandeur. Dunmore was once famous across Scotland for its prize winning Shorthorn cattle. 1761 Dunmore Pineapple.
• Elibank Castle: Elibank was formerly known as Eliburn and overlooks the River Tweed from a commanding position high on its steep right bank. The late 16th-century fortress is rudely built without any dressings and comprises an oblong main-block, with a square wing attached to the east corner. The remains are in a dilapidated state. In 1511, Elibank, or Eliburn as it was then, was in the hands of the Liddale family. However, the ruined building that we see today was probably built by Sir Gideon Murray of Glenpoit who acquired Elibank from John Liddell of Halkerstone in 1594-5. The castle was already a ruin in 1722. Elibank is reputed to be the home of “Muckle Mouthed Meg”. In the waning years of the 16th-century, the Laird of Eliburn despaired of finding his daughter Meg a husband as she was no beauty and was not called “muckle mouth” without reason.
• Glendoick House (located at Kinfauns, Perthshire) is a mid-18th century mansion but it incorporates the remains of an earlier tower house. The lands of Glendoick are first mentioned in the early 13th-century. In 1602 James VI confirmed Sir David Murray of Gospertie, Comptroller of Scotland, as the owner of the lands and manor of Glendovoke which James Scott of Balwearie had resigned. The barony of Ruthven and the lands of the abbacy of Scone were erected into the lordship of Scone for Murray in 1605. King James VI granted to Sir David, by then Lord Scone, various properties in Fife and Perthshire in 1612 including the demesne (manor) lands of “Glendook”, the mill and mill lands. However, in 1617 Sir David sold the lands of Glendook, along with other Fife and Perthshire properties, to Peter Hay of Durdie with the consent of his elder brother, Andrew Murray of Arngask and Balvaird. The Murrays may have retained the superiority of the properties however as following Sir David’s death without issue in 1631 Charles I confirmed the transfer of the lands to Andrew Murray of Balvaird, Sir David’s nephew. In 1672 Charles II confirmed a charter transferring the lands and barony of Glendoick from David Murray, 1st Viscount of Stormont, to Thomas Murray, advocate, and his wife, Barbara Hepburn, daughter of Thomas Hepburn of Blackcastle, erecting them into a free barony with “the manor place of Glendoick to be the principal messuage of the said barony”. Murray was made a Lord of Session in 1674, a baronet in the Baronetage of Nova Scotia in 1676 and was appointed Lord Clerk Register in the same year, serving until at least 1681. Sir Thomas was the son of Sir Robert Murray of Woodend and descended from the Murrays of Tullibardine and Ochtertyre. He died in 1684 or 1685 and was succeeded by his son Sir Thomas Murray of Glendoick, 2nd Bt., who bought Balmanno Castle from Sir Archibald Auchinleck. Sir Thomas died in 1701 and was in turn succeeded by his brother, Sir John Hepburn-Murray of Glendoick, Blackcastle and Balmanno, who in 1703 married Mary Murray, daughter of Sir Patrick Murray of Ochtertyre. Sir John died in 1714 and was succeeded by his son, Sir Patrick Murray, 4th Bt. In 1726 the advocate Robert Craigie bought Glendoick. 
• Huntingtower Castle: north-west of Perth is a well-preserved castle that consists of two towers; one from the fifteenth century and one from the sixteenth century. The castle was originally held by the Clan Ruthven and was known as Ruthven Castle, but the property was forfeited and the Ruthven name was proscribed following the Gowrie Conspiracy in 1660. The property then went to William Murray, Earl of Dysart, then to the Murrays of Tullibardine and then to the Murray Marqueses and Dukes of Atholl. Huntingtower Castle was the birthplace of the Jacobite Lord George Murray. It was sold to the Mercers in 1805 but is now in the care of Historic Scotland and is open to the public.
• Ochtertyre House is a fine Georgian mansion of three storeys and an attic with a central pediment and two-storey bow. The mansion-house, situated as it is high above the placid waters of the romantic little Loch of Monzievaird, and almost concealed by the surrounding woods, contributes very much to the grandeur of the landscape, which is acknowledged to be one of the most enchanting in Britain. It is not until the estate is entered that the full beauty of the spot is disclosed and due to the freedom to roam upon public access to most land and inland water its inner attractions are not unknown to locals and visitors. Although much grander in the past, the landscape is still attractively laid out today. The substantial Ochtertyre mausoleum and graveyard of the Murray family stands at the side of the East Drive of Ochtertyre House. The three-bay neo-Perpendicular chapel is based on Bath Abbey. It was built to the designs of Charles Heathcote Tatham in 1809 on the site of the old Monzievaird parish church. The location was deliberate. The church was the scene of one of the worst outrages perpetrated in an escalating feud between the Drummonds and the Murrays over control of local properties and offices. A party of Drummonds pursued a number of Murrays who took refuge in the church and, blocking all exits, had burned them to death in the building. This became known as the Massacre of Monzievaird. A board at the far end of the mausoleum reads “The names of Moray or Murray of Ochtertyre descended from …” and then gives their names with three panels giving details of their birth, marriages and deaths.
• Philiphaugh: Philiphaugh near Selkirk is a place of considerable mark in the south of Scotland. On its plains the celebrated battle between Generals Montrose and Leslie was fought in 1645, which decided the religion of Scotland, the Covenanting Presbyterians gaining the victory. The estate was in the possession of the Murray family for centuries. The first of the family on record was Archibald de Morovia, who lived in the reign of King Alexander III, and is mentioned in the Chartulary of Newbattle 1280. For centuries they possessed the greatest portion of the county of Selkirk, and a large extent of Peebleshire, besides lands in Midlothian. Among the most celebrated ancestors was the Outlaw Murray. He is mentioned as being of a prodigious size and strength, and among the most daring and foremost of the Border Chieftains, with five hundred retainers:

  “A’ in ae liverye clad,
  O’ the Lincome grene sae gaye to see”.

  On one occasion King James IV had an interview with him not far from Philiphaugh, desiring him to become a faithful subject, and acknowledge him as king. At the interview (see Scott’s Border Minstrelsy - Song of the Outlaw Murray) the King said:

  “On gallows ye sail hanget be!” “ Over God’s forbode,” qnoth the outlaw then,
  “I hope your Grace will bettir be!
  Else, ere you come to Edinburgh port,
  I trow thin guarded sail ye be:

  “Thir landis of Ettricke Foreste fair
  I wan them from the enemy—
  Like as I wan them, sae will I keep them,
  Contrair a’ Kingis in Christentie”.

  The King and his nobles attending him were so struck with the courage and noble bearing of the Outlaw, that he obtained forgiveness, and then said, on being asked by the King to name his lands:

  “Fair Philiphaugh is mine by right,
  And Lewinshope still mine sail be;
  Newark, Foulshiells, and Tinnies baith,
  My bow and arrow purchased me.

  “And I have native steads to me,
  The Newark Lee and Hangingshaw;
  I have mony steads in the Forest schaw,
  But them by name I dinna knaw.”

  The keys of the Castell he gave the King
  Wi’ the blessing of his fair Ladye;
  He was made sheriffe of Ettricke Foreste,
  Sarely while upward grows the tree
  And if he was na traitour to the King,
  Forfaulted he suld never be.

  Whaever heard, in ony times,
  Sicken an Outlaw in his degree?
  Sic favour get before a King,
  As did the Outlaw Murray of the Foreste free?”

  An owner of the estate succeeded to the Baronetcy of Melgund, which title had been granted, and held by a junior member of the family since 1704. It was assumed shortly after the death of Sir Albert Joseph Murray, a Count of the Austrian Empire, by an order of the Sheriff in Chancery. Sir John Murray was the chief of the families of his name in the southern portion of Scotland. I quote the following from one of the printed accounts of the residence:-

  “The situation of the Mansion House is very beautiful and romantic,—backed by lofty hills, covered with the largest portion now extant of the well-wooded forest of Ettrick, with the lovely and classic river Yarrow in the foreground. The beauty and elegance of the hall and public rooms, with the suits and trophies of ancient armour; the numerous family portraits and fine paintings by old and modern artists; the collection of antique furniture, bronzes, and magnificent china of all periods, along with numerous relics from the battlefield, consisting of muskets, swords, cannon balls, and silver coins, make it one of the most interesting and attractive residences in the Scottish borders.”

• Polmaise Castle: Polmaise was an early castle which was succeeded by a now-demolished 17th-century house. Early in the 14th century, King Edward I planned to build a pair of castles either side of the River Forth in order to protect the approach to Stirling. In 1304 or 1305, he sent writs to Sir John Sandale, Chamberlain of Scotland, instructing him to look for suitable sites for these castles. One of these writs was also sent to Sir John Segrave, 2nd Baron Segrave, warden south of the Forth, regarding a site at Polmaise, while the other was sent to John of Strathbogie, Earl of Atholl, warden between the Forth and Orkney, regarding “a castle at Tullibothevile” It is not clear if the castle was built at Polmaise at that time. Easter Powmais is marked on Pont’s late 16th century map as a substantial tower surrounded by enclosed parkland. In 1691, work was carried out which remodelled the tower as a three storey mansion and in the late 18th century it was extended with the addition of new wings. The Murray family lived in the house until 1868 when they moved to the newly-built Polmaise Castle on the slopes of Gillies Hill near Cambusbarron. By 1958 what had become known as Old Polmaise House was roofless and was demolished soon after.
• Scone Palace two miles north of Perth dates from 1802 but incorporates older work that possibly dates from 1580. The kings of Scots were inaugurated at Scone. After the Reformation, Scone had gone to the Ruthvens but after the Gowrie Conspiracy mentioned above it was granted to the Murrays as Sir David Murray of Gospertie had been one of those who had saved the king's life during the conspiracy. These Murrays were made Viscounts of Stormont in 1602 and Earls of Mansfield in 1776. In 1716 James Francis Edward Stuart held court at Scone and James Murray, second son of the fifth Viscount supported the Jacobites, escaping to France.
• Tullibardine Castle was about two miles north of Auchterarder, Perthshire and was a large building. The nearby Tullibardine Chapel was founded by Sir David Murray of Tulliebardine in 1446 and has been used as a burial place by the Murrays since the Protestant Reformation. The chapel is now in the care of Historic Scotland and is open to the public. The castle was a property of the Murrays from 1284 and Andrew Murray of Tullibardine supported Edward Balliol, playing an important part in the victory at the Battle of Dupplin Moor, and as a result he was executed for treason in 1332. The Murrays of Tullibardine later fought at the Battle of Flodden in 1513, supported Mary, Queen of Scots and turned against her when she married the Earl of Bothwell. Sir John Murray was made Earl of Tullibardine in 1606 and this title was advanced to Marquess of Tullibardine in 1676. William Murray, Marquess of Tullibardine supported the Jacobite risings of 1715, 1719 and 1745, and he died in captivity in the Tower of London in 1746.

DUNNOTTAR CASTLE was inherited in 1852 by Sir Patrick Keith-Murray of Ochtertyre, who in turn sold it in July 1873 for about £80,000. In 1925, it was purchased by Weetman Pearson, 1st Viscount Cowdray, after which his wife, Annie Pearson [pictured], embarked on an extensive programme of repairs. The Hon. Charles Anthony Pearson, the younger son of the 3rd Viscount Cowdray, currently owns and runs Dunnottar Castle which is part of the Dunecht Estates. Interestingly, Viscountess Cowdray's great-grandson, Iain Murray, became the 10th Duke of Atholl. The duke's estate, Blair Castle, was in financial ruin at the time he inherited it. Viscountess Cowdray, saved the Castle from bankruptcy in 1932. She bought the estate for the sum of its debts from the 8th Duke of Atholl, who, while a formidable soldier and noted military strategist during the First World War, was hopeless at running the estate. The stock market crash of 1929 and huge death duties left Blair Castle in a precarious state. It took the Viscountess two years to negotiate the deal, which would mean that her granddaughter, Angela Campbell-Pearson, who was engaged to the Duke-apparent, Anthony, would have a family home. Under the terms of the purchase, the estate would be run by the Viscountess’s business advisers. Four years later, the Castle was opened to the public: the first privately owned estate to open its doors in this way. Sarah Troughton reflected on her great-grandmother’s stalwart character, saying: “Annie, Viscountess Cowdray was an ambitious wife and prominent liberal. She had married into the successful Pearson family business and was very diligent about fulfilling the duties that her position in life merited. It was all about hard work. She could be very stern, but was wonderful, and by all accounts could also be tremendous fun.”

The Duke and Duchess of Rothesay visited Dunnottar Castle, Stonehaven, Aberdeenshire, on 2nd October 2019 - Picture by Kenny Elrick

IN THE EARLY 1820s, the sixth Earl of Dunmore built a grand new mansion at Dunmore Park and shortly thereafter he decided to convert the ground floor of the old tower house – called Dunmore or Elphinstone Tower - – into a mausoleum for the family.  He had the building consecrated for this purpose by Bishop Lowe, the Bishop of Moray then acting for the Bishop of Edinburgh.  It was first used in 1836, and subsequently both the said Earl and his wife were interred within its precincts.  The conversion involved the insertion of a series of stone alcoves into the vaulted room to receive the coffins.  A new arched doorway was built on the south.

In 1850 the then Countess of Dunmore commissioned the construction of an Episcopal Church to the west of the tower, named St. Andrew's Church.  A rector was employed by the family and the church was opened to the local community.  At the same time Robert Walker, builder, Airth, was employed to add a new spiral lantern and parapet to the tower.  The upper floors became summer rooms and were used for study.  An additional burial area was created to the north of the church towards its west end and was also consecrated in 1850.

Although latterly the family rarely lived at Dunmore their remains were still brought back to be buried in the family mausoleum.  When the Dowager-Countess of Dunmore died at Carberry Tower at Musselburgh in February 1886 the polished oak coffin containing her body was taken to the chapel at Dunmore where it lay until the burial service.  A brass plate on the lid of the coffin had the inscription:

Catherine Countess of Dunmore born 31st October 1814; died 12th February, 1886

Lord Elphinstone placed a magnificent wreath on the coffin for the Queen with the words “A mark of regard from V.R.I.”

The silver-mounted plate on the olive wood coffin of Lady Edith Murray in 1906 was inscribed:

“IN MEMORIAM THE HONOURABLE EDITH, LADY MURRAY Died at Cannes, December 1st, 1906. Interred at Dunmore, Stirling, On Monday, December 10th, 1906.”

The coffin was taken from Airth Station to St Andrew’s Church by a hearse and carriages provided by William Scott of the Crown Stables, Falkirk.  It was covered and surrounded by numerous handsome wreaths.  After the service it left the church to the organ playing “the Dead March” and was carried the short distance to the tower by eight bearers belonging to the Dunmore estate.  In the mausoleum it was placed in a recess in the vault opposite those occupied by the remains of her husband and son.

The last to be laid to rest in the mausoleum was Gertrude, the Dowager Countess, who died at Hyde Park on 27 November 1943 aged 96.  By then the estate was past its best – the church and tower were falling into dilapidation and their future was bleak.  The Murray family had sold the estate, except for the mausoleum, in 1911.  Demolition of the church was approved in 1962 but deferred to 1976.  In the winter gales of 1988 the top of the old tower collapsed and shortly thereafter the pepperpot turret also disappeared.  It may have been reports of the silver plaque on one of the coffins and other untold riches that encouraged local vandals to smash open the alcoves in the early 1990s and remove the coffins.  For many years thereafter the human remains lay strewn about the vault until tidied away some 20 or so years later.  Today, 2021, neither the tower nor the adjacent graveyard are looked after.

 

Illustration: Extract from Ordnance Survey Map in 1860 but published 1895 (National Library of Scotland)

A – Monuments in the Area South of the Tower

The format of this inventory follows that of previous surveys

1. – Each stone is given a unique number that also appears on the plan:
2. – The type of stone, whether flat or head:
3. – If a headstone, then the shape of the top of the stone (see Calatria volume 10, p.17 for the key):
4. -The dimension of the stone starting with the height, then the width and thickness:
5. – The inscription:
6. – The reference number [in square brackets] used by Mitchell & Mitchell.

1.  Cross on a tapering plinth, 1.70 x 0.50 x 0.30m.  In memory of/ ANNE M^ACDONALD/ OF ABERFELDY/ WHO DIED 12^TH FEB 1950,/ BELOVED WIFE OF/ WILLIAM GILL/ WHO DIED AT GRANGEMOUTH/ 4^TH MAY 1950/ AND THEIR GRANDSON/ ANDREW WILLIAM GILL/ WHO DIED 15^TH APRIL 1950,/ INTERRED IN GRANDSABLE CEMETERY [on plinth].

2.  Cross on stepped plinth, 1.25 x 0.65 x 0.15m.  (a) THY WILL BE DONE (on cross); (b) IN/ LOVING MEMORY/ OF [on upper step]; (c) CONDUCTOR/ LIVINGSTONE RHA/ — INDIA CO SERVICE)/ — — MBER 17^TH 1904 AGED 74 [on lower step].

3.  Cross on stepped base, 0.35+ x 0.40 x 0.14m.  ANDREW GRAY./ DIED 10 DEC. 1866/ AGED 61. 

4.  Low arch, 0.80 x 0.45 x 0.10m.  ELIZABETH BAILEY/ 1879-1957/ WIDOW OF/ REV. J. BAILEY/ MANCHESTER [this stone has been moved to the back of the church].

5.  Rectangular, 0.80 x 0.5m.  TO THE MEMORY/ OF/ ROBERT BRUCE/ HAMILTON/ WHO DIED 1^ST JULY 1950/ AGED 72/ / TILL THE DAY BREAK AND/ THE SHADOWS FLEE AWAY. 

B – Monuments in the Area Behind the Former Church.

 

Illustration: Dunmore Tower with St Andrew’s Church to the right and the Forth Estuary in the background. The sepulchral monument in the form of a column surmounted by a small cross is No. 15 in the list below. Tucked behind the corner buttress of the church is No. 8.

6.  Celtic cross? On stepped plinth, 1.70+ x 0.97 x 0.55m.  THE HON. H.A. MURRAY/ 1810-1865. 

7.  Shafted cross, 1.10+m.  [Broken and fallen face down] 

 

Illustration: Monument No. 8 in 2021

8.  Huge sarcophagus with cartouche back, 3.05 x 2.13 x 1.10m.  (a) FURTH FORTUNE/ AND FILL/ THE FETTERS [on ribbon]; (b) ANNO ǢTAT 41 [on upper plinth]; (c) SACRED TO THE MEMORY OF/ ALEXANDER EDWARD 6^TH EARL OF DUNMORE./ A DUTIFUL AND AFFECTIONATE SON, A WARM-HEARTED AND AFFECTIONATE BROTHER./ A DEVOTED AND AFFECTIONATE HUSBAND AND PARENT/ HE EXPIRED ON THE 15^TH JULY 1845, FONDLY ATTACHED TO HIS COUNTRY AND THE HOME OF HIS FATHERS./ UNIVERSALLY AND DEEPLY REGRETTED BY ALL WHO SHARED HIS FRIENDSHIP AND AFFECTION./ “THEM WHICH SLEEP IN JESUS WILL GOD BRING WITH HIM/ WHEREFOR COMFORT ONE ANOTHER WITH THESE WORDS.” [on lower plinth] 

9.  Discoid top on tapering rectangle, 0.90 x 0.55 x 0.17m.  BARTHOLOMEW WATSON/ DIED 20^TH JAN 1844/ AGED 82/ FOR 23 YEARS THE FAITHFUL SERVANT OF/ GOERGE/ 5^TH EARL OF DUNMORE. 

10.  Cross on stepped plinth, 0.40+ x 0.32 x 0.32m.  (a) GEORGIE/ BORN 3 MAY 1898 [on upper plinth]; (b) THE DEAR CHILD OF/ WILLIAM & JANE STEWART/ “JESUS CALLED A LITTLE CHILD/ UNTO HIM” 26 FEB 1901 [on lower plinth].

11.  Pointed arch, fallen face down, 1.25 x 0.69 x 0.17m.  [8 – Erected by Mr and Mrs Hamilton to Thomas White who died 26 October 1897. Daughter Salina Mary White died 14 February 1897].

12.  Cross on stepped plinth, 1.55 x 0.51 x 0.38m.  (a) CATHERINE D.J. FINNIE/ WIFE OF G.R. STEWART/ BORN 17^TH NOVEMBER 1863/ DIED 23^RD JUNE 1944. [on east side of cross]; (b) SARAH FINNIE/ BORN 28^TH MARCH 1806/ DIED 1^ST MARCH 1884 [east side of upper plinth]; (c) PERFECT LOVE CASTETH OUT FEAR/ JOHN IV.18 [on east side of lower plinth]; (d) MARY RUMBOLD/ FINNIE/ BORN 2^ND AUGUST 1868/ DIED 21^ST MAY 1941 [south side of plinth]; (e) THOMAS JENKINS FINNIE/ BORN 30.8.70/ DIED 17.12.53 [on west side of cross]; (f) ERECTED/ IN AFFECTIONATE REMEMBRANCE BY/ CHARLES ADOLPHUS VII EARL OF DUNMORE/ SUSAN SOUTHEASK/ CONSTANCE ELPHINSTONE/ ALEXANDER MURRAY [west side of plinth]

13.  Celtic cross on tapering plinth, fallen face down.  REOVIESCAT [on lower plinth].  [5 – Mary Cath Bedingfeld Collyer born 30 February 1847, died 22 December 1909, wife of Major General John Heron Maxwell Shaw Stewart].

 

Illustration: Monument No. 14

14.  Recumbent cross set on a series of stepped plinths, 1.20 x 3.60 x 2.60m.  (a) ALEXANDER EDWARD MURRAY 6^TH EARL OF DUNMORE/ BORN JUNE 1^ST 1804 DIED JULY 15^TH 1845./ HE MARRIED SEPTEMBER 27^TH 1836 CATHERINE HERBERT 4^TH DAUGHTER/ GEORGE AUGUSTUS 11^TH EARL OF PEMBROKE/ CATHERINE HERBERT COUNTESS OF DUNMORE/ BORN 31^ST OCTOBER 1814, DIED 12^TH FEBRUARY 1886 [on end of central plinth]; (b) WRITE BLESSED ARE THE DEAD WHICH DIE IN THE LORD/ THAT THEY MAY REST FROM THEIR LABOURS/ AND THEIR WORKS DO FOLLOW THEM/ REVELATION CHAP14 v13— [on top].

 

Illustration: Monument 15 has a brick cored clad in white limestone slabs and surmounted with a sandstone column. It appears white on this early illustration.

15.  Column on die on stepped plinth, 2.70m+ x 0.80 x 0.75m.  (a) IN MEMORY OF/ — 5th EARL OF DUNMORE/ AND DIED — — 11th 1836/ — — LOVE ES—-/ GLORIOUS UNDERSTANDING —- –/ A HIGHLY CULTIVATED TASTE/ HE ADDED A GOODNESS/ AND SINGLENNESS OF HEART/ WHO ENDEARED HIM TO EVERY O–/ AND GAVE A PECULIAR CHARM TO ALL THOSE/ —ED HE SO EMINENTLY POSSESS’D/ AS A MAN AND CHRISTIAN/ Blessed are  the dead that die in the Lord/ — his last tribute to departe worth is place/ — his sorrowing Widow his inseparable and —-/ companion for above 33 years/ — his grateful and affectionate Children [south plaque broken and displaced]; (b) SACRED TO THE MEMORY OF/ SUSAN HIS WIFE/ SHE POSSESSED ALL HIS VIRTUE/ AND HIS BEST AFFECTIONS/ AS WELL AS THE TENDEREST LOVE OF HER CHILDREN/ SHE NEVER MADE AN ENEMY NOR LOST A FRIEND/ DURING THE WHOLE COURSE/ OF HER TRULY CHRISTIAN LIFE./ AND AS ITS SUNSHINE WAS CONSECRATED/ TO THE SERVICE OF HER GOD./ SO WAS ITS SUNSET GLADDENED BY HIS LOVE/ SHE EXPIRED AT RICHMOND PARK,/ SUNDAY 24th MAY 1846/ IN THE 72nd YEAR OF HER AGE/ –/

“Precious in the Sight of the Lord/ is the deafh of his saints/” [west side]; (d) “Oft to this spot will memry fondly turn/ And love’s pure flame still unextinguished burn/ Within HER breast who her doth mourn HIS loss/ But nails her sorrows to a Saviour’s cross/ Oh! precious hope by faith to mortals given. That twinings heart which have on earth been riv’n/ May through that same dear Saviour’s pleading love/ Again unite in realms of bliss above.”/ S.D. 1836 [north side]; (e) Lovely and pleasant in their lives/ in their death they were not divided/ 21 Samuel Chap 4-22^d [east side].

16.  Mitchell and Mitchell recorded a small wooden cross to Michael Towndrow who died 20 August 1949.

C.  Inside the Mausoleum.

Illustration: The burial vault with the entrance door to the right, circa 1980

The following inscriptions have been read off photographs as the inscribed end stones have now been smashed to pieces and removed.

17.  RIGHT HON/ CHARLES AUGUSTUS MURRAY/ KCB/ Son of GEORGE 5th EARL of DUNMORE/ Born Nov. 22nd 1806/ Died June 3rd 1895.

18.  EDITH ESTHER S—/ WIDOW OF/ THE RT HON/ SIR CHARLES MURRAY KCB/ DIED AT CANNES/ DEC. 2 1906.

19.  CECIL HENRY ALEXANDER MURRAY/ Son of/ Hon Sir CHARLES AUGUSTUS MURRAY, P.C.K.C.B./ And his Wife/ —- EDITH SUSAN ESTHER Lady MURRAY/ Born — — 1866, Died 3rd June 1896

20.  GERTRUDE/ COUNTESS OF DUNMORE/ WIFE OF/ CHARLES ADOLPHUS./ 7th EARL OF DUNMORE/ BORN JULY 5th 1847/ DIED NOVEMBER 1943.

Source: G.B. Bailey, 2021