Restoring Druminnor: Margaret Forbes-Sempill in 1965
In the mid-1960s, Druminnor Castle was undergoing a remarkable transformation. After more than 180 years away from Forbes ownership, the ancient seat of the family had returned to Forbes hands in 1955 when Margaret Forbes-Sempill, daughter of Sir John Forbes of Craigievar, 18th Lord Sempill, purchased the property. Over the following decade, she undertook an ambitious program to strip away later alterations and recover the character of the medieval Forbes castle.
A surviving film clip from about 1965 offers a rare and fascinating glimpse of Margaret herself at work. Calm, knowledgeable, and clearly enthusiastic about her project, she leads a reporter through the castle, explaining both what had already been accomplished and what remained to be done.
Outside, workmen are removing the chimneys so that they can be reconstructed in a form closer to their original appearance. Margaret estimates that the restoration has already taken about nine years. The 1841 additions are being demolished, while the surviving medieval fabric is being carefully revealed. Her goal is not to create a romantic imitation of a castle, but to recover as much as possible of Druminnor’s historic character.
Inside, the scale of the undertaking becomes even clearer. In the hall, once converted into a kitchen, the lathe and plaster have been removed to expose the original stonework. In the room she calls the “happy room,” Margaret points out a mysterious inscription discovered beneath the plaster, apparently dating from the fifteenth century. Above the fireplace are the initials “IR” or “JR,” which she explains as Jacobus Rex, associated with King James and his visit to Druminnor.
She takes the reporter through the museum, filled with old farm implements and household objects, and then up the unusually broad tower stair—nearly six feet wide. The tour culminates in the banqueting hall. Margaret points out the marks left by the original ceiling beams and an intricately carved stone commemorating the marriage of Jean Campbell of Calder to a Forbes.
Her plans are as ambitious as her restoration. She hopes to return to live at Druminnor the following spring and open the castle to the public. Already, some 3,000 visitors have come to see the work. “I want people to see it and enjoy it,” she tells the reporter. “Because, after all, it is an old, historic building.”
More than six decades later, those simple words capture the spirit of Margaret Forbes-Sempill’s remarkable undertaking: to rescue Druminnor not simply as a private residence, but as a living part of Forbes history.
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