Belladrum Estate Scotland was once part of the lands owned by the Lords of Lovat, chieftains of the Clan Fraser, to whom belonged much of the land in the area and stretching to the South and West. From them it came into the ownership of the Frasers of Belladrum, whose memorials you can see in Wardlaw Church in the nearby village Kirkhill, and who raised the Regiment of Fraser Fencibles during the Napoleonic Wars. In the 1820s, the Belladrum Frasers sold their estates to merchants by the name of Stewart. They in turn sold in 1857 to James Merry of Belladrum. MP for the Burghs of Falkirk, and an ironmaster from Glasgow. Davina Merry, the mother of the current owner, was the last of the name of Merry to own Belladrum.
In 1977, Davina sold Belladrum and it was split up into many parts by its new Dutch owners who operated as asset strippers. In 1987 the new owner repurchased Phoineas House, which had become the main house on the estate since Davina’s father, Eion Merry, was forced to pull down old Belladrum House. The new owner then gradually re-assembled the heart of the old estate including the home farm and woodlands. Belladrum House had been considerably enlarged by James Merry on acquiring it, using the services of the well known Scottish architect David Bryce. After the Second World War, it proved too large to staff and though offered to a number of schools and institutions, proved to be unsuited to them.
These days Belladrum is still a wonderful estate and much of its former glory has been restored. The Belladrum estate, located near the town of Beauly and close to Inverness, is home to a few unique holiday cottages, both graded 5 stars by the STB, and has a unique wedding chapel. The website from the Belladrum Estate gives information about Belladrum, the cottages, getting married at Belladrum and presents information about their annually tartan heart festival in August. On the Belladrum estate are wonderful tracks through the woodlands offering wonderful views over the nearby valley. Wildlife is present almost everywhere, owls, foxes, deer and lots of birds give the estate a friendly character. Belladrum also hosts some of the tallest trees in Scotland.
