The Barons of Drum

1-William de Irwyn – When fleeing from the forces of Edward Longshanks one stormy night in 1298, Robert the Bruce took refuge with the Chieftain, William Irving, in Bonshaw Tower. According to legend, the Irvings “carried him down to the Kirtle Waters” nearby and hid him in a cave in a precipice near Cove Tower, one of the many Irving strongholds. The cave door is located in a perpendicular cliff, twenty feet above the river and hidden by ivy. The current Bonshaw Tower (constructed in the 1500’s) today stands some one hundred feet above the Kirtle River, on the same precipice containing the cave.

For many years it was believed that when Bruce left the Bonshaw sanctuary a young William Irwyn apparently left with him and joined his cause, and later became Bruce’s armor-bearer and secretary. Some believe William was a nephew of the Laird of Bonshaw and a son of one the five or six Irving (Urving) families living in the area at the time.

Others, on the other hand – and primary decedents of the Irvine family descended from Drum – contend that he was most likely originally from the area where the town of Irvine now stands in Ayrshire. Both viewpoints were based on tradition. However, in 1998 Donald M. Mackintosh published The Irvines of Drum and Their Cadet Lines. His research seems to indicate that William (1) was not an Irving but was indeed “the younger son of a prosperous family originally from the town of Irwyn in Ayershire.” (2) William was not the honorary weapons carrier, nor the Royal Secretary for Bruce, and thus was not at the Battle of Bannochburn. (3) William was actually a protégé of Bernard, Abbot of Aberbrothoc, who was Chancellor of Scotland from c.1311-1328. William first appears as a scribe for the Chancellor, but advanced rapidly to Clerk of the Rolls, a very prestigious position. It should also be noted that William’s wife was a Bernard. (4) William was not a knight.

William married Lady Marion Buchan Bernard

In 1322, when firmly settled on the throne of Scotland, Robert Bruce granted a portion of the Royal Forest of Drum to William’s father, Alexander Irwyn. This was seen as a gesture of gratitude for the assistance and support he had received at Greyfriers Church in Dumfries on February 10, 1306. It was there, during a stormy meeting with John Comyn the Red, the only other serious contender for the Scottish crown that an argument erupted between the two. Daggers were drawn, but Bruce got his blow in first and Comyn died. Alexander Irwyn was also among the group who helped Bruce escape the Comyn followers. On March 25, 1306, in the Abby of Scone, Robert Bruce was crowned King of Scots.

On February 1, 1323, Bruce granted William de Irwyn a Free Barony in Aberdeenshire. According to author Donald Macintosh, this was probably at the urging of Abbot Bernard. The grant included the Tower of Drum and control of some 8000 acres of the Royal Forest surrounding Drum, all of which had been a part of the original Royal Caledonian Forest of Drum, an extensive hunting reserve where, for over a century, the kings of Scotland had come to hunt deer and wild boar. The barony gave William the judicial power of “Pit and Gallows,” or the express authority to hang or drown wrongdoers within the boundaries of the estate. A second grant was at Kyncross and was dated October 9, 1324. These two original grants are still in existence and are kept in a vault at Drum. Thereafter William was known as the Laird of Drum.

Later in life, William de Irwyn occupied a seat in the Scottish Parliament under King David II.

2-Alexander de Irwyn (1322-1381) became the second Baron and Laird of Drum when his father died in 1333. Historian Forbes Leslie erroneously stated that William’s eldest son was named Thomas, but documentary evidence recently found by historian and author Donald M. Mackintosh definitely states that his name was Alexander. He was a baron during the reign of King David II and was a Member of Parliament, held at Perth, Scotland in 1369.

Alexander married Janet Fraser.

It was probably during lifetime of this Alexander that a feud started between the Irvines and the Keith. Legend has it that the Irvines burned down Halforest Castle, stronghold of the Keiths, in revenge for their burning to death in a field one of the Irvine children.

There was also a pitched battle at Keiths’ Muir, near the Dee, in which many of the Keiths drowned at a place called Keiths’ Pot. One was rescued while clinging to a stone which still occasionally appears above the water and is known locally as the Keiths’ Stone.

In 2002, David Charles Irvine, the 26th Laird and his opposite number, Michael, 13th Earl of Kintore, finally met to shake hands and sign a peace treaty. Overseeing the accord as impartial witness was the Marquess of Huntly, chief of Gordon. 

3-Alexander de Irwyn (c.1356-1410) was the eldest son of the second Laird of Drum. He inherited the title of Baron and became the third Laird of Drum when his father died in 1381. Alexander had two sons, both of whom would be Baron of Drum.

This Alexander married the younger daughter of Henry de Monymisk.

4(1)-Alexander Irvine (1382-1411) became Baron and the Fourth Laird of Drum in 1410, when his father died. In 1409, he and his cousin, Alexander Stewart, the Earl of Mar, went to Flanders and joined the army of the Duke of Burgundy. He was knighted on the morning of the Battle of Liege and returned to Scotland in 1410. He commanded the Lowland Army under the 12th Earl of Mar at the Battle of Harlaw. The Highland Army was commanded by Eachin Ruadh nan Cath McLean. The commanders fought each other in personal hand-to-hand combat until each died of grievous wounds on July 24, 1411. They were fighting for the Earldom of Ross. A younger brother of Alexander, Robert Irwyn, succeeded Alexander as the Laird of Drum.

Prior to his death Alexander had been betrothed to Elizabeth, second daughter of Sir Robert Keith, Great Marischal of Scotland, his neighbor on the south side of the Dee, Tradition has it that the marriage was arranged by the Estates of the Kingdom in the hope that it would help to neutralize the feud between the two families. It is further stated that Alexander of Drum, when on the march to Harlaw with his retainers, sat down on a stone on the hill of Auchronic in the parish of Skene – still today called Drum’s Stone – and urged his brother John, who accompanied him, to marry the lady in his place should he himself fall.

For some reason, possibly because Alexander’s claim to Drum had not been formally recognized in the short period between the father’s death in 1410, and when Alexander died at the Battle of Harclaw in 1411, both Alexander and Robert are considered to be a fourth Laird of Drum.”

4(2)-Sir Alexander Irvine (1386-1457). Robert survived the battle, changed his name to Alexander, became the fourth (2) Laird of Drum, and married Elizabeth Keith; thus, ending the feud of their forefathers. On his marriage he received from Sir Robert Keith, by Charter dated October 16, 1411, the lands of Strachan in Kincardineshire; and he also had a Charter, under the Great Seal, of the lands of Learney, on the resignation of John Haliburton, dated 1446.

This Alexander was also an important figure in the London negotiations to ransom the young King James I of Scotland, who had been held there by the English for eighteen years. After his eventual release Alexander was knighted the following year by the grateful monarch for his services.

This Alexander married Elizabeth Kieth. She had been betrothed to Alexander’s brother who had died in battle.

In 1437, after King James’ murder at Perth, and during the confusion that followed, the services of Sir Alexander were solicited by the inhabitants of Aberdeen for the defense of their town, and in 1440 he was, by consent of the burgesses, appointed Captain and Governor of the burgh, with an authority superior to that of the Chief Magistrate. He held the post for two years, and there is no other instance on record of a similar appointment in Aberdeen. When the Earl of Huntly, in the next century, became Chief Magistrate, it was by the title of Provost.

In his later years he built St. Ninian’s Chantry in St. Nicholas’ Church in Aberdeen, and in 1457, was buried there with his wife in Drum’s Aisle.

5-Alexander Irvine (1412-1446) was the grandson of the second fourth Laird. He married Marion Forbes. The marriage of this Alexander was arranged by his grandfather when he was just twelve, or possibly thirteen, years of age. This was to ensure that the Irvine line would not become extinct.

Despite being Sheriff of Aberdeen, he made furtive night attacks on one Walter Lindsay of Beaufort. He was eventually caught, kicked out of office and sent to prison.

Seventeen years later he was in trouble again; this time when he ambushed and killed two men (reason not known), for which he paid a fine of 100 merks.

As the story goes, Alexander, probably around 1480, found his wife Marion in bed with his chaplain, Sir Edward. The laird’s outrage was so intense that, with the assistance of a cousin, Alexander Irvine of Strathdee, he violently gelded McDowell. Historian Forbes Leslie stated it more discretely “…the outrage perpetrated on the ecclesiastic in the tower of Drum placed him forever after beyond the reach of jealous suspicions.” For this he was not arrested or even fined.

This, however, changed the laird’s life completely. While separated from his wife it appears that he continued to support her. Sometime later, around 1482, he was living with Nannys Menzies (probably his second cousin) by whom he had at least four children. There is no record that Alexander and Nannys Menzies were ever married.

6-Sir Alexander Irvine (1454-1527) became the sixth Baron and Laird of Drum in 1446. Sometime before 1480, Alexander was apparently a Sheriff Deputy of Aberdeenshire, and was more on the right side of the law. In 1527, he was rewarded by King James V for helping to arrest “rebels, thieves, reivers, sorcerers and murderers.” But great sadness was to overwhelm his later years. Alexander, his eldest son, went south to fight the English invaders at Pinkie and was killed, leaving nine young children. It is recorded that he took with him to Pinkie a large cannon from Drum, known as the “Great Falcon.”

Alexander married Janet Keith.

On September 30, 1480, Alexander was made a burgess (representative) of the burgh of Aberdeen. Alexander was knighted sometime between 1501, and January 1503.

On November 4, 1504, the laird and his brother Thomas were summoned before the Lords Council & Session, being accused of stealing a horse owned by Hellen Wood. They were ordered to return the horse to said Hellen.

7-Alexander Irvine (1477-1557) became the Seventh Laird of Drum when his father died on December 4, 1527. He married Lady Janet Allardice.

In 1501, Alexander was made a burgess (representative) of the burgh of Aberdeen.

8-Alexander (c.1527-1602) was the Eighth Baron and Laird of Drum and was the grandson of the Seventh Laird. He held charter under the Great Seal on December 12, 1553, to all the Lands of Drum, Learney and Auchindoch, to himself and his male heirs. He became the Laird in 1553. He married Lady Elizabeth Keith.

9-This Alexander Irvine (1557-1626) was chosen by the Estates of Parliament in 1804, to be one of the “Lords of the Articles.” He was a member if the Court of High Commission and restored the present Drum mansion in 1619.

This Alexander was also a notable character and was known as ‘Little Breeches’ because he followed the Continental fashion of short trousers, but he was also responsible for the building of the Jacobean mansion of Drum in 1619. He was Sheriff of Aberdeen for a time, and he and his wife, Marion Douglas, were noted local philanthropists.

The laird was also rich enough to lend money to King James VI. He asked for a special dispensation to eat meat on Wednesdays and Fridays as well as other days; gave £10,000 for a scholarship at Aberdeen University – which survives today as the Drum Bursary – and a large number of other benefactions for the poor people of nearby Drumoak. His wife also founded a hospital for spinsters in Aberdeen.

10-This Alexander Irvine (1594-1657), the Tenth Laird of Drum, was knighted in 1617. On December 1, 1629, Alexander was appointed as Sheriff of Aberdeen, and reappointed several times. On January 15, 1630, he was made a burgess of the burgh of Aberdeen, and on November 25, 1634, he was appointed as a justice of the peace by the Lords of the Privy Council.

This Alexander married Lady Magdalene Scrimgeour.

Alexander was an ardent Royalist supporter of Charles I when most around him were Covenanters, the Scottish equivalent of Roundheads. He, too, was Sheriff of Aberdeen and with him the family’s prosperity and prestige reached its peak. As the Civil War spread, Alexander was away from Drum fighting when the castle was besieged. In the face of General Monroe’s heavy siege equipment, Lady Irvine decided to surrender quite rapidly and included a promise that her husband would give himself up. So, Drum Castle received a hostile garrison, the first of four it was to endure during the Civil War.

The laird’s two soldier sons were also active Royalists. Young Alexander fought for the Marquess of Huntly and was excommunicated by the Church of Scotland for “popery,” with a reward of 18,000 merks put on his head for his capture, dead or alive. He and his brother tried to escape by sea from Fraserburgh, but high winds drove them back to the Scottish coast and capture.

Robert, the younger brother, died a miserable death in the depths of Edinburgh Castle, but Alexander survived there under sentence of death until he was set free after the Marquess of Montrose’s victory at Kilsyth. His mother and wife were besieged and captured in Drum, this time by the Marquess of Argyll, who – despite being an uncle of young Lady Irvine – turned both women out of the castle with nothing but “two grey plaids and a couple of work nags.”

This time Drum Castle was completely ransacked. Twice captured, four times garrisoned, Drum and its lands had been severely ravaged during the war. Animals had been killed, crops ruined, silver, jewellery and furniture stolen and its prosperity destroyed.

11-This Alexander Irvine (1618-1687) became the eleventh Laird of Drum on May 5, 1658, when his father died. In October 1640, he went to England to inform the King of the hardships the Royalists in Scotland were being subjected to. On his return he was imprisoned and fined by the Covenanter authorities. 

Alexander married Lady Mary Gordon.

In April 1641, along with his father-in-law the Marquis of Huntly, he was excommunicated for opposing the Covenant. In March 1644, he was involved in the seizure of four of the magistrates of Aberdeen. For this he was sentenced to death by the Parliament of Scotland. While still at large he organized a raiding party and on April 24, 1644, attacked the town of Montrose, killed one of the magistrates and several of the inhabitants, and allowed the town to be plundered.

In June 1644, he was taken prisoner in Caithness and, after a long confinement in Edinburgh he was tried and again sentenced to death. The successful operations of Montrose in the northern part of Scotland caused a delay in his execution, and the victory of the Royalists at Kilsyth saved his life and he was ultimately released from prison.

In July 1646, a cease fire was negotiated by Montrose with General Middleton. Sir Alexander Irvine and his sons took advantage of the liberal terms of the truce and were forgiven for whatever they had or might have done. Thereafter, under the provisions of the Commonwealth, they were not bothered by the local authorities and were protected against Presbyterian persecution and excommunication.

12-This Alexander (c.1646-1696) was the twelfth Laird and Baron of Drum. His father – the eleventh laird – apparently felt that his son did not have the mental strength to handle the affairs of Drum, for he mandated that his son be assigned five curators (or tutors) for the duration of his life. These curators were to decide the outcome of all major issues regarding Drum and any personal legal issues. This in itself does not indicate that he was a mental defective, but he was judged unfit by his father to solve financial problems or make sound business decisions in respect to the smooth running and maintenance of the Irvine landed estates. Throughout his life, as the Laird of Drum, he was considered to be only a figure head.

Apparently, Alexander had no interest in marriage, or perhaps women at all for that matter. So, at age 40, the curators, apparently with the help of Robert Keith of Lentush, arranged a marriage to Marjory Forbes, his third cousin and Keith’s niece. Notes by author Donald Mackintosh (The Irvines of Drum and Their Cadet Lines) indicate that the marriage of Alexander and Marjory most likely not consummated, yet Marjory gave birth to a child just short of Alexander’s death, but died shortly afterward, but was not named.

There were several legal challenges to the validity of the marriage, but all were rejected. Also, after Alexander’s death Marjory, with the help of Robert Keith, her uncle, attempted to obtain various assets of Drum, the least of which was furniture from the mansion, but all were rejected by the courts. She was, however, awarded a living annuity. So, Drum, though much depleted financially, was awarded basically intact to the 13th laird.

13-Alexander Irvine of Murthill (c.1668-1720) became the 13^th Laird of Drum in 1696. He moved into Drum before his predecessor was even buried and confined the unfortunate widow to a small room. There she cowered in fear of her life as the would-be laird and his friends “caroused and roared all night.”

The new Laird of Drum had to spend more of the estate’s slim resources on legal fees before it was finally his, and drinking seems to have been his main diversion. And, while the finances of Drum had suffered under his predecessor, his troubles increased as his focus was on things other than the business of Drum. Faced with several law suits, he was forced to sell many of Drum’s assets to settle them, and then had to answer legal actions regarding his right to dispose of them in the first place.

This laird married Lady Jean Irvine, a cousin and daughter of the 11th Laird and Mary Gordon.

14-This Alexander Irvine (1675-1735) was the eldest son of the 13^th Baron and Laird of Drum. He became the 14^th Baron and Laird of Drum when his father passed. He never married and had no children. He was a Jacobite and fought for James Francis Edward Stuart at Shcriffmuir. He was severely wounded in the head and died insane some years after the battle, leaving no direct heir to Drum.

15-John Irvine (c.1674-1737) was the 15^th Laird of Drum. According to the research of author Donald Macintosh, John seems to have been in business in Carolina and Jamaica, probably as a planter. He apparently came home about 1722 or 1723, to look after his own interests when he heard what was going on when he heard that his nephew was mentally ill. After some negotiations he took over the guardianship of his nephew. John Irvine was Baron and Laird of Drum from 1735, when nephew died, until 1737, when he himself passed on. He was married to Catherine Fullerton, but had no children.

16-Alexander Irvine of Crimond (c.1675-1744) became the sixteenth laird in 1737 when his predecessor died. He married Isabel Thompson, but died without issue. A local court determined to that he was next in line to inherit Drum estate as well as the title of Baron of Drum. After several decades of poor management, the Drum estates were in poor shape, physically as well as financially.

17-This Alexander (1711-1761) was the 7^th child of Alexander Irvine of Crimond, who succeeded to Drum in 1737, as the 16th Laird on the death of the 15th Laird in 1644. There were two older brothers; Thomas – born in 1699 and died in 1701 – and James N. Irvine, the sixth child born in 1709.

He married Mary Ogilvie.

James, who would normally have inherited the lands and titles of Drum, married without his father’s permission and emigrated to the New World about 1739. As a result, it appears that he was disowned, disinherited and declared dead by his father – not an unheard-of action of the time by a disapproving father.

The Jacobite uprising came about within a year of his becoming the 17th Laird. It was led by Prince Charles Edward Stuart (Bonnie Prince Charlie). In October of that year, Alexander, then aged 34 and unmarried, joined a group of local landowners under the command of Lord Pitsligo, and set off for Edinburgh, where they joined the Jacobite army just after it had won the battle of Prestonpans. He was accompanied by two servants, James Buchan and James Adamson.

He accompanied the Jacobite army into England and was present on its taking of Carlisle, Manchester and Derby. On the long march back into Scotland during the winter of 1746, Alexander fought at the battle of Falkirk in January, where he was wounded in his leg. However, this did not prevent him making his way to Inverness in time to be present at the Battle of Culloden.

After Culloden Alexander was able to elude the Redcoats and make his way back to Drum. There his sister, with great presence of mind and courage, managed to misdirect the soldiers and hide him in a secret room in the tower, and thus save him from being captured.

Two of his servants, Adamson and Buchan, were also at Culloden and returned safely, the former with a “portmanteau heavy with horse nails,” although his neighbors believed it more likely to be rich spoil from the battlefield. Both

were pardoned and settled on Drum Estate on local farms.

Other Irvines who fought with the Jacobites were: Adam Irvine of Bruckley – no record of his fate; William Irvine – no record of him after Culloden; Alexander Irvine, a laborer at Focckabers estate,  was captured at Carlisle, turned state’s evidence and was pardoned; Alexander of Aberdeen, who was captured at Carlisle and is thought to have died in prison; Alexander Irvine, a servant to a local noble, was killed at Culloden; William Irvine, a laborer at the Ruthven Estate – no record of his fate, and John Irvine, a deserter from Ligonier’s, was captured and executed January1, 1746. One of Alexander’s uncles, Alexander Thompson of Feichfield, also fought at Culloden and survived.

In the years following the failure of the Jacobite rising, the English Crown raised several legal actions against those suspected of Jacobite support. Many supporters suffered imprisonment and forfeiture of their property. In October 1748, the Court of Judiciary met to consider bills of indictment against several persons who had not already been convicted, and who had been exempted from the act of indemnity. On the 14th of October the grand jury chose to ignore the bill for high treason submitted to them against Alexander Irvine of Drum. It is said that this indictment failed because it was in the name of Alexander Irvine of Drum, whereas witnesses called, denied having any knowledge of Alexander Irvine of Drum, stating that they only knew the defendant as the Laird of Drum. On such a legal technicality, Alexander escaped indictment.

Alexander married in 1751, had six children and died at Drum “after a tedious sickness” on February 9, 1761. He was described as “a gentleman universally loved.” His sister, Miss Mary Irvine, the heroine of the story, never married and died in November 1813, at age 92. Portraits of Alexander and Miss Mary Irvine currently hang in the great hall of Drum.

18-Alexander Irvine (1754-1844) was the eldest son of the 17^th Laird of Drum and inherited the titles of Baron and Laird of Drum when his father passed in 1761. He married Jean Forbes.

Little is known about him, except that he lived for a very long time and was Baron and Laird of Drum for eighty-three years. One of his sons was Hugh Irvine, an established painter. His painting of Archangel Gabriel (allegedly a self-portrait) hangs in the library. The family name became Forbes-Irvine in deference to his wife Jane Forbes, heiress of Forbes of Schivas, who died when Alexander was only 32. He never married again and lived a retired life at Drum, dying in his ninety-first year.

19-Alexander Forbes-Irvine (1777-1861) was the 19^th Laird of Drum when his father died, He inherited Schivas Estate when his mother passed, and on succeeding to Drum he arranged an exchange of land whereby Schivas passed to Lord Aberdeen, and Kennerty Estate, a former Drum property, was restored to the estate.

He was responsible for the creation of the elegant library in what had been the lower hall of the tower. It has a large window which penetrates twelve feet of solid stone wall.

20-Alexander Forbes-Irvine (1818-1892) became the 20th Laird of Drum when his father died. He was educated at Aberdeen University, and on graduation studied law in Edinburgh. He was called to the Scottish bar as an advocate in 1843. He was appointed Principal Clerk to the Court of Justiciary in 1867, and held that office until 1874, when he received the appointment of Sheriff of Argyll, which he only resigned in 1891.

Alexander married Margaret Anna Forbes-Leslie, daughter of Jonathon Forbes-Leslie.

He was also Vice-Dean of the Faculty of Advocates from 1886, and for many years a Director of the Highland Agricultural Society; Chancellor of the Diocese of Brechin from 1858 until his death; Fellow of the Royal Society of Edinburgh, and Vice-President, and received the degree of LL. D., Edinburgh, in 1887.

He also prepared several volumes of Irvine’s Reports of cases before the High Court and Circuit Courts of Justiciary and was the author of A Treatise on the Game Laws, which has long been a standard work, and of which three editions have been published.

He took a large share in the county work of Aberdeenshire, in which he was a Justice of the Peace, and Deputy Lieutenant; and held the important office of Convener of the County from 1862 until 1890, when County Councils were established under the Local Government Act (Scotland). His services were recognized on his retirement by the presentation to him of his portrait, painted by Sir George Reid, in 1891.

21-Francis Hugh Forbes-Irvine (1854-1894) was the eldest son of 20^th Baron of Drum and became the 21^st Laird and Baron of Drum when his father passed away in 1892, but held the titles only two years.

He married Mary Agnes Ramsey.

He was educated at Winchester and Oxford, and was a member of the English bar as well as a J.P. He also worked for several years for the London Times.

22-Alexander Forbes-Irvine (1881-1922) was the 22^nd Laird of Drum, and eldest son of Francis Hugh Forbes-Irvine. He served with the Grenadier Guards in the Great War.

He married Dorothy Isabel Crawford.

23-Alexander Forbes Irvine (1907-1940) was the 23^rd Laird of Drum. He was the eldest son of the 22^nd Laird and Baron of Drum. He did not marry and had no children. He did not marry.

24-Henry Quinton-Forbes Irvine (1908-1975), the second son of the 22^nd Laird of Drum, inherited the title and properties of Drum and became the 24^th Baron and Laird of Drum when his older brother passed. He served with the King’s Africa Rifles in East Africa during WW2. He married Margaret Bond, but died without issue.

The Barony of Drum was granted to William deIrwin and his heirs in 1323 by Robert the Bruce, King of Scotland.  It continued uninterrupted from 1323 until 1975, when the 24th Baron of Drum, Henry Quentin Irvine died without issue. By his unilateral decision, taken without the agreement of his younger brothers and heirs, he had arranged that the Castle and House of Drum, together with 411 acres of land, be transferred to the National Trust for Scotland in perpetuity. This effectively ended the rights of the Irvine family to reside at Drum and own the land.

However, the Barony of Drum and the position of Chief of the family could not be transferred to an institution as opposed to an individual in the same manner as was the property. With the encouragement of the Lord Lyon King of Arms and the active assistance of the National Trust for Scotland, it was arranged for a small plot of Drum land to be conveyed to the next in line, his brother, Charles Francis Irvine.

This, then, enabled him to matriculate his Coat of Arms to include the Baronial artifacts and thus preserve the unbroken line of Irvines of Drum as Barons of Drum. On his death in 1992, the position of Chief of the family and the Barony of Drum passed to his son, David Charles Irvine, the present Chief of the family and Baron of Drum.

Provided future successors continue to matriculate their Arms at the Lyon Court in Edinburgh, the transfer of the Barony is will continue for future generations. Additionally, the Rights over this small plot of land are now legally protected and documented. The present Chief’s successor is Hugh Irvine, Younger of Drum, who in turn has a young son, Thomas Alexander Irvine.

25-Charles Francis Irvine (1910-1992) was the third son of the 22^nd Laird. After his graduation from Oxford with a degree in Agriculture and Land Management, he worked in Edinburgh and Liverpool. He married Irene Tennyson.

In 1939, he joined the Gordon Highlanders and fought in North Africa, Sicily, France and Northwestern Europe. He was awarded the Military Cross in France, and at the end of 1944, became Commander of the 57th Gordon Highlanders with the rank of Lt. Colonel. He left active service in October 1945, returning to a business career.

Charles Francis became the Baron and Laird of Drum when his next-oldest brother passed in 1975. It is said the he had little interest in Drum and was instrumental in the transfer of some of the remaining assets of the Drum estate to the National Trust for Scotland.

26-David Charles Irvine (1939-2019) was the eldest child and only son of Charles Francis Irvine. He assumed the titles of 26^th Baron and Chief of Drum when his father passed. David married Caroline Colbeck.

After a business life in the northwest of England David and Caroline returned to Deeside to live near Drum. 

David Charles Irvine, center, with Scott & Donald Erwin, April 2017 at Drum Castle.

 

 

 

 

27-Hugh Richard Irvine (1966-) is the eldest child of David and Caroline Irvine.
He assumed the titles of 27^th Baron and Chief of Drum when his father passed in 2019.