Plean Castle, Stirling, United Kingdom

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.

References:

Wikipedia

User Reviews

Claire Taylor (7 months ago)
Beautiful inside and out

mark “Markymark” turner (10 months ago)
Right alongside cycle route 76 , beautiful castle

Ross (15 months ago)
Words cannot express the gratitude my husband and I have for Eliese and her team who gave us the most amazing wedding! Plane Castle is one in a million. Quirky, homely and full of character there was no where else we wanted to be for our big day. From the moment we met Sonja and Eliese the were so welcoming and supportive. They went above and beyond to give as a weekend and wedding to remember. Plane castle and Eliese will forever be in our memories and our hearts. X Thank you to everyone who helped make our day Perfect! X

Gillian Nash (2 years ago)
Visited Plane Castle as family members were staying for the weekend. Great place, easy to get lost in. Lots of rooms to explore up and down all the various spiral staircases.

Mandy McIsaac (2 years ago)
We held our 4-day wedding with 17 guests at Plane Castle, and it was an actual dream come true. I'm a Wedding Planner and Catering Manager, and I coordinated this trip from Canada. Sonja and Eliese were extremely attentive despite how busy they are. The Castle itself was beyond what I expected. It was so clean and well taken care of - medieval and yet extremely functional. The idea that it's blends self-catering with the most outstanding Chef who can make culinary masterpieces, is a dream for a budget-conscious bride. I would be happy to chat directly with anyone who has further questions - my rave reviews know no end for this experience and this team.

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Photo from Flickr, copyright beyondhue

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The first historical record of Lednice locality dates from 1222. At that time there stood a Gothic fort with courtyard, which was lent by Czech King Václav I to Austrian nobleman Sigfried Sirotek in 1249.

At the end of the 13th century the Liechtensteins, originally from Styria, became holders of all of Lednice and of nearby Mikulov. They gradually acquired land on both sides of the Moravian-Austrian border. Members of the family most often found fame in military service, during the Renaissance they expanded their estates through economic activity. From the middle of the 15th century members of the family occupied the highest offices in the land. However, the family’s position in Moravia really changed under the brothers Karel, Maximilian, and Gundakar of Liechtenstein. Through marriage Karel and Maximilian acquired the great wealth of the old Moravian dynasty of the Černohorskýs of Boskovice. At that time the brothers, like their father and grandfather, were Lutheran, but they soon converted to Catholicism, thus preparing the ground for their rise in politics. Particularly Karel, who served at the court of Emperor Rudolf II, became hetman of Moravia in 1608, and was later raised to princely status by King Matyas II and awarded the Duchy of Opava.

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In the 16th century it was probably Hartmann II of Liechtenstein who had the old medieval water castle torn down and replaced with a Renaissance chateau. At the end of the 17th century the chateau was torn down and a Baroque palace was built, with an extensive formal garden, and a massive riding hall designed by Johann Bernard Fischer von Erlach that still stands in almost unaltered form.

In the mid-18th century the chateau was again renovated, and in 1815 its front tracts that had been part of the Baroque chateau were removed.

The chateau as it looks today dates from 1846-1858, when Prince Alois II decided that Vienna was not suitable for entertaining in the summer, and had Lednice rebuilt into a summer palace in the spirit of English Gothic. The hall on the ground floor would serve to entertain the European aristocracy at sumptuous banquets, and was furnished with carved wood ceilings, wooden panelling, and select furniture, surpassing anything of its kind in Europe.

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