Plean Tower comprises a small oblong tower house probably dating from the 15th century, and an adjoining 16th-century manor house.

Robert Bruce granted the barony of Plean, or Plane, to John d’Erth soon after 1314. The castle was probably built by Lord Somerville, who acquired the lands of Plean in 1449, through marriage.

An adjoining manor house was built in about 1528. In 1643 James Somervell, 8th Lord of Plane, sold the barony and lands to meet debts. It passed to the Nicholsons and the Elphinstones, but both the tower and the manor fell into disrepair. During the 1745 rebellion the Jacobite troops used the property.

Sir David Menzies restored the buildings in 1908, but by the 1930s they were again no longer in use. It was rebuilt from ruins by Nancy and John Patrick Wright and their sons in 1991-1997 to form a home and holiday accommodation.

Plean Castle originally had three stories and a garret, with parapet corbelling. In its rebuilt 1990s form there is a great hall in the tower with painted ceiling beams and a large fireplace. The adjoining modern 'manor house' is connected to the tower by a wooden walkway and is built over a vaulted basement surviving from the 1528 manor house.

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Founded: 15th century
Category: Castles and fortifications in United Kingdom

More Information

en.wikipedia.org

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4.5/5 (based on Google user reviews)

User Reviews

Joseph Eddy (jceddy) (10 months ago)
We were married here in 2006 when it had a previous owner (John Wright, who was lovely and also officiated the wedding). We and all the guests had a wonderful time. While in Scotland again with our two boys we arranged with the current owner to come by to show them the castle and take a quick peek at the garden. Upon arrival, we were treated quite rudely by a man I assume was staff who chased us off brusquely. I am leaving a middling review to reflect the five stars I would have left in 2006 as well as the fact that current management seems unfortunately more uptight. Edit: If there were guests there that we might have been disturbing, then we had a misunderstanding, that is not what we were told (we were told the castle was being prepared for the next guests). I understand that we were not paying customers so the current owner is not really beholden to us in any way, but as someone in the hospitality business, they should know that a little bit of understanding (as opposed to gaslighting, insults, and extraneous punctuation) would go a long way. If there is, in fact, a guest that our presence disturbed, then I wish I could extend them our sincere apologies.
Roslyn Bell (17 months ago)
We had our wedding at Plane Castle in December, with 50 guests. The atmosphere was amazing and we loved every minute. This castle is local to us and so many of our guests had never even heard of it - and were blown away. It’s a stunning castle, full of history and so picturesque! A huge thanks to all the staff for being so great, and a special thanks to Eliese for organising everything & ensuring the day ran smoothly. Everything ran like clockwork - from the turnaround from ceremony set up to the meal, to our first dance. We were so impressed with how smoothly this all went. The food was lovely and Eliese catered for all our needs (even when we were being so particular about what we wanted!!). We are already thinking about booking for future events! We would highly recommend Plane Castle for any event!
Samuel Bennett (2 years ago)
I attended a wedding a few months ago at the castle and on first viewing thought the scenery was nice and I was enjoying the stay until the day I left. After seeing the response both to myself in email and later to the review comments I thought it best to follow up; especially if people want to attend this to be the setting for any big day. In the hours before leaving the castle I found a new bride crying in a stairwell, heard the owner of the business (Sonja) yelling and pacing to both the bride and guests, found the same owner peering over a window to better listen to guests conversations, and was told comical stories by the owner trying to validate this behaviour. In contrast the gentleman during this time was quite cordial and typically tried to de-escalate; which seemed to show, to me, a contrast both in demeanor and in professionalism. I got this impression directly after asking why she was listening in on peoples conversations. I found I could muster 2 word responses during her long and personally tiring justifications/slurs, which was a shame as I had tried to repeat there may have been a misunderstanding at least 5 times (you can only be called a liar so many times before your eyes roll backwards and want to do something more fruitful out of frustration). After all, this was all because a group of people believed they were allowed to stay 1 hour extra by verbal confirmation... After this I did try to follow up and emailed directly asking for some of the 'evidence' that I was told by Sonja proved we were liars, which included an email and direct correspondence that she was happy to show me on the day. I do wish I took her up on it now as I was then told after a short back and forth that they feel this matter to be closed; whilst leaving me empty handed. So in direct response to their feedback to Jacqueline King, it may have been your first time to throw people out. But it was also my first time to be thrown out, to be called a liar by a hotel owner, to hug a crying bride the day after they wed, to be promised evidence as an excuse for the very... strange behaviour, to then also not be given that evidence. I think we all had many first that day, I just hope for any other happy couple our experience was also your last.
Janine Semple (2 years ago)
Had our wedding here a few weeks ago and we are still can't stop talking about it. The castle itself is fun and comfortable but what really makes this venue special is the staff. Our wedding was postponed due to the pandemic and stressful as it was for us to have to reschedule our wedding we know how many people Elise and Sonja were having to reschedule and keep happy at the same time. With all this going on they couldn't have made us feel more welcome or our day so special. Food is amazing and nothing was too much trouble for this fairy tale castle. Thank you so much. We cant wait to come back
Emma Brock (2 years ago)
I recently stayed at Plane Castle over the Bank Holiday weekend for my brothers wedding. Such a stunning place and it oozed so much history. We stayed in a twin room in the tower. The beds were very comfortable and enough clean towels for 2 people for the weekend. The only downfall was squeaky floorboards from the room above, but the castle is 600 years old!!!! Elise and the team at the castle were second to none and couldn't do any more for you. Thank you for making our weekend fabulous.
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