The family of Meldrum is of great antiquity. 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 Meldrum. 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 in the 17th, 19th and 20th Centuries that leaves the house as it stands today. The apparition of a White Lady is said to haunt Room 3, and it is said that sightings of her have most commonly come from children.