History
The lands of Lude and Kirkmichael were “settled” by the Crown on Robertson of Struan before 1745, to form the Barony of Lude.
The Robertson Clan had long running feuds with the Earls & Dukes of Atholl, mainly over boundaries, and over time with little income from the land, and high overheads, the estate, or what remained of it, was sold in 1820 to the McInroy family who had made a family fortune in the West Indies from trade in Sugar and Slaves.
They spent much of their fortune in developing the estate and the village of Bridge of Tilt.
The Steading was built in 1823 and the old House of Lude demolished and the present house, by the architect William Burne, was completed in 1839, along with extensive landscaping and walled garden.
The McInroy’s enjoyed the land for sport, shooting grouse and other game, some deer stalking along with rabbiting, and fishing for salmon and trout in the River Garry and Loch Moraig respectively. The farmland was all let out to tenant farmers.
As the family fortune reduced and with no male heirs to carry on the business, the estate was sold to Mary Gordon and her son William in 1938. Co-incidentally Mary’s husband had also made his fortune in the West Indies, but this time in Agricultural Banking and general trading.
The war intervened for William (known to friends and family as Sandy), who had joined the Scottish Horse and saw service in North Africa and Italy, in particular the Battle of Anzio, where he was awarded the Distinguished Flying Cross as an Air Observation Pilot, directing gunfire from light aircraft.
After the war, he returned to Lude, purchased further land at Loch Vaeligan from Atholl Estates, and set about developing the land for farming, forestry and sport.
Most farm tenancies were terminated, the land taken in hand and farmed with sheep and cattle.
Many small woodlands were planted and houses modernised. Surplus housing was sold, and land gifted locally for council housing, a new school, police station and graveyard, in Bridge of Tilt along with many private house sites.
With significant foresight, Sandy built a small hydro electric scheme in 1965, which continues to supply much of the estate requirements’, with the surplus being sold into the National Grid.
He also recognised the increase in traffic and the importance of the A9, so in 1969 purchased the garage in Bridge of Tilt and ran it in partnership. It is now operated by the original partner's son.
Today, Sandy’s eldest son, Andrew and his son, Duncan manage Lude, with farming, forestry, sport and tourism at the core of the business. Looking forward, the estate is placing an increasing emphasis on green energy production, the environment and wider diversification of business activities.
