Tributes to countess who modernised royal Scottish castle
The Countess of Strathmore, who has died aged 92, was, with her husband, responsible for transforming the historic Glamis Castle in Angus into one of Scotland's leading tourist attractions. They also cannily changed it into a home for their own family.
Glamis has been part of Scottish history for 650 years but more recently it was the childhood home of the Queen Mother and the birthplace of Princess Margaret. The Countess admitted to being daunted at the prospect of living in Glamis but with typical resolve she said, 'On we go.'
Mary Pamela McCorquodale was born at her grandparents' house in London. Her father was Brigadier Norman McCorquodale, of the McCorquodale printing family; her mother was Barbara, née de Knoop.
She was brought up at Winslow Hall in Buckinghamshire which was requisitioned by the RAF. After the war she spent time in Paris learning the language and on a visit to Germany in 1955 she met Fergus Bowes-Lyon and they married the following year.
They had a house on the Glamis estate and Fergus worked in an Edinburgh stockbroker's office. The prospect of inheriting the title was remote. The title had passed to the Queen Mother's eldest brother Patrick, who became the 15th Earl, and then to his son Timothy who died unexpectedly in 1972. Thus, Fergus became the 17th Earl.
Moving to Glamis was something of a mixed blessing as the family had settled happily in East Lothian. The geography of the castle made family life difficult – there was no division between the domestic and public areas and the kitchen was far away.
They engaged the distinguished architect James Dunbar-Naismith who reconstructed the interior to be homely and modern: not least the kitchen was now close to the dining room and the old boiler room became their front hall. It took three years but it proved a wise decision and the family were glad when it was over and they moved in over Easter 1975.
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The next challenge was to make Glamis a more welcoming attraction to the public. The castle had been open to the public since 1950 but needed much improvement. Consultants were employed but the wisest advice the Countess received was from a long-standing member of the staff, the redoubtable Bert Tosh. He simply told Lady Strathmore, 'I don't know about all those statistics but what I do know is that the public wants tea and toilets, and in that order!'
The public area and the gardens were transformed and the castle became a joy to visit. Historic items were attractively exhibited as were the more modern; for example the bridesmaids' dresses and broaches that the future George VI had given to them when he married Lady Elizabeth Bowes-Lyon.
The Countess was a leading figure in the community and served on many committees such as the Tayside Space School where she met the astronaut, Colonel Jim Reilly. He was later married at Glamis and presented the chapel with a Celtic cross made out of metal that had been to outer space.
Glamis Castle (Image: Newsquest)
She was a regular supporter of the Scottish Episcopal Church in Forfar and a pillar of the county of Angus serving on many Scottish and local charities including the MS Society, Age Concern, Tayside Symphony Orchestra and the National Theatre of Scotland.
She took particular pleasure in 2002 in her honorary Doctor of Laws from Dundee University.
In 2022 the Countess told of a visit to Glamis of the late Queen on what was to be her final visit. 'I had her on my golf buggy for around an hour and a half and we went around the castle grounds.'
She is survived by her two daughters. Her son, the 18th Earl of Strathmore, died in 2016.
ALASDAIR STEVEN
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