(549) Belshes of Invermay House and Balmanno Castle

Belshes of Tofts and Invermay

The Belshes family (the name is also spelled Belsches, Belses and Belchis among other variants, but is standardised as Belshes for the purposes of this account) first appear in the historical record in 1606, when John Belshes (d. 1631) was admitted to the Faculty of Advocates. In the 1620s, he acquired lands at Stitchell (Roxburghs.) and Tofts (Berwicks.), which descended to his son, Sir Alexander Belshes (d. 1656), who was an advocate like his father. He became MP for Berwick-on-Tweed in 1644 and was knighted by King Charles I in 1646 on becoming one of the Senators of the College of Justice in Scotland, where he took the title Lord Tofts. He married in 1632 but had no issue, so on his death his estate at Tofts passed to his younger half-brother, John Belshes (c.1610-93), with whom the genealogy below begins. John also inherited his brother's debts, however, and over the next few years much of the estate had to be sold off to repay them, with the majority being sold in 1673 to Sir William Purves, the solicitor general for Scotland, who renamed the property as Purves Hall. The little of the estate which escaped sale passed to John's eldest son, John Belshes (fl. 1718).

It was, however, the elder John's second son, Alexander Belshes (d. 1745), who founded the branch of the family discussed here. Although there is no record of him being admitted to the Faculty of Advocates or becoming a Writer to the Signet, he was clearly trained as a lawyer as he was appointed Principal Sheriff Clerk of Midlothian, a post in which he was assisted by two of his sons, the elder of whom eventually succeeded him. The role required his routine presence in Edinburgh, which is where he normally resided, but in 1717 he bought the Invermay estate in Perthshire as a summer residence. He may have been responsible for some formal landscaping south of the house which is shown on General Roy's map of 1750, but it possible that this was already in place when he bought the estate. He seems not to have altered the old house on the estate, but his son, John Belshes (c.1700-77), set about replacing it soon after he inherited the estate in 1745. He chose a new site south of the old house, which would have required the clearance of the formal plantations shown on the 1750 map, and new informal planting was begun in the grounds soon afterwards.

On John's death in 1777, the estate passed to his son, John Hepburn Belshes (c.1745-1819), who had married earlier that year Mary Murray (1752-1823) of Balmanno Castle (Perths.), an estate which she had inherited on the death in America of her soldier brother, Sir Alexander Murray, 5th bt. in 1774. The couple seem to have lived principally at Invermay, where improvements were made c.1780 and again, on a much larger scale, in 1802-10, but they also undertook work at Balmanno, which was made more habitable by the installation of sash windows and new staircases, and the addition of a service wing. The couple had two sons, Alexander Hepburn Murray Belshes (1778-1864) and John Hepburn Murray Belshes (1782-1863). The latter forged a career in the army, retiring on half-pay as a Major in about 1820, but continuing to rise through the ranks by seniority so that he ended up as a Lieutenant-General. After his retirement he returned to Perthshire, and lived at Balmanno Castle, while his elder brother occupied Invermay (and owned both estates). Both brothers took an active part in public affairs and local charitable initiatives, but they were unmarried, so on Alexander's death the estates devolved on a distant kinsman, Sir John Stuart Hepburn Forbes (1804-66), 8th bt., of Monymusk, Fettercairn and Pitsligo, the great-great-great-grandson of John Belshes (d. 1693). He and his successors owned many other properties, and both Invermay and Balmanno seem to have been let for periods in the late 19th century, before finally being sold in 1898 and 1915 respectively.

Invermay House, Forteviot, Perthshire

When Alexander Belshes bought the Invermay (or Innermay) estate in 1717, the mansion house was a rubble-built tower house, now known as The Old House of Invermay. The tower house occupied an easily defensible site above the Water of May, and seems to have begun as a two-storey 16th century house, raised to three storeys in the early 17th century. 

Old House of Invermay: the house from the south-west in 2016, after recent restoration. Image: arjayempee. 

In the middle of the south side is a tapering bowed tower with a couple of slit windows, that now has a sloping cap. Above the entrance is a triangular panel with the Drummond coat of arms, the initials of David Drummond and his wife Elizabeth Abercrombie, and the date 1633.  On the north side is a stair tower, rising above the surrounding roofs to a crowstep-gabled cap. At the west end of the house is a crowstep-gabled coachhouse wing, perhaps added in the early 18th century, with a large segmental-arched opening in the gable end. After the present Invermay House  was built, the old house was allowed to fall into decay and some of its outbuildings were apparently demolished. The house has been restored for occupation in recent years.

In 1686 James and David Drummond of Invermay agreed a contract for the building of a new house on the estate which was to be designed by Sir William Bruce or [blank] Mill 'or any other relevant architector that the lairds shall think fit', but this never seems to have happened. Instead, a formal landscape was laid out around the old house in the early 18th century, which is recorded on General Roy's map of 1750. This shows six rectangular blocks of woodland with rides between them. The design presumably incorporated the two mid 17th century sundials which were recorded at Invermay in the 19th century. One of these (having been moved to Pitcairn and then to Wemyss Castle) is now back at Invermay and stands on a corniced pillar between the old house and its successor. 

Old House of Invermay: extract from General Roy's map of the Scottish Highlands, 1750,
showing the Invermay estate and the formal planting south of the house.

The present Invermay House was built in about 1750 for John Belshes (c.1700-77). As first built it consisted of a hipped-roofed main block of three storeys above a basement. The main front was of five bays, with a wider and slightly projecting central bay, while the garden front has six windows on the top floor. The lower floors on the garden side now have two windows either side of a semi-circular bow which is usually assumed to be part of the original design but might well be a fashionable addition of the 1770s or 1780s or even be one of the additions of 1806, when the house was altered by Robert Burn (1752-1815) - father of the more famous William Burn. At that time, single-storey bow windows and a Roman Doric porch were added to the ground floor of the entrance front, and he may also have created the tripartite first floor window above the porch. 

Invermay House: the house from the south-west in the early 20th century (after 1904).

Invermay House: aerial view of the garden front, 2012. Image: RCAHMS.

Further alterations were made in about 1904, when a single-storey over basement wing was added to the south side of the house, which has a canted bay window on the garden front. On the entrance side it is set back behind a terrace built over the basement area which formerly carried a conservatory. The approach to the house was changed at the same time, when a drive from the north was substituted for the original axial western approach. Inside, the house retains a mid 18th century staircase with turned wooden balusters, but otherwise the interiors were all altered later. The principal rooms essentially retain their early 19th century decoration, but were enriched with additional decorative plasterwork in the style of the late 18th century as part of the remodelling of 1904. The house has been well restored in recent years.

The formal landscape shown by General Roy was presumably destroyed soon after his map was drawn, as the new house stands on the site of the formal plantations. New informal planting of trees began in the later 18th century, and the octagonal doocot and an ice house to the east of the house are referred to in the 18th century and were presumably part of the 18th century landscaping. A more comprehensive landscaping scheme was carried out under the direction of Walter Nicol between 1800 and 1808 for Col. John Hepburn Belshes (c.1745-1819), which exploited the picturesque potential of the natural gorge (the Humble Bumble) formed by the Water of May as it flows through the estate. 

Invermay House: engraving of the Humble Bumble gorge on the estate with the house behind, from Scotland Illustrated, 1845.

In places the cliff faces of the gorge rise nearly a hundred feet above a narrow channel just a few feet wide, and paths were cut along both sides, linked by a rustic bridge just east of the gorge. The dramatic scene was a favourite place of Sir Walter Scott and has changed little since his day, except for the loss of the elm trees which formed an important element in the landscape but were a casualty of Dutch Elm Disease in the 1970s. At the same time, new estate buildings designed by Nicol, the architect Alexander Laing (1752-1823), and others were built, including a gazebo (now lost), dairy and game larder. The west lodges (of 1803) were designed by B.D. Hodge, and two sides of an intended U-shaped stable court (now a house called Hill of Invermay), the walled garden (designed in 1802 by Walter Nicol), and the Home Farm were also built at this time, while the policies were enclosed by a new wall. Nicol designed new peach and grape houses, and proposed the construction of a domed and battlemented Gothick temple and a two-storey classical tea house attached to a greenhouse, which sadly remained unbuilt.

Invermay House: unexecuted design by Walter Nicol for a tea house on the estate, c.1802. The location of the original drawing is unknown.

Descent: purchased 1717 by Alexander Belshes (d. 1745); to son, John Belshes (c.1700-77); to son, John Hepburn Belshes (c.1745-1819); to son, Alexander Hepburn Belshes (1778-1864); to kinsman, Sir John Stuart Hepburn Forbes (1804-66), 8th bt.; to daughter, Harriet Williamina Hepburn-Forbes (1835-69), wife of Charles Henry Rolle Hepburn-Stuart-Forbes-Trefusis (1834-1904), 20th Baron Clinton, who sold 1898 to John McLaren Fraser (c.1846-1941), auctioneer; requisitioned in Second World War for use as an evacuation hostel; sold c.1946 to Capt. David Wemyss (1920-2005); to son, Charles John Wemyss (b. 1952).

Balmanno Castle, Dron, Perthshire

A tall harled four-storey late 16th century L-plan tower house, built for George Auchinleck in about 1575-80, after he bought part of the lands of Balmanno from Alexander Balmanno. It has crowstepped gables and a taller square tower in the angle between the two ranges. The tower in turn has a stair-turret corbelled out in the re-entrant angle between the tower and the south range, which is crowned by a small turret with an ogee roof. As first built, the castle was surrounded by a rectangular moat which was largely intact in 1901 but has now mostly been infilled.

Balmanno Castle: ground and first floor plans from Macgibbon & Ross, 1889

Balmanno Castle: engraving from Macgibbon & Ross, 1889

Balmanno Castle: site plan from Ordnance Survey 25" map, 1901,
showing the then largely intact moat and the position and extent of the service wing of c.1800.

The castle came to John Hepburn Belshes (d. 1819) by marriage in 1777, and soon afterwards alterations were carried out. Almost all the window openings were enlarged and new sash windows were inserted. The central window on the first floor of the south front was converted into a door approached by a newly-built external stair. Inside, a new staircase was inserted between the two rooms of the first floor, leading up to the second floor, and on the north side of the castle a low extension was added to provide service accommodation. The Castle Steading was also built around this time to the east of the castle and tree-planting took place across the estate, as at Invermay.

In the later 19th century, the castle became a farmhouse, but in 1906, when the estate was inherited by Lord Clinton, he asked the leading Scottish architect Sir Robert Lorimer to make plans for the remodelling of house, though nothing was done at that time. However, after the house was sold in 1915 to the Glasgow shipbroker, William S. Miller, Lorimer was once more consulted and in 1916-21 he undertook a tactful but thorough reworking of the house that turned it from a slightly dour laird's house into a quintessentially Scottish country house. It was, in fact, one of Lorimer's favourite projects, and he later said that of all the houses he had worked on, it was the one he would most like to live in. Lorimer's work largely respected the external appearance of the tower, although he did replace the external forestair, make some changes to the fenestration and add a storey to the stair-turret to create a more dramatic silhouette. 

Balmanno Castle: the house from the east in recent times. Image: Travel Scotland.

Inside, he made extensive alterations to create a series of more formal and elaborately decorated rooms; and he also replaced the existing north service wing with a more extensive gabled and harled service range of a single storey and attics; and built a crowstep-gabled gatehouse range to the east of the castle, which artfully conceals the house from the approach. The additions effectively created an enclosed courtyard with the original tower at its south-west corner. The external face of the gatehouse has a central Gothic-arched entrance under a crowstepped gable, and short wings to either side which stand at a slight angle to the entrance, visually funnelling the visitor towards the archway. On the courtyard side, the gateway again stands under a crowstepped gable, which is flanked by two slightly lower gables which connect the gatehouse to the forecourt walls. 

Balmanno Castle: the external face of the gatehouse range in 1931. Image: Country Life.

Balmanno Castle: the gatehouse range from the courtyard in 1931. Image: Country Life.

There was always a doorway in the base of the tower, and this became Lorimer's main entrance. It leads into an entrance passage, with on its left a new hall, which Lorimer created from two vaulted basement storage rooms and gave a plaster tunnel-vault, while straight ahead was the former kitchen, which Lorimer repurposed as the dining room, although it preserves much of its original character, with a low tunnel-vault and massive fireplace. The generous spiral staircase in the tower provides access to the first and second floors, and its windows are decorated with stained glass panels of the months by Walter Camm, 1921. Over the staircase is a plaster ceiling designed by Lorimer in an early 17th century style with floral motifs modelled by either Samuel Wilson or Thomas Beattie, who were responsible for all the early 20th century plasterwork in the house. 

Balmanno Castle: the drawing room in 1931. Image: Country Life.

On the first floor, Lorimer created three rooms with panelling in the late 17th century style of Holyroodhouse. The billiard room (formed from the 16th century hall) has a beamed ceiling enriched with fruiting vines, and flowers in the panels between the beams. The drawing room ceiling has a heavily moulded central roundel surrounded by vine branches, all contained within a rectangular border, with three further panels with floral motifs beyond the border at either end. The smaller parlour has a coved ceiling, with large reliefs of baskets of flowers set against the coving. 

Balmanno Castle: bedroom at top of the tower, 1931.
Image: Country Life. 

The second and third floors are devoted to bedrooms, all decorated in the same manner as the first-floor rooms, with 17th-century style plaster ceilings and panelling, albeit more simply treated here than in the reception rooms. The Hunter's Bedroom has a frieze depicting a medieval hunting scene, and the bedroom at the top of the tower has a particularly charming plaster tunnel vault decorated with with floral motifs in roundels and curly ribbing.

Descent: Alexander Balmanno; sold before 1575 to George Auchinleck (d. 1596); to son, Sir George Auchinleck (d. c.1639), a lord of session as Lord Balmanno; to son, Sir William Auchinleck (d. 1672); to son, Sir Archibald Auchinleck (d. c.1695), who sold to Sir Thomas Murray (d. 1684), 1st bt. of Glendoick; to son, Sir Thomas Murray (d. 1701), 2nd bt.; to brother, Sir John Hepburn Murray (d. 1714), 3rd bt.; to brother, Anthony Murray (d. 1746); to nephew, Sir Patrick Murray (d. 1756), 4th bt.; to son, Sir Alexander Hepburn Murray (c.1754-74), 5th bt.; to sister, Mary (1752-1823), wife of Col. John Hepburn Belshes (c.1745-1819); to son, Alexander Hepburn Murray Belshes (1778-1864), who let it to his brother, Lt-Gen. John Belshes (1782-1863); to kinsman, Sir John Stuart Hepburn Forbes (1804-66), 8th bt.; to nephew, Sir William Stuart-Forbes (1835-1906), 9th bt., who lived in New Zealand; to kinsman, Charles Hepburn-Stuart-Forbes-Trefusis (1863-1957), 21st Baron Clinton; sold 1915 to William Scott Miller (1865-1937); given, c.1934, to son, William Scott Miller jun. (1904-76); sold 1950 with 1,000 acres to Thomas Coats (1894-1971), 2nd Baron Glentanar, who gave it to his daughter, the Hon. Jean Coats (1928-2007), wife of Hon. James Michael Edward Bruce (1927-2013); to son, John Edward Bruce (b. 1958).

Belshes family of Invermay and Balmanno

Belshes, John (c.1610-93). Younger son of John Belshes (c.1580-1631) of Tofts (Berwicks), advocate, and his first wife Janet (d. 1623), third daughter of Sir Thomas Craig of Riccarton, king's advocate, born about 1610. He married, 27 September 1666 at Dunfermline (Fife), Ann (1634-1713), daughter of Sir David Aytoun of Kinglassie (younger son of Robert Aytoun (d. 1595) of Inchdairnie), and had issue:

(1) John Belshes (b. c.1668; fl. 1718), of Tofts; succeeded his father at Tofts in 1693 and was served heir general to him, 21 October 1699; married Janet (d. 1740), daughter of Sir Alexander Swinton of Mersington, Lord Mersington, and had issue three sons and three daughters; living in 1718;

(2) Alexander Belshes (c.1670-1745) of Invermay (q.v.);

(3) William Belshes; died unmarried and without issue in Jamaica;

(4) Ann Belshes; married, 22 February 1701 at Eccles, Patrick Nisbet of Eastbank;

(5) Mary Belshes; died unmarried.

He inherited the Tofts estate in Berwickshire from his elder brother in 1656, and was infeft in these lands, 20 March 1657. Much of the estate had to be sold to meet his brother's debts, with the bulk of the property being sold in 1673 to Sir William Purves, who renamed it Purves Hall.

He was buried at Greyfriars, Edinburgh, 18 March 1693. His widow died 11 February and was buried at Edinburgh, 13 February 1713.

Belshes, Alexander (c.1670-1745). Second son of John Belshes (c.1610-93) of Tofts and his wife Ann, daughter of Sir David Aytoun of Kinglassie, born about 1670. Principal Sheriff Clerk of Midlothian. After buying the Invermay estate, he became an elder of the kirk at Forteviot, 1725. He married 1st, 27 February 1696 at Edinburgh, Emelia, daughter of Sir Thomas Murray (d. 1684), 1st bt. of Glendoick, a Lord of Session as Lord Glendoick and Lord Clerk Register, 1674-80; married 2nd, c.1723, Margaret, daughter of Sir John Clerk MP (d. 1722), 1st bt., of Penicuik, and had issue:

(1.1) John Belshes (c.1700-77) (q.v.);

(1.2) Thomas Belshes (1702-83), born at Edinburgh, 1 October 1702; deputy Sheriff Clerk for Edinburgh; admitted a burgess of the city of Edinburgh, 1739; married 1st, 8 November 1741 at Edinburgh, Margaret (d. c.1755), daughter of Robert Hepburn (1698-1756) of Baads and had issue three sons; married 2nd, 18 July 1756, his cousin, Helen (d. 1789), daughter of John Belshes of Tofts; buried at Edinburgh, 2 July 1783;

(1.3) Alexander Belshes (b. 1703), born at Edinburgh, 27 November 1703;

(1.4) William Belshes (1705-07); born at Edinburgh, 8 May 1705; died young and was buried at Edinburgh, 22 June 1707;

(1.5) Emilia Belshes (b. 1706), born at Edinburgh, 15 August 1706;

(1.6) Mary Belshes (b. 1707), born at Edinburgh, 3 October 1707;

(1.7) Elizabeth Belshes (b. 1709), born at Edinburgh, 28 April 1709;

(1.8) Anthony Belshes (b. 1711), born 4 May 1711; said to have died without issue in Bengal before 1780;

(2.1) James Belshes (b. 1725), born at Edinburgh, 20 November 1725;

(2.2) William Belshes (b. 1726), born 3 December 1726.

He purchased the Invermay estate in 1717, but lived chiefly in Edinburgh, using the Old House of Invermay as a summer residence.

He died at Invermay, 19 April 1745. His first wife probably died c.1712. His second wife's date of death is unknown.

Belshes, John (c.1700-77). Eldest son of Alexander Belshes (c.1670-1745) and his first wife, Emelia, daughter of Sir Thomas Murray, 1st bt., of Glendoick, born about 1700. Admitted an advocate, 1720. Succeeded his father as Sheriff Clerk of Midlothian, 1745. He married 1st, c.1722, Mary (d. 1740), daughter and eventual heiress of Daniel Stewart (d. 1708) of Fettercairn and 2nd, 29 May 1743, Margaret (d. 1785), daughter of Sir William Stewart of Castlemilk, and had issue:

(1.1) Margaret Belshes (b. 1727), born in Edinburgh, 11 December 1727; probably died young;

(1.2) Alexander Belshes (b. 1728), born in Edinburgh, 17 November 1728; probably died young;

(1.3) Emelia Stuart Belshes (1729-1807), born in Edinburgh, 27 December 1729; married, 22 December 1751 at Edinburgh, her cousin, William Belshes (c.1717-53), surgeon and director of the hospital at Fort St. David (India) and later of Tofts, and had issue one son (Sir John Wishart-Belshes (later Stuart) (c.1752-1821), 3rd bt.*); died 3 April 1807;

(2.1) John Hepburn Belshes (c.1745-1819) (q.v.);

(2.2) Margaret Belshes (c.1746-71), born about 1746; married, 31 January 1768, as the second of his three wives, Henry Wedderburn (1722-77) of Gosford (East Lothian), second son of Charles Wedderburn of Gosford, but had no surviving issue; died in childbirth at Calcutta (India) and was buried there, 28 July 1771;

(2.3) Mary Belshes (1748-84), born in Edinburgh, 15 December 1748; married, 1 December 1783, as the second of his three wives, Rev. Dr. Thomas Snell Jones (1754-1837), Presbyterian minister of Lady Glenorchy's Church, Edinburgh (who m3, 30 June 1787, Anne (1752-1822), daughter of George Gardner of the Custom House, Edinburgh, and had issue two sons and one daughter); she died without issue and was buried at St Cuthbert's, Edinburgh, 31 May 1784.

He inherited the Invermay estate from his father in 1745 and was served heir to him, 1 August 1746. He built a new mansion house at Invermay c.1750, as well as commencing the landscaping of the policies.

He died 29 December 1777 and was buried at Edinburgh, 1 January 1778. His first wife was buried at Edinburgh, 16 January 1740. His second wife died at Thistle Court, Edinburgh, 14 December 1785.

* He assumed the baronetcy on the death of his great-uncle, Sir William Stuart (d. 1777), 2nd bt., but some accounts state that his mother Emilia was recognised as a baronetess (with the title of Dame) and that he should be regarded as 4th baronet; the title became dormant on his death.

Belshes, John Hepburn* (c.1745-1819). Only son of John Belshes (c.1700-77) and his second wife, Margaret, daughter of Sir William Stewart of Castlemilk,, born about 1745. Educated at Edinburgh University, where he was one of five founders of its Speculative Society, 1764. An elder of Forteviot kirk. Lieutenant-Colonel of the Drummond Fencibles, 1794-1802. He married, 30 May 1777 at Queensferry, Mary (1752-1823), daughter and eventual heir of Sir Patrick Hepburn Murray (1706-56), 4th bt., of Balmanno and Blackcastle, and had issue:

(1) Alexander Hepburn Murray Belshes (1778-1864) (q.v.);

(2) John Hepburn Murray Belshes (1782-1863) of Balmanno (Perths.), born 13 August 1782; an officer in the army (2nd Lt, 1804; Lt, 1805; Capt. 1812; Maj. 1817; retired on half-pay about 1820; Lt-Col. 1837; Col., 1851; Maj-Gen. 1855; Lt-Gen., 1862) and in the Perthshire Yeomanry Cavalry (Cornet, 1820; Lt. 1821; Capt. 1822; retired 1825); a Commissioner of Supply and JP  for Perthshire; a Conservative in politics; a director of the Perth City and County Infirmary, to which he bequeathed £1,000; died unmarried and without issue at Edinburgh, 12 January 1863, and was buried in the family burying place at Muckersie chapel; his will was confirmed, 3 April 1863.

He inherited the Invermay estate from his father in 1777 and was served heir to him, 6 April 1778. He was responsible for much of the landscaping and the construction of ancillary buildings in the policies, c.1800-10. His wife inherited the Balmanno estate from her brother in 1774 and brought it to the Belshes; some alterations were made to Balmanno Castle c.1800.

He died in Edinburgh, 24 July 1819. His widow died 12 January 1823.

* He took the additional name Hepburn after his marriage in 1777.

Belshes, Alexander Hepburn Murray (1778-1864). Elder son of John Hepburn Belshes (c.1745-1819) and his wife Mary, daughter and eventual heir of Sir Patrick Hepburn Murray of Balmanno, born 22 June 1778. JP for Perthshire and East Lothian and DL (from 1819) for Perthshire. An officer in the Perthshire Yeomanry Cavalry (Capt.; Maj. 1821; disbanded 1828) but also described as Major in 1813. Convenor of Perthshire; a Commissioner of Supply (from 1812), JP and DL (from 1819) for Perthshire. A director of the Perth City and County Infirmary and a supporter of many other charitable endeavours. A Conservative in politics. He was unmarried and without issue.

He inherited the Invermay estate from his father in 1819, and the Balmanno estate from his mother in 1823, although Balmanno Castle was occupied by his brother. After his death his estates passed to his heir general, Sir John Stuart Hepburn Forbes (1804-66), 8th bt., of Monymusk, Fettercairn and Pitsligo, the great-great-great-grandson of John Belshes (d. 1693).

He died at Invermay, 17 January 1864, and was buried in the family burying place at Muckersie chapel; his will was confirmed, 26 April 1864.

Principal sources

G. MacGregor, The Red Book of Scotland, 2nd edn, 2018, vol. 1, pp. 482-88; A. Wedderburn, The Wedderburn Book, 1898, pp. 383-85; N. Meldrum, Forteviot: the history of a Strathearn parish, 1926; A.A. Tait, The landscape garden in Scotland, 1735-1835, 1980, pp. 140-43; J. Gifford, The buildings of Scotland: Perth and Kinross, 2007, pp. 181-84, 433-34;

http://portal.historicenvironment.scot/designation/GDL00227;

http://www.stravaiging.com/history/castle/balmanno-castle/

Location of archives

Belshes of Invermay: papers of Robert Peddie WS of Perth as factor to Invermay estate, 1795-1826 [Perth & Kinross Archives B59/38/5/23]

Coat of arms

Belshes of Tofts and Invermay: Or, three pallets gules, a chief vair.

Hepburn Belshes of Invermay: Quarterly, 1st and 4th, gules, on a chevron argent, a rose between two lions combatant of the field; in base a buckle in the shape of a heart of the second (for Hepburn); 2nd, or, three pallets gules, a chief vair (for Belshes); 3rd, azure a cross pattée between three mullets, all within a double tressure flory counterflory gules (for Murray).

Can you help?

• Can anyone provide portraits or photographs of the people whose names appear in bold above, for whom no image is currently shown?
• If anyone can offer further information or corrections to any part of this article I should be most grateful. I am always particularly pleased to hear from current owners or the descendants of families associated with a property who can supply information from their own research or personal knowledge for inclusion.

Revision and acknowledgements

This post was first published 2 July 2023 and was updated 4 July and 18 July 2023.