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Ken Murdoch: Shetland-born architect who restored Scottish castle

Ken Murdoch restored Methven Castle and did much of the work by hand.
Ken Murdoch restored Methven Castle and did much of the work by hand.

Ken Murdoch, a Shetland minister’s son, was an architect whose legacy is evident across many parts of Scotland.

He designed many of the Bett Brother Homes in the 1960s, which retain popularity to this day.

Ken, who has died aged 94, was the lead architect on the council headquarters in Glenrothes but was perhaps most closely associated with the restoration of a Perthshire castle.

Ken and his wife Anna took what to most would be a daunting step in 1984 when they bought Methven Castle, near Perth.

Over the next few decades they secured the exterior and turned the interior into a family home.

Manual work

It was a massive undertaking and Ken did much of the work himself. He had always been hands on in restoration projects.

The couple researched the castle’s royal connections and lavished attention on the garden.

What had once been close to ruin, the castle now stands restored and preserved for future generations to appreciate.

Ken Murdoch outside Methven Castle.

Ken’s full name was Kenneth Lyle Stewart Murdoch and he was born in Shetland in August, 1928.

His father was a minister and the family moved to Ayr. His father died when Ken was 17 and the family moved to Dundee.

After National Service with the Royal Navy between 1945 and 1947, Ken began studying at Duncan of Jordanstone College of Art in Dundee.

He qualified as an architect and worked for Dundee Corporation before joining Bett Brothers.

During this period he refurbished Mercury Cottage, Tayport, much of the work undertaken by his own hands.

Marriage

Anna, a minister’s daughter who became a schoolteacher and Ken, married at St Fillans Church in 1954.

The couple had four of a family and in the early 1960s, Ken took the opportunity to work in Sudan.

He spent five years as a key member of the department of architecture at the university in Khartoum and will also be remembered for the stand he took in resisting the influence of apartheid which had filtered north.

The family travelled widely in North Africa, returning each summer by different routes across Europe and the Middle East.

Methven Castle in 1954 showing the Georgian wing which was removed.

In 1966, Ken joined the architectural team for Glenrothes New Town and was the lead architect for Glenrothes House.

Five years later he joined John McLaren and Russell Diplock to become McLaren, Murdoch and Hamilton where he was a partner and lead architect on many new-build and restoration projects.

Labour of love

Throughout his life, Ken took a hands-on approach to his work and could even be seen up a scaffold with stonemasons when working on the Free Church of Scotland’s building on the Mound in Edinburgh.

Apart from built heritage, Ken had a wide range of interests. he was a watercolourist of note, a fiddle player and a Kirk elder who served on Perth Presbytery’s property committee.

How Mr Murdoch’s plan to restore Methven Castle were reported in 1984.

One of his sons, Stewart, said: “He valued restoration before replacement. He would rather puzzle away restoring a Georgian lock or spend weeks de-nailing recycled flooring than buy new.

“This philosophy was great preparation for the restoration of Methven Castle which my parents spent 20 years rebuilding, researching its history and creating the castle garden. It was a labour of love that they shared.”

In 1987, the couple’s work on Methven Castle was recognised when they were awarded the Provost David K Thomson Award which was presented to them by John Mathieson, provost of Perth and Kinross at the time.

Methven Castle, near Perth.

Ken was chairman of St John Scotland Perth and Kinross from 1997 to 2005 and together with Anna, raised thousands of pounds for charity through different initiatives.

They spent several years undertaking voluntary work in Pakistan and tried to fulfil their commitment to Christian values through being of practical service to others.

Ken’s life will be remembered at a service of thanksgiving in St John’s Kirk, Perth, on November 12 at 2pm.

You can read the family’s announcement here.

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