20 June 2013
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Three generations celebrate at Drum Castle
Three generations of the family of a maid who worked at Drum Castle travelled from Australia to mark what would have been her 100th birthday. ...
Three generations celebrate at Drum Castle Images
Three generations of the family of a maid who worked at Drum Castle travelled from Australia to mark what would have been her 100th birthday.
Willamina 'Lildy' McPhail worked at Drum Castle near Aberdeen from the age of fifteen to seventeen, before leaving Scotland in 1930 to begin a new life in Australia. Castle staff welcomed three generations of Lildy's family (pictured) - daughter Jeannie Gannon, grandson Peter Gannon and great-grandson Peter Angus, who were visiting from Victoria, Australia. The family were able to sit on the bench dedicated to Lildy, and picnic under the copper beech tree planted in her memory.
During their visit, the Gannon family also passed on details of Lildy's fond memories of life at the castle. One family story was that Lildy and the other downstairs maids would sneak up the turret stairs off the drawing room to join the male servants from some clandestine romance and then meet innocently under the horse chestnut tree for morning tea.
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She was also fascinated with the library at Drum Castle and believed that this room contained a secret chamber where Mary Irvine hid her brother who was fleeing from the Battle of Culloden. Property Manager Dr Alison Burke said: 'This is fascinating information as we are currently looking for hidden voids in the tower as part of the conservation work currently being undertaken, and it is entirely possible that Lildy was right. Only more archaeological research will let us know.'
For more on Drum Castle, visit the National Trust for Scotland website.
(Main image copyright National Trust for Scotland; castle image copyright Dan at Geograph Project)
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Willamina 'Lildy' McPhail worked at Drum Castle near Aberdeen from the age of fifteen to seventeen, before leaving Scotland in 1930 to begin a new life in Australia. Castle staff welcomed three generations of Lildy's family (pictured) - daughter Jeannie Gannon, grandson Peter Gannon and great-grandson Peter Angus, who were visiting from Victoria, Australia. The family were able to sit on the bench dedicated to Lildy, and picnic under the copper beech tree planted in her memory.
During their visit, the Gannon family also passed on details of Lildy's fond memories of life at the castle. One family story was that Lildy and the other downstairs maids would sneak up the turret stairs off the drawing room to join the male servants from some clandestine romance and then meet innocently under the horse chestnut tree for morning tea.
She was also fascinated with the library at Drum Castle and believed that this room contained a secret chamber where Mary Irvine hid her brother who was fleeing from the Battle of Culloden. Property Manager Dr Alison Burke said: 'This is fascinating information as we are currently looking for hidden voids in the tower as part of the conservation work currently being undertaken, and it is entirely possible that Lildy was right. Only more archaeological research will let us know.'
For more on Drum Castle, visit the National Trust for Scotland website.
(Main image copyright National Trust for Scotland; castle image copyright Dan at Geograph Project)
Sign up now for our FREE e-newsletter for more news stories, sneak previews, exclusive content and special offers.
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