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A list of Scotland Mansions to Visit with
websites, images, postcodes, telephone numbers and
links to maps and reviews.
Mansions in Scotland were built from the 1700s as
Scotland had become a safer place, with law and order
putting an end to Clan feuds, and no more battles
with England. More history at the bottom of the
page.
The RS Pages have links to Large Sunny Images.
Click on Post-Codes for Maps & Reviews.
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Abbotsford
3 miles west of Melrose in the Borders. Built for Sir
Walter Scott in 1811, the 1800s novelist, author of
classics such as Waverley, Rob Roy, Ivanhoe and The
Lady of the Lake. Phone Number 01896 752 043.
Website . RS Page . TD6 9BQ
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Argyll's Lodging
In Stirling town by Stirling Castle. Residence of the
Earls of Argyll in Stirling, one of the most complete
surviving examples in Scotland of a 1600s town
Mansion. Its fine architecture shows it was for a
powerful nobleman, serving the Royal Stewart's within
the Castle. Phone Number 01786 450 000.
Website . UDS Page . FK8 1EG
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Callendar House
1 mile southeast of Falkirk in parklands and
woodland. The present house was built in 1877 for the
Forbes Family on land owned by the Callander Family
since the 1300s. The Estate has been visited by many
historical figures, including Mary Queen of Scots,
Cromwell, and Bonnie Prince Charlie. Phone Number
01324 503 770.
Website . RS Page .
FK1 1YR
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Dumfries House
1.9 miles west of Cumnock in Ayrshire. Built between
1754 and 1760 by the Adam brothers for the 5th Earl
of Dumfries, the house has a top collection of
Chippendale furniture, often described as an 18th
century time capsule, with the main rooms and their
contents remaining virtually unchanged for 250 years.
Phone Number 01290 425 959.
Website . AS Page . KA18 2NJ . Image
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Haddo House
19 miles north of Aberdeen. Designed by William Adam
for the 2nd Earl of Aberdeen in 1732, the house has
Georgian architecture with late Victorian interiors
by Wright and Mansfield. Phone Number 01651 851
440.
Website . UDS Page . AB41 7EQ
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Hill of Tarvit
9 miles west of St Andrews. Nestling on a hillside in
the Fife countryside, this early 1700s Mansion was
partially re-built in 1906 for a Mr F B Sharp's
collection of French and Chippendale-style furniture,
porcelain, and paintings. Phone Number 01334 653
127.
Website . UDS Page . KY15 5PB
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Holmwood House
5 miles south of Glasgow centre in the Cathcart area
of Glasgow. An Alexander ‘Greek’ Thomson
designed Mansion for a paper magnate named James
Couper, said to be one of his finest domestic
projects. Conservation and decoration of the House
are ongoing, so there is always something new to see.
Phone Number 0141 571 0184.
Website . RS Page
. G44 3YU
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Hopetoun House
12
miles west of Edinburgh. One of the top examples of
Georgian architecture in Britain, designed by the
Scottish architects Sir William Bruce and William
Adam for Earl Charles Hope. Set in 150 acres of
rolling parkland with extensive woodland walks. Phone
Number 0131 331 2451.
Website . RS Page . EH30 9RW
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House Of Dun
3.5 miles
west of Montrose. A Georgian Family House designed by
William Adam for David Erskine, 13th Laird of Dunin,
about 1730. The Victorian gardens have views over the
Montrose Basin The Estate has the Lady Augusta Walk,
adventure playground, Victorian walled garden,
terraced gardens, woodland dog walk. Phone 01674 810
264.
Website . RS Page .
DD10 9LQ
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Kinneil Estate
20 miles west of Edinburgh. Mansion built in 1677 for
Lord Hamilton. Kinneil Estate covers two thousand
years with everything you see being real, and
displayed in a low key and matter-of-fact way. Also
the site of a Roman Fort. Phone Number 01506 778
530.
Website . UDS Page . EH51 0PR
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Leith Hall
33 miles northwest of Aberdeen. Built in 1650 for
Leith-Hay family on the site of a medieval Castle. A
typical Scottish laird’s residence brimming
with family treasures, set in 286 acres of scenic
estate containing 6 acres of wonderful garden that
overlooks some of Aberdeenshire’s finest
rolling countryside. Phone Number 01464 831 216.
Website . UDS Page . AB54 4NQ
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Manderston
13 miles west of Berwick. Built in 1903 for Baronet
James Miller to impress his wealthy wife. Manderston
is an Edwardian mansion with no expense spared in the
opulent staterooms. The house has the only
silver-staircase in the world. It has a stunning
marble diary, 56 acres of formal gardens, and
impressive stables. Phone Number 01361 883 450.
Website . UDS Page . TD11 3PP
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Mount Stuart
On the Isle of Bute. Built between 1879 and 1900,
Mount Stuart is said to be Britain's most astounding
Victorian gothic mansion. Home to the Stuarts of
Bute, relations of the Royal House of Stuart, with
the Isle of Bute being an ancient stronghold of
Scottish kings. Phone Number 01700 503 877.
Website . Large Images .
PA20 9LR
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Newhailes
5 miles east of Edinburgh. Built in 1686 by the
Scottish architect James Smith for his own use,
passing to the Dalrymples in 1701. The Mansion has
early 1700s art and collections, surrounded by an
1700s century Designed Landscape. Phone Number 0131
653 5599. Large Images
Website . UDS Page . EH21 6RY
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Paxton House
5 miles west of Berwick. On the banks of the river
Tweed, Paxton House was designed by the Adam brothers
in 1758 for Patrick Home who was trying to attract a
wealthy wife, said to be one of the finest examples
of an 18th century Palladian Country houses in
Britain. Phone Number 01289 386 291. Large Image
Website . UDS Page . TD15 1SZ
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Pollok House
4 miles south of Glasgow centre. Built from 1752 for
the Maxwell's who owned this land since the 1300s.
The Kitchen Restaurant is in the original kitchen of
this country mansion with important art collections.
The house is set in formal gardens and extensive
parkland, in the suburbs of Glasgow. Phone Number
0141 616 6410.
Web . RS Page .
G43 1AT . Image
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Skaill House
Island of Orkney. Built from 1620 for Bishop George
Graham and his descendants. Skaill House is situated
in the parish of Sandwick, overlooking the sandy Bay
of Skaill, 300 metres from the Neolithic village of
Skara Brae. Phone Number 01856 841 501. Large Images
Website . UDS Page . KW16 3LR
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Traquair House
29 miles south of Edinburgh by Peebles. Dating back
to 1107, the house was built as a hunting lodge for
the Kings and Queens of Scotland. The Stuarts of
Traquair supported Mary Queen of Scots and the
Jacobite Rising. Phone Number 01896 830 323.
Website . RS Page .
EH44 6PW
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The Mansions were built to replace Castles in vast
Estates. Some were built onto the side of Tower Houses,
some built around Tower Houses, and some built as
Castellated Mansions, that looked like Castles, but had
little defense.
At that time, the first World Explorers were bringing
back Exotic Plants and Trees from around the world. Most
Estates had many of these Plants and Trees grown around the
Mansions, making them some of the most interesting places
in the UK to this day.
The Vast Estates had been awarded to Families or Clans
by Scottish Kings, as far back as the 1100s, as a reward
for that Family's support in Battles. These Estates were
divided into many farms that paid rent, and the farmers had
to fight for the land owners when called on. The rent from
the farms allowed the building of Grand Castles, and later
Mansions, along with funding a grand life style. By the mid
1900s, a law had been passed to give farmers the right to
buy their farms. This gave the Estates a large amount of
cash for a short time.
Once the money from the sale of farms had been used,
many Estates found they no longer had enough income to fund
the running of the grand houses, and their expensive life
styles. Most Estates by the late 1900s, had been reduced to
only a few hundred acres around the Mansions or Castles.
Many Estates have since been sold to successful
businessmen, or opened to the public as Museums to help
fund the running costs. Many have been sold, or gifted, to
the National Trust for Scotland.
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