DALMAHOY MYTHS AND MYSTERIES
Mary, Queen of Scots is said to have visited Dalmahoy and when she was imprisoned in Loch Leven Castle in 1567, two young members of the Douglas family came to her aid. George and Willie Douglas allegedly led the daring escapade on 2 May 1568, which involved drugging half the island with hearty doses of wine, so Mary could escape in disguise. George then reputedly threw the keys of the castle into the loch.
In the 19th Century, the loch was drained, and the keys found. They were presented to the Douglas family and are currently held by Lord Morton in his home on the Dalmahoy Estate.
The Dalmahoy Portrait, an oil painting of Mary, Queen of Scots, by an unknown artist hung in Dalmahoy House for many years and was reportedly owned by the Morton family from c.1580. If this date is correct, it is indeed a rare piece, as there were limited images of Mary painted in her lifetime. The Mortons sold the portrait in 1926 and it is now displayed in the Kelvingrove Art Gallery in Glasgow.
Another character from Dalmahoy’s rich history is Lady Mary Douglas (1646–1677), whose portrait still hangs in her namesake bedroom. Otherwise known as the White Lady, her ghost is rumoured to calmly wander the corridors of the main house to this day.
Notes:
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The “White Lady” of Dalmahoy is Lady Mary Douglas (1646–1677), the second
daughter of Robert Douglas, 8th Earl of Morton.
She was the second daughter of the 8th Earl of Morton.
She married Sir Donald Macdonald, 10th of Sleat, on 24 July 1662 at Perth. Lady Mary Douglas and Sir Donald Macdonald did have children (the Macdonalds of Sleat line continues through this marriage),
but the names and birth order of her children are not provided in the sources retrieved,
and no source links any specific child to the portrait at Dalmahoy.
See also:
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Dalmahoy history
•
Dalmahoy House
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