The Barony of Meldrum was originally the territory of Auchineve and was granted to Philip de Phendarg in 1236 by the Abbot of Arbroath during the reign of the Scottish King Alexander II. It is Sir Philip de Fendarg, the son, who is believed to have first carried the title of Meldrum, which was then spelt Melgdrum. A translation from the Gaelic of Meall Druim is: the ridge on the hill, which is appropriate given that the house was built on the only rocky outcrop on the highest point of the land.

The original tower house was built around this time and forms the nucleus of all the later changes from the 17th, 19th and 20th Centuries which leave the house as it stands today. The Meldrum family became powerful and great landowners within the northeast of Scotland with properties including Drumoak and Fyvie Castle, which came into the family when Alexander Meldrum of Meldrum married the youngest daughter of Sir Henry Preston in 1433. Their son, George, was to become an Ambassador to the Court of King Henry in England. William Meldrum, the last of the male line of the Meldrums, only had two daughters and, with the eldest married, it was Elizabeth, the youngest daughter, who was to inherit the estate of Meldrum, whilst Drumoak and Fyvie remained with other branches of the family.

Elizabeth's marriage to Sir William Seton brought the Seton family into ownership of the estate. William was the second son of Sir Alexander Seton, 1st Lord Gordon, and brother of Alexander Seton 1st Earl of Huntly, however, William and his younger brother Henry were both killed at the Battle of Brechin on 18th May 1452. Their older brother, Alexander jr. (the Master of Gordon) took the name of Gordon to become 1st Earl Huntly. The estate of Meldrum passed to Sir William Seton's son, and was then to remain in the Seton family for a further 7 generations.

Charter by King James IV., confirming a charter by Alexander Setonne of Meldrnm,
to William Setoune, his son and heir, and Elizabeth Lesly, his wife, of the lands
of Balcarne, in the lordship of Meldrnm, a.d. 1490-1491 413

Charter of confirmation by King James IV., to Alexander Setonne of Meldrnm, and
Muriel Snthirland, his wife, of the lands of Gonyr, Auld Meldrnm, and mill of
Cromlat, in the lordship of Meldrnm, a.d. 1499 414

It was the offspring of these Seton's that were to become Chancellors of Aberdeen, Chancellors of the St. Machar's Catherdral and of the University of Aberdeen, Chamberlain's to the Earl of Winton, the Earl's of Dunfermline and the Earl's of Huntly and progenitors of the Setons of Pittmedden, of Mounie, of Belhelvie and others as well as extend the Seton family lands throughout the north of Scotland.

Sasina Alexandri Setoun de Meldrum. l — (A.D. 1579.)

In Dei nomine Amen . per hoc presens publicum instramentum cunctis
pateat . . • quod anno incarnationis Dominice millesimo quingentesimo
septuagesimo nono raensis vero Martii die vigesimo quinto ... In mei
notarii publici et testium subscriptorum presentia personaliter constitutus
honorabilis vir Alexander Setoun de Meldrum habens et tenens in mani-
buisuis quoddam preceptum saisine . . . cuiusquidem . . . tenor sequi-
tar . . Joannes permissione diuina commendatarius Monasterii de Abir-
brothok et eiusdem loci conuentus dilectis nostris Joanni Setoun Willel-
mo King . • . balliuis nostris . . . salutem Quia clare nobis constat . . .
quod quondam Willelmus Setoun de Meldrum pater Alexandri Setoun
nunc de Meldrum latoris presentium obiit vltimo • • . saisitus vt de feodo
ad fidem et pacem supremi domini nostri Regis de . . . terris de Auchin-
neif cum pertinenciis jacentibus infra regalitatem nostram de Abirbrothok
baroniam de Tarves et vicecomitatum de Abirdein Et quod dictus Alexander
est legittimus et propinquior heres dicti quondam Willelmi patris
sui de dictis terris cum suis pertinenciis Et quod est legittime etatis Et
quod dicte terre de nobis tenentur in oapite . . . Vobis igitur . . . firmi*
ter mandamus quatenus . . . saisinam hereditariam . . . predictarum
terrarum . . . prefato Alexandra filio et heredi predicto rel suo eerto
attornato latori presentium tradatis ... In cuius rei testimonium pre-
sentibus manu nostra subscriptis sigillum commune dicti nostri Monas-
terii est appensum apud Monasterium de Paslai octauo die mensis
Januarii anno Domini millesimo quingentesimo septuagesimo octauo
coram hiis testibus Claudio Hammiltoun commendatario de Paslai nostro
germano Jacobo Hammiltoun de Ormistoun Mongo Hammiltoun de Per*
douen Joanne Hammiltoun de Binn et Arthuro Vdnie • Et sic subscribi-
tur Joannes coramendatarius de Arbrothe . Quoquidem precepto per me
notarium publicum . . . publicato prefatus Joannes Setoun balliuus . . .
saisinam . . . prefatarum terrarum . . • prefato Alexandra Setoun dedit
. . \ Super quibus . • . sepefatus Alexander Setoun a me notario pub-
lico . . . petiit . . . instrumenta Acta erant hec super fundum dictarum
terrarum de Auchinneif . . . coram hiis testibus Andrea Bodwell Lau-
rentio Leyth Jacobo Crag et Alexandra Leslie . . .

Et ego Dauid Settoun presbyter Sanctt Andree diocesis
publicus auctoritate apostolica notarius . • .

[Abridged from the original in the charter chest at Meldrum.]

Carta confirmacionis super carta Alexandri Setoune de Meldrum etc l —
(A.D. 1480 ei A.D. 1491.)

Jacobus Dei gracia Rex Scotorum . . . Sciatis nos quandam cartam
lactam per dilectum nostrum Alexandrum Setoun de Meldrum / dilecto
nostro Willelmo Setoune suo filio et heredi apparenti et Elizabeth Lesly
eius sponse ... ad plenum intellexisse sub hac forma Omnibus banc
cartam visuris vel audituris Alexander Setoune de Meldrum eternam in
Domino salutem . Noueritis me dedisse . • • Willelmo Setoune filio meo
carissimo et heredi apparenti et Elizabeth Lesly sponse sue ac eorum
alteri diucius viuenti omnes et singula* terras meas de Balcarne cum suis
pertinenciis jaoentes in dominio meo de Meldrum infra vicecomitatum de
Abirdene Tenendas . • • prefatis Willelmo et Elizabeth eorumque alteri
diucius viuenti in coniuncta infeodacione ac heredibus masculis inter ipsos
legitime procreatis sen procreandis / quibus forte deficientibus heredibus
meis propinquioribus legitimis quibuscunque a me et heredibus meis de
supremo domino nostro Rege in feodo et hereditate imperpetuum . . .
Paciendo inde . • • supremo domino nostro Regi seruicia debita et con-
sueta ... In cuius rei testimonium huic presenti carte mee sigillum meum
est appemom Apod Abirdene duodecimo die mensu Jolij anno Domini
millesimo quadringentesimo nonagesimo coram venerabili et egregio too
Magistro Adamo Gordoune precentore Moraniensi prouidis et fsmosis this
Roberto Blinaele Magistro Andrea Oadiow bttrgensi de Abirdene Domino
Thoma Holburne presbitero Ricardo Vaues et Domino Jobanne Strtneling
presbitero acnotario publico /Qu amqoidem cartam . . . properpetuocon-
firmamus . . . In cuius rei testimonium presenti carte nostre confirm*-
cionis magnum sigillum nostrum apponi precepimus . • . Apod Edin-
burgh decimo quinto die mensis Marcij anno Domini millesimo quadrin*
gentesimo nonagesimo et regni nostri tereio .

[Abridged from the Begistnun lUgni Slgllll, Ub. xlL, no. 287.]

Confirmatio Regia Alexandro Setoune de Meldrum ejusque spouse. ■ —
(A.D. 1499.)

A.pud Abirdene . xii. Novembris • j m * cccc. xcix. . Rex confirmayit
Alexandro Setoune de Meldrum et Murielle Sutbirland ejus spouse et
eorum alteri diucius viventi in conjuncta infcodatione et beredibus inter
ipsos legitime procreatis quibus deficientibus legitimis et propinquioribus
beredibus dicti Alexandra quibuscunque terras de Gonyr Auld Meldrum
et molendinum de Cromlat in domtnio de Meldrum infra viceoomitatum
de Abirdene quas dictus Alexander resignauit •


 

The direct line at Meldrum ended with Sir Alexander Seton. His eldest son, also Alexander jr "fiar of Meldrum", pre-deceased him in 1590, leaving a daughter Elizabeth: Alexander jr. having been slain by James King of Barra, whereby representation of the line passed to Alexander senior's second son, John and then his third son William, respectively.  At the death of William, last Seton of Meldrum in 1635, the male-line representation passed to the line of John Seton of Lumphart and 1st of Mounie who's eldest son was William Seton of Mounie, Menie and Udny. 

When the direct Menie/Udny line ultimately failed in the person of Captain Robert Seton (Captain of Blackness Castle) in the mid-1700's, representation of the line then passed to William Seton of Mounie/Udny's sons from his second marriage to Marjory Innes of Cotts. These sons were also styled as "of Menie" and who were  involved with their Seton of Disblair-cousin's, Chamberlain's to the Earls of Dunfermline at Fyvie Castle.  Some members of these family-lines emigrated to Ulster, Ireland in the late 1600's, and later still, established branches in Pennsylvania as well as in Nova Scotia - representative's of the House of Seton of Meldrum - spelt as Seeton.

The termination of the direct male-line of the Seton's of Meldrum was due to a long-standing feud which brought about the line demise.  The Kings of Barra were long at feud with the Seton's of Meldrum, which feud might have been expected to come to a close towards the end of the 16th century when James King sold Barra to the Seton's.  But no; as late as 1615, Elizabeth Seton pursued at law James King "sumtyme of Barra' and others for being art and part in the slaughter of her father, Alexander, fiar of Meldrum, 'with schottis of hagbuttis and muscattis, commited upon the landis of Barra...' (the Braes of Bourtie). 

What was the cause of all this enmity? The passing of the castle of Barra to the Seton's being the catalyst for the murder of Alexander Seton, heir of Meldrum.  Although the correspondence, litigation and documents affecting the forfeiture of the Kings and of the Blackhalls of Barra are lost, or hidden in forgotten archives, the fact of the forfeiture is abundantly proved after the event, by documentary evidence, and the earliest indication of it to hand, concerns the Kings of Barra.

The gratification of the Setons on the general results of the forfeiture of the Blackhalls and Kings was, therefore, in all probability considerable. This consummation was not, however, reached without at least one very regrettable incident.  During the family animosities originated by these changes, there appears to have been a rapprochement between the Blackhalls of Barra, with whom Strachan of Tippertie (at one time the warder of Blackhall) was associated, and the Setons, as against the Kings. Among the very large number of Setons and their adherents, for whom caution was taken, to secure immunity from the animosity of the Kings, the names of Alexander Blackhall, portioner of Barra, and of his brother, James Blackhall, are found. These are the persons for whom, as we have seen, Alexander Burnet of Leys became cautioner that they should not molest the Kings.

The Blackhalls of Barra, then, seem to have made common cause with the Setons against the Kings. It may be that in the examination of some ancient charter now lost or hidden, it was found that the lands alienated to the Blackhalls of Barra by the head of the family of that Ilk (if, as I believe, we are justified in assuming such a transaction took place) had again been divided by the former and part sold to the ancestor of the Kings. In this case the Kings might regard themselves as injured by the Blackhalls of Barra, and the latter would find something in common with the encroaching Setons. In any case, all these precautions do not, unfortunately, seem to have been sufficient to protect Alexander Seton, the heir apparent to Meldrum, from the animosity of the ousted Kings, for, in 1596, William King, still called of Barra, his brother David, and their accomplices, slew him. (Davidson's Inverurie, p. 103.)

" The slaughter may have arisen," remarks Dr. Davidson, " in some dispute about the transfer of land," and from what has now been stated, this seems extremely probable. It is pleasant to remember that the good name of an old family thus tarnished in a private feud, under circumstances provocative of wrath, and in an age when the rapier quickly left its scabbard, was redeemed by the distinguished soldier already mentioned, who was the brother of the perpetrators of this " slaughter," to call it by no harsher name.

The forfeiture of the Blackhalls of Barra, if not contemporaneous with, must have soon followed that of the Kings, for, on the 31st of May, 1592, we find Alexander Burnet of Leys became cautioner for a number of persons in 300 merks each, among whom there appear "Alexander Blakhall in Leyis," "William Blakhall in Leyis" and " Adam Blakhall in Leyis,"...

On the 24th of March, 1590, and in the 24th year of his reign (that is, a few months before Alexander Blackhall of Barra completed his negotiation with the Aberdonian Alexander Blackhall of that Ilk), James VI. granted for good service to Sir James Sandilands of Slamannan and his heirs and assigns half the lands of Barroch (Barra), Westerhous, Phillas, Aschenheid, Fuyrdailhous, sixth part of Petgovny, half the Mill of Bourty, with the superiority of Muretoun, &c., the inheritance of which (quarum hereditatem) James King, the fiar of Barra, resigned, as did William King, his father, his life rent.

Whatever destiny awaited the Blackhalls, whose case might require closer investigation, it was apparently evident to the advisers of James VI. that the Kings had forfeited their right to Barra. Hence they appear to have been the first sufferers, in this example of the feudal short-sightedness of those whom fate had marked out for a more historic forfeiture a little later.

Sir Alexander Seton, senior's second son, John Seton of Meldrum, then succeeded to the Estate of Meldrum but died in 1619, with no offspring from his marriage to Lady Grisel Stewart, daughter of the Earl of Atholl.  And so it was Sir Alexander Seton's 3rd son William Seton who inherited Meldrum, however, as William's marriage to Anne Crighton of Fendraught was also childless, and he bequeathed the Estate to his brothers' daughter Elizabeth in 1625 for her to inherit on his death, which occured in 1635.

William Seton was responsible for the addition of the stone staircase in 1625 thereby creating the new entrance at the top of the stairs after blocking in the original archway to the internal courtyard. Also, 1628 saw the addition of the original stable block including the central tower still prominent today with its feature of a stone-carved Royal Coat of Arms on the northeast face, so placed for the visit of King Charles I to Meldrum House that same year

The heiress of Meldrum, Elizabeth Seton, married John Urquhart of Craigfintray, known as the Tutor of Cromarty in 1610.  When she inherited the Meldrum Estate in 1635 on William's death, she passed the estate to her son Patrick Urquhart (she was the last actual Seton of Meldrum).  The Meldrum Estate was then to remain in the Urquhart family until 1898.  It was during the Urquhart tenure in the late 17th and early 18th Centuries that the house was extended with the addition of two wings running parallel and eastwards, and a large joining wall connected these wings to create a substantial courtyard mansion house to reflect the status of the family at that time. There are four paintings dated 1772/73 that show the house in this style and the size that it had become.  It was James Urquhart of Meldrum that commissioned Archibald Simpson to redesign the house in 1836 to remove the "air of neglect" that had become noticeable.

Simpson's design took 3 years to complete and provided a Jacobean style mansion house of symmetrical design in a large C shape, with grand Portico entrance and turreted pavilions copying the Seton's work opposite, to a total of 86 rooms. The last Urquhart Laird was Major Beauchamp Colclough Urquhart who was killed at the Battle of Attbara in the Sudan on Good Friday 8th April 1898. The estate then passed to his sister, Annie Isabella, who had married her first cousin Garden Alexander Duff of Hatton.

Their son, Colonel Garden Beauchamp Duff, was to become Laird of Hatton and Meldrum, and it was Lady Doris Duff who commissioned W.L. Duncan to redesign the house in 1934. This saw the removal of the turreted pavilion and a complete story of the main house to leave the L shaped house of today.