East of Gleneagles, overlooking its own deep wooded glen, stood Kincardine Castle, the residence of the noble family of Graham. The estate came to them from Malise, Earl of Strathearn, who granted it to his sister Amabil on her marriage with Sir David Graham, c. 1250.[10] The Grahams, as Earls, Marquises, and Dukes of Montrose, retained Kincardine till the beginning of this century, when it was sold to James Johnston, Esq. Many a fact and many a fancy attach to the old Kincardine. In 1579, the Earl of Atholl, Chancellor of Scotland, stayed at Kincardine on his way from Stirling, and suddenly took ill and died. The crime was never absolutely proved, but evidence went far to show that some rival had given him poisoned food at Stirling. During the boyhood of the great Marquis, Kincardine Castle was the principal residence of the family, and the young Lord James was a well-known figure in the neighbourhood. When his father died in 1626, the funeral took one month and nineteen days to accomplish; and the accomplishment was attended with such a consumpt of good things as makes it hard to see where room was left for mourning. When Montrose attended the General Assembly of 1638, he sat as commissioner for the Presbytery of Auchterarder, from which we may conclude that he was still closely associated with Kincardine. With the great Marquis the story of Kincardine Castle ends. In 1646, being Montrose's principal house, it was besieged and taken by Middleton, the Covenanter. We have a full account of the siege in Bishop Guthrie's Memoirs. Learning that the castle was fortified with a company of foot under Lord Napier, Middleton "brought a number of great ordnance from Sterlin Castle to batter the walls." After ten days the besieged were distressed from want of water. Lord Napier, guided by his page, who was a Graham, managed to escape. The rest surrendered, twelve being shot on the spot, and thirty-five taken prisoners to Edinburgh. "Then Middleton ordered the Castle of Kincardine to be burnt, which was done upon the 16th day of March."