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Balmanno Castle is a moated tower house located in Perthshire hamlet of Dron. It was built between 1570 and 1580. It is now modernised and is in good condition. The moat is still partially filled with water. It was built for George Auchinleck, after acquiring the estate.
The celebrated Scots architect Sir Robert Lorimer undertook a major restoration in 1915 for William Millar, a Glasgow ship-owner, as his summer residence. Lorimer's work was of immense quality and undertaken with great care. Externally he added extra wings to form a courtyard. Lorimer allowed himself to dabble in the Gothic, while incorporating internal details from Holyrood Palace whose restoration was the work of Sir William Bruce (1630-1710). Lorimer also furnished the house in every detail, using items he had commissioned as well as commercial pieces purchased around the country. He added a courtyard and expensive furniture to the house. Balmanno was sold after the second world war. Hon. James Michael Edward Bruce CBE and his wife, Jean Coats, lived in this house from the 1950s; their family continue to live in this house.
References:The stone church of Gamla Uppsala, built over the pagan temple, dates from the early 12th century. Due to fire and renovations, the present church is only a remnant of the original cathedral.
Before the arrival of Christianity in Sweden, Gamla Uppsala was the seat of Swedish kings and a ceremonial site known all over northern Europe. The settlement was home to royal palaces, a royal burial ground, and a great pagan temple. The Uppsala temple, which was described in detail by Adam of Bremen in the 1070s, housed wooden statues of the Norse gods Odin, Thor and Freyr. A golden chain hung across its gables and the inside was richly decorated with gold. The temple had priests, who sacrificed to the gods according to the needs of the people.
The first Christian cathedral was probably built in the 11th century, but finished in the 12th century. The stone building may have been preceded by a wooden church and probably by the large pagan temple.