Ninian Brodie of Brodie

Died: 3 March, 2003, in Elgin, aged 90

THE irony of his motto, "Unite", would not have been lost on Ninian Brodie of Brodie. His placing of the ancestral home, Brodie Castle, into the hands of the National Trust for Scotland provoked a desperately unhappy feud that rent his family asunder across the generations.

His involvement in a long and painful battle fought so publicly attracted severely negative tabloid headlines. Yet it would be wrong to allow this publicity to be his legacy, for he was a talented actor and charismatic showman, and packed solid achievement into his nine decades.

Brodie of Brodie (he eschewed "of that Ilk") was chief of clan Brodie and 25th laird in descent from a thane of Brodie granted lands in the area from King Malcolm IV around 1160. Alexander, 15th chief, became Lord Lyon King of Arms in 1727, and to him fell the dubious duty of attending the Duke of Cumberland during the Jacobite campaign of 1746.

Born in Brodie Castle, the youngest of three sons, Ninian was an unlikely heritor of the lairdship. But his eldest brother, David, died after complications from diphtheria, and the second son, Michael, was killed in a road accident in 1937, leaving Ninian as heir to one of Scotland’s oldest family titles.

His ancestors lived at Brodie for almost eight centuries until the castle and contents were sold by Ninian to the Secretary of State for Scotland in 1978 for 130,000, with the clan chief maintaining a small flat there. He insisted that everything was above board and the sale price was fair, given the castle’s state of disrepair and spiralling maintenance costs. But his grandchildren disagreed, and last year Alexander, then 31, Edward-Benedict, 25, and Phaedra, 30, unsuccessfully raised an action in the Court of Session under Lady Smith to have the sale quashed and damages paid.

The two brothers and sister, who all live in France, claimed that the castle near Forres was rightfully theirs and had been "sold too cheaply". Alexander, a writer who in 1998 was forcibly evicted by police from the castle and slept rough in the family graveyard for two days in protest at a court order banning him from the castle, maintained that the castle had been held in trust and that he and his siblings were beneficiaries under that trust.

The acrimonious divorce between their mother, Mary-Louise, and their father, Alastair Brodie, Younger of Brodie, did little to persuade Ninian Brodie to keep the castle in the family. Alastair, a 59-year-old businessman in the south of England, has expressed no interest in returning to Brodie.

Brodie of Brodie was a lifetime showman. Even in his 91st year, he exuded charm and style, affecting an air of languid and relaxed authority. His love for Brodie and the county of Moray never diminished, and he cut short his acting career to help manage the estate.

The policies of 175 acres contain one of the UK’s best collections of daffodils, established by Ninian’s father, Ian, 24th laird, who bred over 400 varieties himself. Ninian remained active until a stroke last year, regularly undertaking duties as a local Justice of the Peace.

Educated at Wixenford Preparatory School, Berkshire, and Eton, he was selected under the Empire Tour Scheme for Boys to visit Australia, working on a sheep station. He began a business course in London, but gave that up and surprised the family when with elder brother Michael - then reading for the bar - the pair enrolled on a two-year course at the Webber Douglas Academy of Dramatic Art in Kensington.

He is remembered as delivering scripts in a rich trademark voice, for his impeccable timing, and outstanding body language. He worked first in Oxford Rep and then has small parts in various repertory companies, including working in the West End, before moving to Perth Repertory Theatre.

It was in Perth that he heard news of Michael’s death, and there also that he fell in love with Helena Budgeon, descendant of Sarah Siddons (1755-1831), the Welsh-born actress. Stewart Granger was best man at their wedding in Holy Trinity Church, Marylebone, in 1939.

With the outbreak of war, Brodie gained a commission in the Royal Artillery, serving on anti-aircraft duties during the Blitz in London before being posted to North Africa, where in 1943 he was given the news of the death of his father, Ian, and that he was now 25th clan chief. The same year he also learned of the birth of his twins, Alastair and Juliet.

After the war, he returned to the stage in Worthing and Birmingham, but family ties and responsibilities drew him home, and he returned with his family to the castle, helping his mother, Violet, run the estate until her death in 1956. He maintained his love for dramatic art by staging plays and through active involvement with Nairn Performing Arts Guild.

Lack of resources and the deteriorating condition of the castle caused anxiety to Brodie and his wife, and they considered selling off a greater portion of the castle contents. He and Helena, however, took what proved to be a fateful decision to use the National Trust for Scotland through the offices of the Secretary of State for Scotland as a means of keeping castle and contents together.

Rebuilding took place, the drab grey harling was restored to bright gold, and the place reopened in 1980. Thespian to the end, Brodie himself frequently acted as a guide, his dramatic depictions of his ancestral home frequently accompanied by his recitation of risqu limericks.

Helena died of leukaemia in 1972. Brodie of Brodie is survived by his son, Alastair; daughter, Juliet, and grandchildren. The title of 26th clan chief is now borne by his son, Alastair Ian Ninian Brodie.