In 1329, Scotland’s famous King Robert the Bruce asked an unusual and final favor from his closest friend and talented military commander, Sir James Douglas (Sir James the Good). With imminent death preventing him from fulfilling his vow to fight in the crusades, the king asked Douglas, to remove his heart upon death and bring it to battle. A year later, Douglas was killed at the Siege of Teba while fulfilling the king’s request. A winged heart wearing a crown became the Douglas emblem.
Over 600 years of Douglas family history is preserved in Scotland’s 17th-century Drumlanrig Castle. Known as the “Pink Palace,” the castle is situated at the heart of the Queensberry Estate in Dumfries and Galloway and was built to reflect the status of William Douglas, 1st Duke of Queensberry (1637–1695). The Douglas emblem, carved into the pink sandstone and sprinkled throughout the castle’s interior, was intended to demonstrate William’s descent from the earliest Douglas lords, linking Queensberry to his ancestors.
Nearly four centuries later, Drumlanrig’s art and architecture remain a tribute to the Douglas clan history. Appearing in the second series of “Outlander,” the castle was used as the set for the Duke of Sandringham’s estate.
Claire Fraser ( as Caitríona Balfe) and Robert Curtis (as Lt. Barnes) in the hallway of Drumlanrig Castle in Season 2, episode 11 of “Outlander.” The fireplace in the hall is wood painted to look like stone and is sculpted with the Douglas emblem. MovieStillsDB
Recalling Scotland’s Past
When the building of Drumlanrig commenced in 1679, Scottish architectural taste was turning towards the Palladian classicism that was popular in England. While Scotland’s architecture was still in a state of transition, William decided to build Drumlanrig in the late Scottish Renaissance style. Combining medieval and classical elements, Scottish Renaissance architecture incorporated classical proportions and decorative features like rounded arches.
The Douglas emblem and coat of arms carved into the pink sandstone at Drumlanrig Castle. Color enhanced photograph by Philip Halling/CC BY-SA 2.0
As the architectural style transitioned from the early to late Scottish Renaissance, classical elements started to gain a stronger presence. Estates took on the appearance of civilian homes rather than fortresses. Drumlanrig epitomized the endpoint of that development. In shape, it’s a perfectly symmetrical rectangle. At the corners are towers that are one story taller than the remainder of the home.
Its main entrance is on the south side of the castle. On either side of what would be the castle’s “front yard” are long, thin, single-story wings. They reach out from the castle’s towers to more than double the length of the castle’s sides. Combined with being built on a manmade mound, the effect recalls castles civilianized over time.
Front entrance of Drumlanrig Castle in Dumfries and Galloway, Scotland. Jule_Berlin/Shutterstock
At its very front end, the wing on the east side of the courtyard turns east and extends long enough to form two sides of a square. At the end of the courtyard is a one-story high terrace, reached by a pair of curving staircases, from which the main front door is accessed.
The castle’s sandstone walls—so red they appear pink at any distance—complete the picture of civilian elegance.
British Isles Aesthetics
The Duke of Buccleuch in the hall of Drumlanrig Castle. The walls are lined with embossed leather wallpaper, patterned with the Douglas emblem. Jeff J Mitchell/Getty Images
Drumlanrig’s interior is similarly civilian. Much of it is dominated by aesthetic features typical of the British Isles, such as dark brown wood for wall paneling, floors, bookcases, railings and stairs. Drapes, carpets, and upholstery in deep reds and greens is similarly prevalent and part of the same regional tradition.
Most formal and public parts of Drumlanrig tend to be more darkly colored than private, informal, and utilitarian ones. Deep reds and greens are prominent in the front hall, great oak staircase hall, drawing room inner hall, and dining room, as is the prevalence of dark brown wood.
The Duke of Sandringham (Simon Callow) and Claire (Balfe) inside the drawing room at Drumlanrig Castle from Season 2 of “Outlander.” The drawing room is hung with family and royal portraits and furnished with 18th-century French furniture. (MovieStillsDB) Behind the Duke is a cabinet of curiosities gifted from Louis XIV to Charles II. Above Claire hangs a portrait of “James I of England (James VI of Scotland)” circa 1618, by 17th century artist. Yale Center for British Art. Public Domain
Other rooms, however, are strongly influenced by the Renaissance and 17th-century Palladian classicism. It’s most obvious in rooms dominated by lighter, brighter colors, such as the pale green and white in the the morning room and the “Queen’s Bedroom.” The morning room faces towards the rising sun in an effort to maximize visibility as early in the day as possible.
Similar coloration is found in the castle’s private wings and less formal rooms such as the serving room and kitchen. Decorative features as coffered ceilings and rounded arches are subtler—but at times combined with darker coloration.
The castle is home to part of the Buccleuch art collection which includes Leonardo da Vinci's “Madonna of the Yarnwinder” (circa 1501) and Rembrandt's “An Old Woman Reading” (1655). Stolen in 2003 and returned four years later, the “Madonna of the Yarnwinder” is currently on loan at the Scottish National Gallery. The Buccleuch art collection also includes renowned paintings by Anthony can Dyck, Hans Holbein the Younger, and Godfrey Kneller. Public Domain
The extent of William’s stylistic preferences are not entirely clear due to changes made over the centuries. The castle’s drawing room was originally the Douglas’s dining room and is filled with 18th-century French furniture. Whereas the castle’s current dining room aesthetics are from a 19th-century renovation. Fortunately, such changes have had a limited impact. The castle’s architecture and history remains true to William’s commissioned structure. Scotland’s last Renaissance architectural masterpiece, Drumlanrig Castle was one of the country’s greatest cultural achievements of the 17th century.
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James Baresel
Author
James Baresel is a freelance writer who has contributed to periodicals as
varied as Fine Art Connoisseur, Military History, Claremont Review of Books,
and New Eastern Europe.
