The house from a 1915 postcard
Detail of the Strathallan Chinese Canton wallpaper, today in the collection of the Peabody Essex Museum.
Detail of the Strathallan Chinese Canton wallpaper, today in the collection of the Peabody Essex Museum.
Detail of the Strathallan Chinese Canton wallpaper, today in the collection of the Peabody Essex Museum.
Detail of the Strathallan Chinese Canton wallpaper, today in the collection of the Peabody Essex Museum.
House & Family History: In 2006 the Peabody Essex Museum, Salem, Massachusetts, purchased a full room of circa 1799 hand-painted Chinese wallpaper (see "Images" section) that formerly hung at Strathallan. The panels (opaque watercolor on mulberry paper that feature the only known panoramic scene of Canton on wallpaper) were installed by James Drummond, who married Lady Amelia Sophia Murray, a daughter of the 4th Duke of Atholl. The wallpaper was probably hung as part of an early 19th century decorative scheme at Strathallan, though it is of an earlier date, possibly having been commissioned by another member of Drummond's, or his wife's, family; both families were deeply involved in the China trade in the middle and later years of the 18th century. James Drummond's first cousin, Andrew John Drummond, de jure 7th Viscount Strathallan, was a general in the East India Company and made several visits to Canton, from where he could have possibly purchased the wallpaper. In 1817 General Drummond died unmarried and James Drummond inherited the de jure title of 8th Viscount Strathallan; the title was fully restored to him by Act of Parliament in 1824; he died in 1851. The wallpaper was displayed at the Victoria & Albert Museum, London, and at the Maritime Museum in Amsterdam before it was acquired by the Peabody Essex Museum. (We are grateful to William Sargent, emeritus curator of Asian export art at the Peabody Essex Museum, for contributing to the history of the Chinese wallpaper at Strathallan). Sir James Roberts purchased the Strathallan Estate in 1910 from the Drummond family. During the Great War the house was used as a Red Cross convalescent hospital for wounded soldiers. In the Second World War Strathallan Castle was a school for girls evacuated from Glasgow.
Garden & Outbuildings: Strathallan today (2012) sits in an estate of 1,000 acres.
Architect: Robert Smirke
Date: 1817-18
Title: Biographical Dictionary of British Architects, 1600-1840, A - HARDBACK
Author: Colvin, Howard
Year Published: 2008
Reference: pgs. 935-936
Publisher: New Haven: Yale University Press
ISBN: 9780300125085
Book Type: Hardback
Title: Scottish Country Houses, 1600-1914
Author: Gow, Ian and Rowan, Alistair (Editors)
Year Published: 1998
Reference: pg. 207
Publisher: Edinburgh: Edinburgh University Press
ISBN: 0748610774
Book Type: Softback
House Listed: Category B
Park Listed: Not Listed
Current Seat / Home of: Roberts family; here since 1910.
Past Seat / Home of: General Andrew John Drummond, de jure 7th Viscount Strathallan, 1775-1814; James Andrew John Laurence Charles Drummond, 8th Viscount Strathallan, 1814-51; William Henry Drummond, 9th Viscount Strathallan, 1851-86; James Drummond, 10th Viscount Strathallan, 1886-93; William Huntley Drummond, 11th Viscount Strathallan and 15th Earl of Perth, 1893-1910; Drummond family here from the 13th century until 1910. Sir James Roberts, early 20th century.
Current Ownership Type: Individual / Family Trust
Primary Current Ownership Use: Wedding & Event Venue
Ownership Details: Available for corporate hospitality, product launches, and weddings.
House Open to Public: By Appointment
Phone: 01764-662-131
Email: [email protected]
Website: http://www.strathallancastle.co.uk
Historic Houses Member: No