Marchmont House
Encyclopedia
Greenlaw
Greenlaw is a small town situated in the foothills of the Lammermuir Hills on Blackadder Water at the junction of the A697 and the A6105 in the Scottish Borders area of Scotland. Greenlaw was first made the county town of Berwickshire in 1596, and was the first town to take on this role since the...
, and near the former village of Polwarth
Polwarth, Scottish Borders
Polwarth is a village and parish in the Scottish Borders area of Scotland. It is located at , between Greenlaw and Duns, in the former county of Berwickshire....
in Berwickshire
Berwickshire
Berwickshire or the County of Berwick is a registration county, a committee area of the Scottish Borders Council, and a lieutenancy area of Scotland, on the border with England. The town after which it is named—Berwick-upon-Tweed—was lost by Scotland to England in 1482...
, in the Scottish Borders
Scottish Borders
The Scottish Borders is one of 32 local government council areas of Scotland. It is bordered by Dumfries and Galloway in the west, South Lanarkshire and West Lothian in the north west, City of Edinburgh, East Lothian, Midlothian to the north; and the non-metropolitan counties of Northumberland...
area of Scotland
Scotland
Scotland is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Occupying the northern third of the island of Great Britain, it shares a border with England to the south and is bounded by the North Sea to the east, the Atlantic Ocean to the north and west, and the North Channel and Irish Sea to the...
. It is about five miles (8 km) south west of Duns
Duns
Duns is the county town of the historic county of Berwickshire, within the Scottish Borders.-Early history:Duns law, the original site of the town of Duns, has the remains of an Iron Age hillfort at its summit...
, about 19 miles (30.6 km) west of Berwick-upon-Tweed
Berwick-upon-Tweed
Berwick-upon-Tweed or simply Berwick is a town in the county of Northumberland and is the northernmost town in England, on the east coast at the mouth of the River Tweed. It is situated 2.5 miles south of the Scottish border....
and about 40 miles (64.4 km) south east of Edinburgh
Edinburgh
Edinburgh is the capital city of Scotland, the second largest city in Scotland, and the eighth most populous in the United Kingdom. The City of Edinburgh Council governs one of Scotland's 32 local government council areas. The council area includes urban Edinburgh and a rural area...
. Situated in a gently undulating landscape, the estate is intersected by Blackadder Water
Blackadder Water
Blackadder Water is a river in Berwickshire in the Scottish Borders area of Scotland, forming part of the River Tweed system.Rising in the Harecleugh Forest plantation just south of the Twin Law cairns, north of the village of Westruther. The headwaters of the Blackadder join with those of the...
, and its tributary burns. With the Lammermuir Hills
Lammermuir Hills
The Lammermuir Hills, usually simply called the Lammermuirs , in southern Scotland, form a natural boundary between Lothian and the Scottish Borders....
to the north and fabulous views towards the Cheviot Hills
Cheviot Hills
The Cheviot Hills is a range of rolling hills straddling the England–Scotland border between Northumberland and the Scottish Borders.There is a broad split between the northern and the southern Cheviots...
in the south, this part of Berwickshire, sometimes referred to as the Merse, is stunningly beautiful and contains rich and fertile agricultural land.
History
The Palladian house was built by Hugh, 3rd Earl of Marchmont, in 1750. His bust, albeit a plaster copy, sits on a wall bracket in the saloon. The original is in Mellerstain HouseMellerstain House
Mellerstain House is a stately home around 13 kilometres north of Kelso in the Borders, Scotland. It is currently the home of the 13th Earl of Haddington....
, another important Borders house which has intimate historical links with Marchmont. Before its completion the family lived in Redbraes Castle, the diminutive ruins of which can be seen in front of the present house by the steading. At Redbraes lived Sir Patrick Hume of Polwarth, later Patrick Hume, 1st Earl of Marchmont
Patrick Hume, 1st Earl of Marchmont
Patrick Hume, 1st Earl of Marchmont , known as Sir Patrick Hume, 1st Baronet from 1648 to 1690 and as Lord Polwarth from 1690 to 1697, was a Scottish statesman...
. His portrait by William Aikman
William Aikman (painter)
William Aikman was a Scottish portrait-painter.-Life and career:Aikman was the son of William Aikman, of Cairney. His father intended that he should follow the law, and gave him an education suitable to these views; but the strong predilection of the son to the fine arts induced him to attach...
, c 1720, and framed by a George II
George II of Great Britain
George II was King of Great Britain and Ireland, Duke of Brunswick-Lüneburg and Archtreasurer and Prince-elector of the Holy Roman Empire from 11 June 1727 until his death.George was the last British monarch born outside Great Britain. He was born and brought up in Northern Germany...
period gilt mirror, hangs above the chimneypiece in the drawing room. It is not coincidence that a near identical portrait hangs in the Music Room at Mellerstain.
Having been implicated in the Rye House Plot
Rye House Plot
The Rye House Plot of 1683 was a plan to assassinate King Charles II of England and his brother James, Duke of York. Historians vary in their assessment of the degree to which details of the conspiracy were finalized....
, Sir Patrick was forced into hiding in the vaults of Polwarth
Polwarth Parish Church
Polwarth Parish Church was a member church of the Church of Scotland before closing in 2004.It is situated atopa mound off a minor road leading from the A6105, Greenlaw to Duns road in the old county of Berwickshire, now part of the Scottish Borders Council...
Church, close to the house. His daughter, Lady Grisell Hume, (later Grisell Baillie) smuggled food to him, and her well trod path from Redbraes to the church became known as ‘Lady’s Walk’. Lady Grisell’s life was an epic story of selfless bravery, for which she eventually found reward in a long and happy life. She wrote her memoirs which were handed down to her daughter, who in turn transcribed them for future generations. In them she tells of the fearful chapters she endured as a young teenager aiding her father and family. Sir Patrick fled to Holland in 1684, again assisted by his daughter, but made a glorious return with King William who reinstated their lands and created Sir Patrick the first Earl of Marchmont in 1697. He was later made Lord Chancellor, and then in 1698 he was elevated to "the highest official position in the kingdom, that of the King's High Commissioner to the Parliament" The king's gratitude was symbolised by his granting Sir Patrick permission to place an orange, bearing the Imperial crown, in his coat of arms. An example of this can be seen clearly on the carved coat of arms on the east gable of Polwarth church restored by, and once a self-imposed prison of, Sir Patrick.
The house, its interior, and development
The family's prosperity in the late 17th century, brought about by the reward of loyalty to the Crown, made it possible for grand ideas of Marchmont House to be conceived. Thoughts of creating an impressive new family seat inspired Alexander, the second Earl, to draw up designs for the landscaping. He also commissioned William Adam to draw up plans for the new house, however these were considered to be too expensive. Both the 2nd Earl and Adam died before the house was started. It was the 3rd Earl, succeeding in 1740, who became responsible for the execution of the new building. It is now understood that it was the lesser known architect Thomas Gibson who designed the house and not Adam. However the latter’s influence was certainly present in the architecture as well as garden design, as was that of the Palladian revival of Lord Burlington, a friend of the Earl of Marchmont. It has been commented that Marchmont’s internal arrangement and elevations reflect those at Houghton HallHoughton Hall
Houghton Hall is a country house in Norfolk, England. It was built for the de facto first British Prime Minister, Sir Robert Walpole, and it is a key building in the history of Palladian architecture in England...
, Norfolk. It is also of interest that the second Earl’s sister, Lady Grisell, married a Baillie from Mellerstain, where we know that William Adam worked.
The interior is arguably one of the finest in Scotland. Only a trained eye, and one that knows of the architectural history, will notice a difference between the 18th and 20th century features at Marchmont. Much of the original George II period plasterwork, executed by Thomas Clayton, remains. Clayton was the best plasterer in Scotland of his time and worked for William Adam and others. He worked at many other important houses, including the Drum in Edinburgh, the Dukes Apartments at Holyroodhouse, at Hamilton Palace
Hamilton Palace
Hamilton Palace was a large country house located north-east of Hamilton, South Lanarkshire, Scotland. The former seat of the Dukes of Hamilton, it was built in 1695 and subsequently much enlarged. The house was demolished in 1921 due to ground subsidence despite inadequate evidence for that...
, the Duke's house in Lanarkshire
Lanarkshire
Lanarkshire or the County of Lanark ) is a Lieutenancy area, registration county and former local government county in the central Lowlands of Scotland...
, Blair Atholl
Blair Atholl
Blair Atholl is a small town in Perthshire, Scotland, built about the confluence of the Rivers Tilt and Garry in one of the few areas of flat land in the midst of the Grampian Mountains. The Gaelic place-name Blair, from blàr, 'field, plain', refers to this location...
, Perthshire and Arniston House
Arniston House
Arniston House is a historic house in Midlothian, Scotland, near the village of Temple. This Georgian mansion was designed by William Adam in 1726 for Robert Dundas, Lord Arniston, the elder, the Lord President of the Court of Session...
.
State room
A state room in a large European mansion is usually one of a suite of very grand rooms which were designed to impress. The term was most widely used in the 17th and 18th centuries. They were the most lavishly decorated in the house and contained the finest works of art...
was decorated between 1753-7 with military trophies on the ceiling and walls and family heraldry above door lintels detailing monograms of the 3rd Earl and his second wife. The Drawing Room is decorated with a scheme that celebrates the rich effect that the power of the sun and the phases of the have on nature. The central panel is surrounded by baskets of fruit, flowers and arable crops. This theme is echoed in the contemporary carved marble chimney piece decorated with the sun’s rays seeming to emanate from the heat of the fire.
Some alterations to the rear elevation of the house were made in 1834-42 by the architect William Burn. But major changes were made in the early 20th century. The last of the Hume family to live in the house was Sir John Hume Campbell. He sold it to Robert Finnie McEwen, who inherited a considerable fortune from his uncles who had built the harbour at Rio de Janeiro
Rio de Janeiro
Rio de Janeiro , commonly referred to simply as Rio, is the capital city of the State of Rio de Janeiro, the second largest city of Brazil, and the third largest metropolitan area and agglomeration in South America, boasting approximately 6.3 million people within the city proper, making it the 6th...
. From 1914 -17 he commissioned Sir Robert Lorimer
Robert Lorimer
Sir Robert Stodart Lorimer was a prolific Scottish architect noted for his restoration work on historic houses and castles, and for promotion of the Arts and Crafts style.-Early life:...
to make various alterations: a top floor was added and given dormer windows in a steeper pitched roof; the flanking pavilions were connected to the house internally; by lowering the ground at the front of the house the entrance was relocated on the ground floor with the addition of a porch, and the former entrance, now the central window of the first floor Saloon, made redundant. Internally the main staircase was removed and successfully substituted by a two storey open internal hall surmounted by an oval cupola
Cupola
In architecture, a cupola is a small, most-often dome-like, structure on top of a building. Often used to provide a lookout or to admit light and air, it usually crowns a larger roof or dome....
, and a new grander staircase was located to the right of the entrance beneath a dome. The dining room and library were swapped so that the latter now overlooks the front of the house. A grand double storey music room, originally designed by Lorimer for Rowallan Castle
Rowallan Castle
Rowallan Castle is an ancient castle located near Kilmaurs, at NS 4347 4242, about north of Kilmarnock, East Ayrshire, Scotland. The castle stands on the banks of the Carmel Water, which may at one time have run much closer to the low eminence upon which the original castle stood, justifying the...
, was made out of the stable wing in the north pavilion
Pavilion (structure)
In architecture a pavilion has two main meanings.-Free-standing structure:Pavilion may refer to a free-standing structure sited a short distance from a main residence, whose architecture makes it an object of pleasure. Large or small, there is usually a connection with relaxation and pleasure in...
. It is finely panelled in oak with delicate carving modelled by Louis Deuchars
Louis Deuchars
Louis Reid Deuchars was a Scottish artist and sculptor.Born in Comrie, Perthshire, Scotland, he attended Glasgow School of Art from 1887 to 1888. During his time in the city he was working as a stained-glass painter, possibly for a firm of decorators, such as J & W Guthrie. His series of...
and carved by W. and A. Clow. At the east end of the room is placed a fine full size organ by Norman and Beard of Norwich, which is still maintained today. The grand music room, one of the focal points of the house, symbolises R. F. McEwen's love of music. We are reminded again of this love for music and that for country sports by 20th century plaster panels by Thomas Beattie decorating the second floor of the stair well. An accomplished musician himself, R. F. McEwen set poems by Robert Burns and Sir Walter Scott to music.
The house was sold to Sue Ryder Care
Sue Ryder Care
Sue Ryder is a charity which was founded in 1953 by Sue Ryder, with the creation of a nursing home in Suffolk, UK....
for use as a nursing home in the 1980s and has recently been sold once more and is now in private hands again with possible plans for a restoration program.
The grounds and outbuildings
Thoughts of replacing the family seat of Redbraes Castle with a new and grand house started long before the foundations were laid. The planting of the Great Avenue was begun in 1726 when 10,000 Dutch elms were ordered to line the avenue which at 1.3 miles (2.1 km) long is thought to be the longest in Scotland. Still in existence (albeit with other trees, mostly beech, planted after the great gales of 1881) it leads north east from the front of the house and terminates at the Doocot, built in 1749 by James WilliamsonJames Williamson
James Robert Williamson is an American guitarist, songwriter, record producer and electronics engineer who is best known for his contribution to the protopunk rock band Iggy & The Stooges.-Early years:...
.
There are about 390 acres (1.6 km²) of designed landscape, more or less in the same format as originally laid out. The gardens were originally arranged formally and to the south and south west or rear of the house. The plans can be seen in the first edition OS map of 1857. A ha-ha separates the formal gardens from the deer park to allow a seamless view leading from the tightly arranged garden through into the wilder, but still man-ordered, policy of the deer park. Here there are many mature trees, some thought to date from the late 18th century. In 1962 the tallest oak in Britain was recorded at Marchmont. Specimen trees surround the gardens and include a fine cutleaf beech, an arbutus
Arbutus
Arbutus is a genus of at least 14 species of flowering plants in the family Ericaceae, native to warm temperate regions of the Mediterranean, western Europe, and North America.-Description:...
, a Wellingtonia
Sequoiadendron
Sequoiadendron giganteum is the sole living species in the genus Sequoiadendron, and one of three species of coniferous trees known as redwoods, classified in the family Cupressaceae in the subfamily Sequoioideae, together with Sequoia sempervirens and...
, cedars and hollies.
In the trees, behind the house to the north west, can be seen a pets’ cemetery. Closer inspection shows a neatly laid out arrangement of 23 headstones bearing the names of fox hounds. Dating from 1866 carved with the name “Spot” to 1891 with “Little Boy”, the stones relate to the Patrick Hume’s three packs of hounds.
In addition to the Doocot already mentioned, other interesting constructions are the steading built around a courtyard, which date to the 17th century; the yard clock dated 1746; the associated but later three-storey tower; the arched concrete span over garages, and the William Adam designed balustraded bridge of 1759, which connected the main entrance route from the north (named the Green Ride) to the approach to the house. The walled gardens laid out in the 18th century to the south of the house incorporate a magnificent greenhouse and associated structures built by Mackenzie and Moncur in 1915 after designs attributed to Lorimer.
Berwickshire Railway
The House had a private railway station on the North British Railway's Berwickshire Railway (opened 1863). The railway line ran from RestonReston, Scottish Borders
Reston is a village located in the southeast of Scotland, in Berwickshire, Scottish Borders region. The village lies on the western bank of the Eye Water.- Location :...
to Earlston
Earlston
Earlston , formerly Ercildoune, is a civil parish and market town in the county of Berwickshire, within the Scottish Borders. It is situated on the River Leader in Lauderdale, Scotland.-Early history:...
, joining the East Coast Main Line
East Coast Main Line
The East Coast Main Line is a long electrified high-speed railway link between London, Peterborough, Doncaster, Wakefield, Leeds, York, Darlington, Newcastle and Edinburgh...
to the Waverley Line
Waverley Line
The Waverley Line is an abandoned double track railway line that ran south from Edinburgh in Scotland through Midlothian and the Scottish Borders to Carlisle in England. It was built by the North British Railway Company; the first section, from Edinburgh to Hawick opened in 1849. The final section,...
.
Marchmont Estate Railway Station was closed to passenger traffic 10 September 1951. Freight continued until 19 July 1965. The station building still stands, currently a private house and the platform remains.
See also
- Marchmont EstateMarchmont EstateMarchmont Estate lies near the village of Greenlaw in Berwickshire in the Scottish Borders area of Scotland, circa south east of Edinburgh. It is situated in the Merse, an area between the Lammermuirs to the north and the Cheviots to the south...
- List of places in the Scottish Borders
- Sir Patrick Hume of Polwarth and RedbraesPatrick Hume of PolwarthSir Patrick Hume of Polwarth and Redbraes was a Scottish courtier and makar , the eldest son of Patrick and Agnes Hume, a major Scottish Borders family with landholdings in The Merse. As eldest son, Patrick Hume succeeded to the family estates, including Redbraes Castle, on the death of his father...
External links
- Lineage history of the Earls of Marchmont: http://www.encyclopedia.jrank.org/MAL_MAR/MARCHMONT_EARLS_OF.html
- Music for the Marchmont jig: http://www.ukmagic.co.uk/song_scottish/marchmont_house.htm