Old houses often have a story to tell. This is the story of Duntrune House our home
since 1981. This house was built in 1826
on the foundations of a much older house.
Walter Graham and his wife Elizabeth Guthrie lived in the old house
after their marriage in 1630. Walter was
the great uncle of 1st Viscount Dundee, John Graham of Claverhouse,
aka Bonnie Dundee. This leads me on to
the story of The Ghost of Duntrune.
Bonnie Dundee was the leader of the Scottish army against the
English army at the Battle of Killiecrankie on 27th July 1689. Although the Scots won, Bonnie Dundee was
killed on the battlefield. A belief was common that, at midnight on the anniversary of
the Battle of Killiecrankie, the ghost of Claverhouse appeared on the lawn of
Duntrune, below the Auracaria (monkey puzzle) tree – gone before our time. The following is the gist of a story told by
one whose grandmother saw the vision:
"Suddenly it seemed as though a cloud had fallen on
everything, blotting out such flickering moonshine as had penetrated through
the closely grown trees and evergreen shrubs and causing a gloom to fall on
one’s spirits, and even on the hooting of the owls, which seemed to cower
behind the branches in fear. I, alone,
was a silent listener, when I was suddenly aroused by streams of wild,
unearthly music. I listened, my hair
stood on end, the cold sweat poured down my face and my heart seemed to refuse
to beat from very terror. Again the music
pealed forth, wild and slow, then a pause.
Again it sounded forth in softer tones as if the unearthly musician had
stopped to change to a sweeter lay and to take a fresh supply of energy. It was as if some threatened disaster was
hanging over me. The next moment, there
as I stood, strains of music fell on my ears and suddenly before me, under the
huge tree on the lawn, there appeared for a brief moment the figure of a knight
on horseback in shining armour and pale face, while in his hand shone a naked
sword bedaubed with blood. Entranced and
awe-struck I gazed at him and as I did so a voice whispered in my ear in clear
unmistakable tones…. “Claverhouse” Then the vision faded away as suddenly as it
had come"
Taken from “The passing
of Duntrune” by H. A. Forsyth FSA J
An addendum to this story is that for many years a wooden box containing a red scarlet velvet covered file sat on the mantelpiece of our dining room. The file is now in The National Library of Scotland. Among the contents were;
·
> The
marriage contract of Claverhouse
·
> His
commission as Colonel of Horse
· > His
commission as Major General of all the Forces in Scotland
· > His
patent of nobility, numerous other documents and his pistol taken from his belt at Killiecrankie, 17th July 1689
When we opened the box at The National Library of Scotland we
discovered the pistol was no longer there.
We found it in Abbotsford House, the former home of Sir Walter
Scot. How had it arrived there? Further research suggested it was on loan
from the Law Society of Scotland. How
had it come to be in their possession? A
descendant of Walter was the friend of Mr Erskine of Linlathen the neighbouring
property to Duntrune. This descendant
left the pistol in his will to Mr Erskine, a prominent lawyer who presumably
gifted it to the Law Society.
My question – does Bonnie Dundee appear at Duntrune on the
eve of his last battle, looking for his pistol?
We have never seen the ghost but do we put him out of his miserable
search by pointing him in the direction of Abbotsford?
Olwyn and Barrie have owned Duntrune House since 1981 and have been offering B&B there since 2001. Duntrune is part of Ancestral Scotland and Olwyn and Barrie are able to help you with your family research in Dundee and the surrounding area. You can see more pictures of Duntrune House, or book a stay by visiting their listing on our website