125-603: Gordon Castle is a country house located near Fochabers in the parish of Bellie in Moray , Scotland . It was the principal seat of the Dukes of Gordon and was originally called Bog-of-Gight. The six-storey medieval tower dates from 1498 and in the late 18th century it was incorporated into the centre of a huge Neoclassical house. The castle was used as a military hospital during the First World War , and in 1954 all but
250-530: A Dutch carver known to have been living in Leith, who supplied Bruce with a carved heraldic overdoor in 1679 and who worked on Bruce's rebuilding of Holyrood Palace. From 1674 the London plasterers George Dunsterfield (fl. 1660–76) and John Houlbert (fl. 1674–79) worked for Bruce at Thirlestane , Berwickshire and at Holyroodhouse. Dunsterfield was also active at Balcaskie , Fife and probably at Kellie Castle . In
375-597: A canal in 1742–44, to serve the mines. Other engineering works included an aqueduct cut through a hill at Inveresk , and in 1741, an attempt to promote a Forth and Clyde canal , a project eventually realised by others some 30 years later. His main concern from 1731 became Blair Crambeth, the estate in Kinross-shire , near Kelty , which he purchased that year for £8,010 Scots . Renaming the estate Blair Adam, he set about expanding and improving it, planting trees, enclosing land, and setting up coal mines. He established
500-661: A classical entrance built in 1594 under the direction of William Schaw and the North Wing of Linlithgow, built in 1618, using classical pediments, designed by James Murray . Similar themes can be seen in the private houses of aristocrats, as in Mar's Wark , Stirling (c. 1570) and Crichton Castle , built for the Earl of Bothwell in 1580s. The unique style of great private houses in Scotland, later known as Scots baronial, originated in
625-570: A collaboration with the Earl of Mar, is interesting, as it appears to show a traditional tall Scottish tower house , complete with spiral stairs within the walls, but externally clad in neo-classical detailing; Adam clearly took some inspiration from the Scottish vernacular. Chatelherault , the Duke of Hamilton 's "Dogg Kennel" and hunting lodge near Hamilton , was completed in 1743. His redecoration of
750-419: A distinctive style that applied elements of Scottish fortification and Flemish influences to a Renaissance plan like that used at Château d'Ancy-le-Franc . This style can be seen in lords houses built at Caerlaverlock (1620), Moray House , Edinburgh (1628) and Drumlanrig Castle (1675–89), and was highly influential until the baronial style gave way to the grander English forms associated with Inigo Jones in
875-828: A double-pile block flanked by taller square corner towers. The "baroque dress" at Duff derives from Vanbrugh, and particularly Eastbury Park (1724–38) in Dorset . Designs for pavilions and quadrant wings were never executed due to Lord Braco's dispute with Adam. Braco never occupied or fitted out the house for the same reason. Adam's other houses of the 1730s include House of Dun in Angus, Tinwald in Dumfriesshire, Lawyers House in Perthshire, and Haddo House in Aberdeenshire. His early, unexecuted design for House of Dun,
1000-455: A fortified refuge, designed to outlast a raid, rather than a sustained siege. They were usually of three stories, typically crowned with a parapet , projecting on corbels , continuing into circular bartizans at each corner. The new houses built from the late sixteenth century by nobles and lairds were primarily built for comfort, not for defence. They retained many of these external features, which had become associated with nobility, but with
1125-417: A handbook for the style and the rebuilding of Balmoral Castle as a baronial palace (and subsequent adoption as a royal retreat from 1855 to 1858) confirmed its popularity. Estate house building boomed between about 1855 and the agricultural depression and Glasgow Bank crash of 1878. Construction was now dominated by patronage from nouveau riche industrialists. The decline in numbers of servants, linked to
1250-473: A larger ground plan. This was classically a "Z-plan" of a rectangular block with towers, as at Colliston Castle (1583) and Claypotts Castle (1569–88). Particularly influential was the work of William Wallace , the king's master mason from 1617 until his death in 1631. He worked on the rebuilding of the collapsed North Range of Linlithgow from 1618, Winton House for George Seton, 3rd Earl of Winton and began work on Heriot's Hospital , Edinburgh. He adopted
1375-621: A mezzanine floor, as at Kinross. Servants were less visible, using backstairs that kept them away from members of the family and guests and they fulfilled necessary and sometimes unpleasant tasks. They were also fewer in number, of lower social status and predominately female. A country house could have 10 to 20 servants and large houses had more. A hierarchy of positions developed from the butler and housekeeper to footmen and maids . The sexes were increasingly segregated into their own quarters. Relatively isolated, gentry families spent much of their time visiting family, friends or neighbours. As
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#17327973283931500-596: A model for the modern revival of the baronial style. Common features borrowed from sixteenth- and seventeenth-century houses included battlemented gateways, crow-stepped gables , pointed turrets and machicolations . The style was popular across Scotland and was applied to relatively modest dwellings by architects such as William Burn (1789–1870), David Bryce (1803–76), Edward Blore (1787–1879), Edward Calvert (c. 1847–1914) and Robert Stodart Lorimer (1864–1929). The publication of Robert Billings' Baronial and Ecclesiastical Architecture of Scotland (1848–52) provided
1625-525: A model. After the Glorious Revolution Dutch influences were also significant, with uniform planting and topiary . Gardening books from the continent and England became widely available in this period and the first gardening book published in Scotland, John Reid's, Scots Gard'ner (1683), borrowed from John Evelyn 's (1658) translation of Nicholas de Bonnefon's Le Jardinair françois (1651), adapting its ideas for Scottish conditions. In
1750-553: A neighbourhood of Kirkcaldy , Fife , and was baptised on 24 October 1689. He was the only surviving child of John Adam (d. c. 1710), a mason, and Helen Cranstoun, daughter of William Cranstoun, 3rd Lord Cranstoun . His paternal grandfather was Archibald Adam, a laird in Angus . Adam probably attended the grammar school in Kirkcaldy until 1704, when he turned 15, and thereafter learned the craft of masonry, possibly from his father. It
1875-755: A range of French, Italian and English pattern books, including Gibbs' Book of Architecture , from which he borrowed freely with little regard for consistency of style. In addition, he took inspiration from earlier Scottish renaissance architecture, and from his predecessors Bruce and Smith. During his nearly 30-year career as an architect, Adam designed, extended or remodelled over 40 country houses, and undertook numerous public contracts. He also laid out landscape garden schemes, for instance at Newliston and Taymouth Castle . His first commission seems to have been for extensions to Hopetoun House , near Edinburgh, for Charles Hope, 1st Earl of Hopetoun . Hopetoun had been built only 20 years before by Sir William Bruce, and Adam
2000-410: A result, hospitality was an important part of life. Leisure activities pursued by the gentry included hunting, cards and chess. Music remained important in noble houses, with accounts listing professional musicians hired to entertain the family and guests. However, professional musicians were expensive to maintain. In the eighteenth century members of the household often provided musical entertainment on
2125-491: A revival of the seventeenth-century mixed flower and kitchen garden, as carried out at Kellie Castle , and Earlshall, Fife by Robert Lorimer. The development of the Palladian country house in the seventeenth century separated the family of the householder from the servants. Previously sharing the hall, and bedding down at a master's feet, or door, servants were now given separate small chambers. Sometimes these were placed on
2250-579: A rural idyll. The antiquarian John Clerk of Pennycuik (1676–1755), one of the key figures in defining elite taste in Scotland, eulogising the estate garden in his poem "The Country Seat" (1727), which built on the ideas of Alexander Pope . He created gardens at Mavisbank and Penicuik, Midlothian, with the help of William Adam, which combined formality with undulating ground. The move to a less formal landscape of parklands and irregular clumps of planting, associated in England with Capability Brown (1716–83),
2375-625: A six-storey medieval tower called the Bog-of-Gight, and was flanked by a pair of two-storey wings. In 1827 the Aberdeen architect Archibald Simpson was commissioned to redesign the east wing after it was destroyed by fire. At its peak, the main façade was 568 feet (173 metres) long. Following the deaths of the 7th and 8th dukes within a decade of one another the Gordon Estates of 180,000 acres (73,000 hectares) were put up for sale by
2500-428: A spate of new building. Scotland produced some of the most significant architects of this era, including Colen Campbell (1676–1729), James Gibbs (1682–1754) and William Adam (1689–1748), who created work that to some degree looked to classical models. Campbell was influenced by the Palladian style and has been credited with founding Georgian architecture. Architectural historian Howard Colvin has speculated that he
2625-516: A style of country house amongst the nobility that encouraging the move towards a more continental, leisure-oriented architecture. He built and remodelled country houses, including Thirlestane Castle and Prestonfield House . Among his most significant work was his own Palladian mansion at Kinross , built on the Loch Leven estate which he had purchased in 1675. As the Surveyor and Overseer of
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#17327973283932750-489: A theorist, Adam never developed a strong enough style to exert a direct influence on the course of building design. His main bequest to architectural history were his three architect sons, and in particular Robert Adam, whose success as developer of the "Adam Style" far outran that of his father. Although Robert formed his own style through lengthy study in Rome, John Fleming detects traces of his father's influence on all three of
2875-543: A wider range of activities that developed in the nineteenth century for members of the leisured classes, such as croquet , lawn tennis, billiards, carriage rides, charades and amateur dramatics. In the twentieth century, as the finances and needs of the landed classes changed, many surviving country houses were sold and became boarding schools, hospitals, spa retreats, conference centres and hotels. The National Trust for Scotland (founded 1931) cares for post-Medieval castles and estate houses that were still in occupation until
3000-530: Is also found at Falkland and Linlithgow, including the king's knot garden at Stirling. From the late sixteenth century, the landscaping of many estate houses was influenced by Italian Renaissance gardens . These were seen as retreats from the troubles of the world and were eulogised in country house poetry like that of William Drummond of Hawthornden (1585–1649). Extensive gardens were developed at Pinkie House by Alexander Seton, 1st Earl of Dunfermline (1555–1622), with lawns, fountains, ponds and aviaries for
3125-461: Is echoed by McWilliam, who suggests that William Adam "always did his best, but did his best architecture... when he was in touch not only with his source books, but with other lively minds". William Adam and Mary Robertson had ten surviving children: The birth dates of their five younger daughters are not recorded. In addition another son, named William, and two daughters died in infancy. After William Adam's death, his oldest son John, inherited
3250-409: Is not known how William Adam became a successful architect from these beginnings, but by 1721 he was engaged on major projects at Floors Castle , where he executed a design by Vanbrugh, and designing extensions to Hopetoun House . John Gifford links Adam's rise with the retirement of James Smith , the most prominent architect of the early 18th century, who was in his 70s by this time. Like Smith, Adam
3375-509: Is often suggested that Adam was apprenticed to Sir William Bruce at Kinross House , although the dates make this unlikely. John Fleming suggests that if Adam trained under Bruce at all, it must have been at Hopetoun House which Bruce was building from 1699 to 1703. By 1717 Adam was a fully qualified member of the Kirkcaldy masons' guild, and before 1720 he travelled to France and the Low Countries , visiting country houses and viewing
3500-547: The Rhododendron and monkey puzzle tree , meant that Victorian and Edwardian gardens were characterised by an eclectic mix of the formal, picturesque and gardenesque . By the end of the century the ideas of William Robinson (1838–1935), Gertrude Jekyll (1843–1932) and the Edinburgh-based Frances Hope (d. 1880), arguing for informal flower-based gardens, had begun to dominate. They resulted in
3625-599: The Board of Ordnance in North Britain . In 1727 Adam and Sir John Clerk travelled to London, visiting a number of country seats along the way, including Cliveden , Wilton , and Wanstead House . In London, Adam attempted to make further political contacts, as well as seeking out an engraver for his projected book of architectural plans , which would eventually become Vitruvius Scoticus . Also while in London, he sat to William Aikman for his portrait. By 1728, Adam
3750-457: The Earl of Wigton , and Cally House for Alexander Murray, which was not complete until 1763. From 1746, Adam was acting as "Intendant General" and contractor, overseeing the building of Inveraray Castle to a Gothic design by Roger Morris. His role was to correspond with the architect on behalf of the client, Archibald Campbell, 3rd Duke of Argyll , and Adam also offered Morris his own advice on detail design. He also provided an early draft for
3875-472: The Falls of Acharn , which put an emphasis on concealment and the surprise revelation of the natural. In the nineteenth century the writings of Humphrey Repton (1752–1818) were highly influential in the return of the formal garden near to the house. His sons were directly involved in the restructuring of the landscape at Valleyfield, Fife . Walter Scott's dislike of the sweeping away of the old formal gardens
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4000-520: The Palladian style, but with Baroque details inspired by Vanbrugh and Continental architecture. In the 18th century, Adam was considered Scotland's "Universal Architect". However, since the early 20th century, architectural critics have taken a more measured view, Colin McWilliam , for instance, finding the quality of his work "varied to an extreme degree". As well as being an architect, Adam
4125-473: The Restoration (1660) the work of architect Sir William Bruce introduced to Scotland a new phase of classicising architecture, in the shape of royal palaces and estate houses incorporating elements of the Palladian style . In the eighteenth century Scotland produced some of the most important British architects, including the neo-Palladian William Adam and his innovative son Robert Adam , who rejected
4250-409: The harpsichord , organ and piano. House libraries often contained considerable quantities of music, as at Dalkeith Palace , where the Duke of Buccleuch 's daughter collected vocal music between 1780 and 1800. In the nineteenth century it was the women of the family who were the chief performers and men were not expected to play the piano in drawing rooms. The consumption of large and sumptuous meals
4375-528: The "Town of Edinburgh Bill", which would have seen him overseeing new public works in the capital. In 1727, Stair tried, again unsuccessfully, to have Adam appointed Surveyor of the King's Works in Scotland, although the following year he acquired the lesser position of Clerk and Storekeeper of the King's Works in Scotland, under the Master of Works Sir John Anstruther . In 1730 Adam was appointed principal Mason to
4500-480: The 1560s. It kept features of the high walled Medieval castles that had been made largely obsolete by gunpowder weapons and may have been influenced by the French masons brought to Scotland to work on royal palaces. It drew on the tower houses and peel towers , hundreds of which had been built by local lords since the fourteenth century, particularly in the borders. These abandoned defensible curtain walls in favour of
4625-427: The 1730s, demonstrates his accretion of local and foreign influences, presenting itself as "a medieval castle in baroque dress". Built between 1735 and 1739, Adam acted as contractor and architect to William, Lord Braco . James Gibbs had recently built another house for Lord Braco, but he declined the commission for Duff, recommending Adam for the job. The main facade of Duff House is remarkable for its height, and with
4750-666: The 18th and 19th centuries, he was accepted as Scotland's "Universal Architect", and at the end of the 19th century, MacGibbon and Ross suggested in The Castellated and Domestic Architecture of Scotland that William was "at least" the equal in talent of his son Robert. In the 20th century, a more critical view of Adam's work was taken. For example, Ian Hannah in The Story of Scotland in Stone (1934) found Adam to be "a rather ordinary classical architect". Arthur T. Bolton, in
4875-488: The 20 years between 1945 and 1965. The shortage of building materials further reduced the number of new large luxury houses. Isolated examples included Logan House, designed by David Style in the 1950s. In the 1960s there was Basil Hughes's design at Snaigow for the earl of Cadogan and the remodelling of Gask House by Claude Phillimore. This period also saw considerable restoration of existing houses. The creation of estate houses led to greater privacy, comfort and luxury for
5000-771: The 9th Duke to pay the enormous death duties. The majority of the contents of the castle were sold in 1938, although some family portraits and furniture were removed to Goodwood House . By 1952 large areas of the castle were infested with dry rot . Most of the castle was demolished, but the 16th-century tower of Bog-of-Gight and one of the wings—now a detached medium-sized country house in its own right—survive. 57°37′17″N 3°05′21″W / 57.62135°N 3.08918°W / 57.62135; -3.08918 Estate houses in Scotland Estate houses in Scotland or Scottish country houses , are large houses usually on landed estates in Scotland. They were built from
5125-610: The Adams, painting the houses of the peerage with Scottish landscapes that were pastiches of Italian and Dutch scenes. They tutored many artists and have been credited with the inception of the tradition of Scottish landscape painting that would come to fruition from the late eighteenth century. The painters Allan Ramsay (1713–84), Gavin Hamilton (1723–98), the brothers John (1744–68/9) and Alexander Runciman (1736–85), Jacob More (1740–93) and David Allan (1744–96), mostly began in
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5250-566: The Baroque by Sir Christopher Wren . William Adam was the foremost architect of his time in Scotland, designing and building numerous country houses and public buildings. Among his best-known works are Hopetoun House near Edinburgh, and Duff House in Banff . His individual, exuberant style was built on the Palladian, but with Baroque details inspired by Vanbrugh and Continental architecture. After his death, his sons Robert and John took on
5375-536: The British throne, aided by rebellious Scottish Highlanders. In the aftermath of this unsuccessful coup, the Highlands were extensively militarised by the government, and Adam's Ordnance Board work consequently multiplied. He and his sons carried out works at Fort Augustus , Fort William , Carlisle , and the castles of Dumbarton , Stirling , Edinburgh , Blackness , and Duart . He was engaged in 1747 to provide
5500-592: The Duke's apartment in Holyroodhouse was Adam's most important interior design commission. In the 1730s Adam extended Taymouth Castle and laid out gardens, although his work was largely demolished to make way for the present building in the 19th century. Adam's approach here mirrored the work of Bruce at Balcaskie , extending a Scottish tower house to form a near-symmetrical architectural composition. After 1740, Adam built only two houses, Cumbernauld House for
5625-540: The English Palladian orthodoxy, although John Dunbar suggests that "he could express himself convincingly enough in that idiom", for instance at Haddo House. Dunbar found Adam's work "as remarkable for its eclecticism as for its unevenness of quality", and he went on to stress William Adam's "robustness and directness", and found these "appropriate to the artistic climate of North Britain". Gifford also stresses Adam's Scottish context, pointing out that Scotland
5750-574: The European tradition of herb garden , kitchen garden and orchard . They were often surrounded by defensive walls and they sometimes adjoined a hunting park . The first Renaissance style gardens in Scotland were built for the Stewart dynasty at their royal palaces. French gardeners were hired by James IV at Stirling in 1501 and James V at Holyrood in 1536, where archaeological remains indicate there were sophisticated formal gardens. Similar landscaping
5875-474: The French tradition included James Douglas, 2nd Duke of Queensberry (1662–1711) reworking of the terraces at Drumlanrig Castle , which incorporated the Douglas family crest into the parterres design, and the militaristic earthworks undertaken for Field Marshal John Dalrymple, 2nd Earl of Stair (1679–1747) at Castle Kennedy , Wigtownshire. The Earl of Mar's palace at Alloa was the grandest realisation of
6000-554: The Highlands, was confirmed by Queen Victoria's purchase of the hunting lodge at Balmoral. It rapidly expanded as southern industrialists and businessmen began to see the sports offered by Scottish estates as a status symbol, such as the Spelsbury Family at Dunmavarie in the 1920s. Large areas of land were designated for hunting and hunting parties became a major part of the life of the Scottish estate house. There were also
6125-546: The King. More international in outlook than Adam, he combined Neoclassicism and Palladian conventions and his influence was mediated through his large number of pupils. Some of the earliest evidence of a revival in Gothic architecture is from Scotland. Inveraray Castle , constructed from 1746 with design input from William Adam, displays the incorporation of turrets. These early Gothic homes were largely conventional Palladian style houses that incorporated some external features of
6250-485: The Palladian style and was one of the European initiators of neoclassical architecture , embodied in a series of estate houses in Scotland and England. The incorporation of "Gothick" elements of medieval architecture by William Adam helped launch a revival of the Scots baronial in the nineteenth century, given popularity by its use at Walter Scott 's Abbotsford House and Queen Victoria 's retreat at Balmoral Castle . In
6375-615: The Royal Works he undertook the rebuilding of the Royal Palace of Holyroodhouse in the 1670s, which gave the palace its present appearance. After the death of Charles II , Bruce lost political favour, and later, following the Glorious Revolution , he was imprisoned more than once as a suspected Jacobite . These houses were predominantly built using well-cut ashlar masonry on the façades, while rubble stonework
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#17327973283936500-559: The Scottish baronial style. Robert Adam's houses in this style include Mellerstain and Wedderburn in Berwickshire and Seton House in East Lothian, but it is most clearly seen at Culzean Castle , Ayrshire, remodelled by Adam from 1777. Important for the adoption of the style in the early nineteenth century was Abbotsford House , the residence of the novelist and poet, Sir Walter Scott . Re-built for him from 1816, it became
6625-544: The Versailles style gardens in Scotland: it included canals, parterres, statues and ornamental trees. In the eighteenth century there was a reaction against the "absolutism" and "popery" of the French court and a retreat from the expense of maintaining large formal gardens. Less symmetrical layouts became common with the development of the "natural" style of the jardin à l'anglaise , which attempted to create vistas of
6750-552: The author began the incorporation of actual old architectural fragments and pieces of furniture on a lavish scale (the effective beginning of 'antique' collecting in Scotland). He also initiated the treatment of new surfaces so as to resemble old ones, with new wood darkened to resemble old oak. The Adam solution of a castellated exterior with a neo-classical interior was abandoned and in Baronial Revival houses this change
6875-585: The brothers' work, and suggests that the Adam principle of "movement" in architecture was partly inspired by William's admiration for Vanbrugh. More concretely, Fleming notes that working with their father gave the brothers a solid grounding in the technical aspects of architecture, and introduced them to a set of clients which they might never otherwise have had access to. Although his contemporaries acclaimed Adam's "genius for architecture", recent architectural historians have found his work of more variable quality. In
7000-412: The canal at Ostend . In 1714, Adam entered into a partnership with William Robertson of Gladney , a local laird , to set up a brickworks at Linktown . The venture was successful, and Adam has been credited with introducing the manufacture of Dutch pantiles into Scotland. On 30 May 1716, Adam married Robertson's daughter Mary, and the couple moved into his home, Gladney House, at Abbotshall. It
7125-401: The central tower and the east wing pavilion were demolished due to dry rot . The original castle was built by George Gordon, 2nd Earl of Huntly in the 1470s and enlarged by his grandson and George Gordon, 1st Marquess of Huntly . An inventory of the contents from November 1648 mentions lavish beds and a "hen house", a parrot cage in the long gallery. The first wave of substantial extension
7250-549: The collection of classical art and the adoption of classical styles for new works that were incorporated into the Adam Style . The Baronial revival resulted a synthesised Victorian style that combined elements of the Renaissance, symbols of landed power and national affiliation with modern fittings. From the late sixteenth century, many estate houses were surrounded by gardens influenced by Italian Renaissance gardens . From
7375-521: The construction of some estate houses, including Skibo Castle , which was rebuilt for industrialist Andrew Carnegie (1899–1903) by Ross and Macbeth. English architect C. H. B. Quennell (1872–1935) designed a neo-Georgian mansion at Altmore (1912–14) for the owner of a Moscow department store. There was a lull in building after the First World War and social change undermined the construction of rural estate houses. Isolated examples included
7500-586: The cultivation of fruit trees meant that they began to be in demand in England. At the end of eighteenth century there began to be a reaction to the English style of garden, influenced by Picturesque taste and the spread of Ossianic Romanticism, which encouraged gardens in the wild. This resulted in creation of features like Ossian's Hall of Mirrors at the Hermitage Dunkeld and the Hermit's Cave at
7625-738: The development of architecture, not just in Britain, but in Western Europe, North America and in Russia, where his patterns were taken by Scottish architect Charles Cameron . Adam's main rival was William Chambers, another Scot, but born in Sweden. He did most of his work in London, with a small number of houses in Scotland. He was appointed architectural tutor to the Prince of Wales, later George III , and in 1766, with Robert Adam, as Architect to
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#17327973283937750-695: The eighteenth century the development of the Grand Tour took young Scottish aristocrats to the continent, particularly Rome, which was home to the exiled Jacobite Stuarts. This in turn fuelled interest in classical and Renaissance styles, and the buying of artistic works, particularly sculptures. However, the only major Scottish collection of marble before the nineteenth century was that of James Johnstone, 2nd Marquess of Annandale . As in England, commissions of new statuary tended to be crafted in relatively cheap lead and even more economical painted or gilded plaster. The plasterwork of John Cheere 's yard in London
7875-438: The entertainment of guests. Dunfermline's nephew, George Seton, 3rd Earl of Winton (1584–1650), planted a herb garden at Seaton House in 1620. The Earl of Sutherland 's castle at Dunrobin was surrounded by orchards, herbs and flowers. The best surviving garden from the early seventeenth century is that at Edzell Castle , where, between 1604 and 1610, David Lindsay (1551?–1610) created an enclosure adorned with sculptures of
8000-400: The extensive building and rebuilding of royal palaces that probably began under James III (r. 1460–88), accelerated under James IV (r. 1488–1513), and reached its peak under James V (r. 1512–42). These works have been seen as directly reflecting the influence of Renaissance styles. Linlithgow was first constructed under James I , under the direction of master of work John de Waltoun and
8125-563: The families who lived in them. Interiors were remodelled, with broader staircases, family rooms were added and heating was improved. Oriel windows gave better views, more light and could be opened for fresh air. After the Reformation, which virtually ended religious patronage of art in Scotland, craftsmen and artists turned to secular patrons. With the departure of the Scottish court for England in 1603, Jenny Wormald argues that there
8250-532: The family business, and immediately took his brothers Robert and James into partnership, which would last until the late 1750s when Robert established himself in London. William Adam's obituary in the Caledonian Mercury noted that "it is fortunate he has left behind him some promising young men to carry on what he has so happily begun". John Adam passed Blair Adam on to his own son, lawyer and politician William Adam KC, whose descendants continue to own
8375-487: The family business, which included lucrative work for the Board of Ordnance . Robert emerged as leader of the first phase of the neo-classical revival in England and Scotland from around 1760 until his death. He rejected the Palladian style as "ponderous" and "disgustful". However, he continued its tradition of drawing inspiration directly from classical antiquity , influenced by his four-year stay in Europe. He influenced
8500-868: The family mausoleum built in 1753. This was restored by Edinburgh City Council and Historic Scotland in 1997 to mark the 250th anniversary of his death. Adam created a personal library at Blair Adam which held a range of over 140 architectural works from Italy, France, Germany, the Netherlands and Britain. Upon his death, he bequeathed his library to his sons. Adam used a wide variety of sources for his designs, and created an inventive personal style of decoration. His chief influences were from English Palladianism , and several of his houses have been likened to designs reproduced in Colen Campbell 's Vitruvius Britannicus , but Adam mixed these with English Baroque motifs from Gibbs and Vanbrugh. He relied greatly on
8625-540: The family of the householder from the servants. Gentry families spent much of their time visiting family, friends or neighbours and hospitality was an important part of life. Major activities included hunting, cards, chess and music. Large and sumptuous meals were an important part of social life. In the eighteenth century, estate houses were designed as centres of public display, but in the nineteenth century they became increasingly private and developed distinct male areas. The origins of private estate houses in Scotland are in
8750-550: The final defeat of the Jacobite threat in 1746, and the advance of the Scottish Enlightenment , which resulted in new styles of building becoming popular. The development of Neoclassicism in the late 18th century was paralleled by a revival of the "castle" form of house, which would lead to the Scottish baronial style . Neither idiom however, owed much to the work of William Adam. As a practical man rather than
8875-576: The heavily taxed aristocracy were also unable to find the money to modernise and maintain large houses. The shortage of building materials in the post-war period also made estate houses valuable resources of stone. As a result, 200 of the 378 architecturally important estate houses have been demolished in the period after 1945, a higher proportion of the total than in England. Included in the destruction were works by Robert Adam, including Balbardie House and Hamilton Palace. One firm, Charles Brand of Dundee , demolished at least 56 country houses in Scotland in
9000-420: The houses designed by Basil Spence and built at Broughton Place (1936) and Gribloch (1937–39), which combined modern and traditional elements. The Second World War disrupted the occupation of estate houses, as they were used as wartime schools, barracks, evacuee housing and hospitals. After the war many were outdated, with a lack of electricity and modern plumbing. There was a shortage of live-in servants and
9125-508: The incorporation of humanist moral and philosophical symbolism, as well as elements that called on heraldry, piety, classical myths and allegory. The earliest example still extant is at the Hamilton palace of Kinneil , West Lothian, decorated in the 1550s for the then regent the James Hamilton, Earl of Arran . Other examples include the ceiling at Prestongrange House , undertaken in 1581 for Mark Kerr, Commendator of Newbattle , and
9250-466: The introduction of electricity, central heating and labour-saving devices such as the vacuum cleaner, also led to changes in the scale of building. Arts and crafts designs first featured in Philip Webb 's (1831–1915) Gothic design at Arisaig (1863–64). It was pursued by William Lethaby at Melsetter House, Hoy (1898) for a Birmingham industrialist. The Baronial style peaked towards the end of
9375-535: The introduction to his definitive work on Robert and James Adam (1922), dismissed the father's work as "heavy and ordinary", and a mere "compilation of ideas... from Vanbrugh and Gibbs to Kent". John Fleming lamented his "ad hoc improvisation from source books, improperly digested", and decided that he "cannot be allowed great distinction as an architect". John Summerson disregards Adam's work, in Architecture in Britain, 1530–1830 (1953), as it does not fit into
9500-486: The late seventeenth century William Bruce put Scotland at the forefront of European garden design, lowering garden walls to incorporate the surrounding countryside into the vista. This allowed a focus on significant landscape features such as Bass rock at Balcaskie and Loch Leven Castle at Kinross. Alexander Edward (1651–1708) continued in the tradition established by Bruce, adding landscapes at houses including Hamilton Palace and Kinnaird castle, Angus. Grand schemes in
9625-463: The late seventeenth century the formal gardens at Versailles and Dutch gardens were important models. In the eighteenth century less formal and symmetrical layouts became common with the development of the English landscape garden . In the nineteenth century there was a return of the formal garden near to the house. The development of the Palladian country house in the seventeenth century separated
9750-460: The later seventeenth century. During the turbulent era of Civil Wars (1639–51) and the English occupation of Scotland (1651–60), significant building in Scotland was largely confined to military architecture. After the Restoration in 1660, large scale building began again, often incorporating more comprehensive ideas of reviving classicism. Sir William Bruce (1630–1710), considered "the effective founder of classical architecture in Scotland",
9875-638: The layout of the new town at Inveraray . His last architectural work was for Lord Lovat in 1744, for a new house at Castle Dounie. The stone was supplied, but construction never started as Lord Lovat was "out" in the Jacobite rising of 1745 , and his property was sacked by government troops. Adam's first public building commissions were in Aberdeen , where he built the town house, or town hall, from 1729 to 1730, since demolished, and Robert Gordon's Hospital from 1730 to 1732, now an independent school. The original Edinburgh Royal Infirmary on Infirmary Street
10000-473: The lodging at Balmerino Abbey for the ailing Queen Madeleine. Rather than slavishly copying continental forms, most Scottish architecture incorporated elements of these styles into traditional local patterns, adapting them to Scottish idioms and materials (particularly stone and harl ). Work undertaken for James VI demonstrated continued Renaissance influences, with the Chapel Royal at Stirling having
10125-508: The long gallery at Pinkie House , painted for Alexander Seaton , Earl of Dunfermline in 1621. Scottish estate houses were increasingly adorned with paintings, including portraits , landscapes and later classical , genre and historical paintings. Thomas Warrender (fl. 1673–1713) made his living as a house decorator, working closely with architects, including William Adam. He may have trained James Norie (1684–1757), who with his sons James (1711–36) and Robert (d. 1766) also worked with
10250-443: The mason work and brickwork for Fort George near Inverness , although the project only began shortly before Adam's death. Every summer until 1760, one of his sons spent the summer at Fort George, supervising the works under Colonel Skinner, the chief engineer for North Britain. In the 1720s Adam planned to publish a book of architectural drawings of Scottish houses, including his own work and that of others. His Vitruvius Scoticus
10375-478: The matter was initially resolved in his favour. However, Braco was a stubborn opponent, and dragged out the proceedings, which were not resolved until just before Adam's death. After the Jacobite rising of 1745 , Adam's position as Mason to the Board of Ordnance brought him a number of large military contracts in the Highlands. In 1746, the position of Master Carpenter to the Board of Ordnance became vacant, and Adam
10500-451: The nineteenth century, and the building of large houses declined in importance in the twentieth century. An exception was the work undertaken by John Kinross (1855–1955). Beginning with the reconstruction of Thurston House, Dunbar, from 1890 he produced a series of major country house designs. The most important was Manderston House (1901–03), built for James Miller (1864–1906) in the Adam style. The baronial style continued to influence
10625-468: The nineteenth century, when they were served sequentially. Alcohol in various forms and toasts were an important part of formal dining and until the Regency era dessert and drinks were often taken in a separate dessert room. In the eighteenth century, estate houses were designed as centres of public display, but in the nineteenth century they became increasingly private. The first family wing in Britain
10750-485: The pattern established by William Bruce, with hipped roofs and pedimented fronts, in a plain but handsome Palladian style. Hamilton Palace (1695) was fronted by giant Corinthian columns, and a pedimented entrance, although was otherwise restrained. Dalkeith Palace (1702–10) was modelled after William of Orange 's palace at Het Loo in the Netherlands. After the Act of Union of 1707 , growing prosperity in Scotland led to
10875-451: The pavilions from 1736. These were not finished until 1742, the year of the Earl's death, and the completed scheme was finished by Adam's sons after his own death. Adam also laid out the gardens, possibly to designs by Bruce, whose axial style they follow. Other early designs included Drum House , which boasted Scotland's first venetian window , and Mavisbank House , both near Edinburgh. Mavisbank House, constructed between 1723 and 1727,
11000-672: The ruling Hanoverian regime. Sir William Bruce, for example, was imprisoned on at least three occasions between 1693 and his death in 1710, merely on account of his principles. Adam's beliefs were much more acceptable, although he did manage to maintain relations with the exiled Jacobite, and amateur architect, John Erskine, Earl of Mar . Adam's political stance allowed him to acquire influential patrons such as John Dalrymple, 2nd Earl of Stair , and Sir John Clerk of Penicuik , who, besides being his clients, attempted to secure government positions and contracts for him. For example, Sir John Clerk unsuccessfully proposed Adam for city architect under
11125-541: The seven Cardinal Virtues , the seven Liberal Arts and the seven Planetary Deities , the expense of which eventually bankrupted him. The legacy of the Auld Alliance , and the beginnings of the grand tour, meant that French styles were particularly important in Scotland, although adapted for the Scottish climate. From the late seventeenth century the gardens at Versailles , with their formal avenues, parterres and fountains that stressed symmetry and order, were
11250-416: The seventeenth century there was elaborate use of carving in pediments and fireplaces, with heraldic arms and classical motifs. Plasterwork also began to be used, often depicting flowers and cherubs. William Bruce favoured Dutch carvers for his realisation of Kinross House, where there are festoons , trophies and cornucopia around the doorways and gates. This may have included the work of Jan van Sant Voort,
11375-652: The sixteenth century, after defensive castles began to be replaced by more comfortable residences for royalty, nobility and local lairds . The origins of Scottish estate houses are in aristocratic emulation of the extensive building and rebuilding of royal residences, beginning with Linlithgow , under the influence of Renaissance architecture . In the 1560s the unique Scottish style of the Scots baronial emerged, which combined features from medieval castles, tower houses , and peel towers with Renaissance plans, in houses designed primarily for residence rather than defence. After
11500-557: The tall corner towers the impression is of a highly vertical house. This style is related to the designs produced by the exiled Jacobite Earl of Mar , an amateur architect who collaborated with Adam at the House of Dun . Charles McKean compares Duff to the 17th century Drumlanrig Castle , and places it within the Scottish architectural tradition. Like Drumlanrig, and Heriot's Hospital (1620s–1690s) in Edinburgh before it, Duff House has
11625-627: The time of Adam's death. In 1766, John Adam attempted to restart the project and collect fresh subscriptions, although nothing came of this. The book was finally published in 1812 by John's son William , and contained 160 plates, including 100 of Adam's own designs. William Adam's dominant position in Scottish architecture is reinforced by his lack of contemporaries. Colin McWilliam, in The Buildings of Scotland: Lothian , wondered "whether Scottish architecture at this period... would have achieved very much without him." Adam's death coincided with
11750-466: The tradition of the Nories, but were artists of European significance, spending considerable portions of their careers outside Scotland. Henry Raeburn (1756–1823) was the most significant artist of the eighteenth century to pursue his entire career in Scotland, and from this point Scottish painters would be able to be professionals in their homeland, often supplying the nobility and lairds with works to fill
11875-691: The twentieth century and are open to the public. Historic Scotland (created as an agency in 1991) cares for over 300 properties, which are publicly accessible. The Landmark Trust restores and operates historic buildings as holiday homes. William Adam (architect) William Adam (1689 – 24 June 1748) was a Scottish architect , mason , and entrepreneur. He was the foremost architect of his time in Scotland, designing and building numerous country houses and public buildings, and often acting as contractor as well as architect. Among his best known works are Hopetoun House near Edinburgh, and Duff House in Banff . His individual, exuberant style built on
12000-616: The twentieth century the building of estate houses declined as the influence of the aristocracy waned, and many were taken over by the National Trust for Scotland and Historic Scotland . After the Reformation , and the departure of the Scottish court in 1603, artists and artisans looked to secular patronage and estate houses became repositories of art and of elaborate furnishings. Estate houses were adorned with paintings, wood carvings and plasterwork. The Grand Tour encouraged
12125-402: The village of Maryburgh to house the miners, and built a small house, although he seldom visited for any length of time. In 1741 Adam was forced to initiate legal proceedings against William, Lord Braco , to retrieve unpaid fees arising from his work at Duff House. There was no formal contract, and client and architect disagreed on costs for carved stonework. Adam sued for £5,796 12s 11⅓d, and
12250-609: The walls of their houses. Carving and plasterwork also became a feature of estate houses. Some of the finest domestic wood carving is in the Beaton panels made for Arbroath Abbey , which were eventually moved to the dining room of Balfour House in Fife. Carvings at Huntly Castle , rebuilt for George Gordon, 1st Marquess of Huntly in the early seventeenth century, focused on heraldic images. Their " popish " overtones led to them being damaged by an occupying Covenanter army in 1640. From
12375-456: Was a shift "from court to castle" in patronage and creativity; estate houses became repositories of art and elaborate furnishings that illustrated the wealth and taste of their occupants. One result was a flourishing of Scottish Renaissance painted ceilings and walls in estate houses. These included detailed coloured patterns and scenes, of which over a hundred examples survive. The designs relied upon continental pattern books that often led to
12500-605: Was a trained mason, had social connections through his family, and had the financial backing of successful business ventures. It was in 1721 that Adam became a Freemason being initiated in The Lodge of Edinburgh (Mary's Chapel), No.1. However, unlike the Episcopalians Smith and Bruce, Adam was a Presbyterian Whig , in a time of Whig domination of the British government. Scottish Episcopalians were associated with Jacobitism , and as such found little favour with
12625-647: Was added to Blairquhan Castle in Ayrshire in 1820 by architect William Burn and the style became characteristic of the Victorian country house. From the 1830s distinct male areas of the house began to emerge, to which the men could withdraw and indulge in "masculine" conversation and activities, centred on the smoking and billiard rooms . From the 1870s gun rooms began to be added, mainly to cater for weapons for hunting weekends. The popularity of salmon fishing, deer stalking and grouse shooting , particularly in
12750-431: Was also influential in creating an emphasis on preservation and restoration. His ideas were taken up by John Claudius Loudon (1783–1843), the most prolific gardening author of the century in Britain, and were highly influential throughout the world. By 1850 ambitious formal gardens had been recreated at Drummond Castle, Dunrobin and Drumlandrig. New plants from around the world, often discovered and sampled by Scots, such as
12875-433: Was an important part of social life. Some were elaborately planned, others the result of unexpected guests. These usually consisted of three or four courses, with a variety of dishes served in each course, from which the diner was expected to select. In the eighteenth century service was à la française , where all the dishes were impressively displayed on tables at the same time, until the advent of service à la russe in
13000-413: Was an imposing building designed by Adam in 1738, although based on a standard Ordnance Board barrack block. One of the first infirmaries in the world, it was founded by physician Alexander Monro , and was demolished in 1884. Remnants of the building can be found on various sites in the city. Also in Edinburgh, Adam built George Watson's Hospital from 1738 to 1741, demolished 2004, which in the 19th century
13125-468: Was associated with James Smith and that Campbell may even have been his pupil. He spent most of his career in Italy and England and developed a rivalry with fellow Scot James Gibbs. Gibbs trained in Rome and also practiced mainly in England. His architectural style did incorporate Palladian elements, as well as forms from Italian Baroque and Inigo Jones, but was most strongly influenced by the interpretation of
13250-460: Was completed and other palaces were rebuilt with Italianate proportions. James V encountered the French version of Renaissance building while visiting for his marriage to Madeleine of Valois in 1536 and his second marriage to Mary of Guise may have resulted in longer term connections and influences. Work from his reign largely disregarded the insular style adopted in England under Henry VIII and adopted forms that were recognisably European. This
13375-474: Was dominated in Scotland by his followers, Robert Robinson and Thomas White senior and junior. From 1770 and 1809 the Whites were involved in the planning of over 70 estate gardens in Scotland, including those at Glamis Castle and Scone Palace . Important publications included James Justice 's The Scottish Gardiner's Director (1754) and the reputation of Scottish gardeners in managing greenhouses, hot walls and
13500-588: Was extended to create a synthesised Victorian style that combined elements of the Renaissance, such as plastered or rubble walls, unpainted stone fireplaces and pitch pine timberwork, with seventeenth-century style plaster ceilings. To this were added symbols of landed power and national affiliation, including displays of tartan, weaponry and stuffed animals' heads. Integrated into these traditional materials and styles were modern fittings such as sprung upholstery, gas lighting and water-closets. Gardens, or yards, around medieval castles, abbeys and houses were formal and in
13625-432: Was firmly established as a successful architect with numerous ongoing business concerns, including coal mining, salt panning, quarrying and agricultural improvements, although in that year occurred the death of his partner and father-in-law William Robertson. For the same year, William Adam and Alexander McGill are called architects in the subscribers' list to James Gibbs 's Book of Architecture . On 21 February 1728, Adam
13750-491: Was followed by re-buildings at Holyrood , Falkland , Stirling and Edinburgh , described as "some of the finest examples of Renaissance architecture in Britain". Much of this work was planned and financed by James Hamilton of Finnart (c. 1495–1540), in addition to his work at Blackness Castle , Rothesay Castle , the house at Crawfordjohn , the "New Inn" in the St Andrews Cathedral Priory and
13875-420: Was in many ways a foreign country during his working life, and indeed was a separate country to England until 1707. Adam should, he argues, be seen not as a provincial British architect, but as "the architect of Scotland". John Fleming and Colin McWilliam are in agreement that Adam was at his best as a collaborator. Fleming's comment that Adam "was at his best when guided by a man of taste who knew his own mind",
14000-559: Was incorporated by David Bryce as part of the new Royal Infirmary. In 1745, work was completed on William Adam's "New Library" for the University of Glasgow , also since demolished. Adam's town house for Dundee has also been demolished; Haddington Town House remains but is much altered. Adam built only one church, Hamilton Old Parish Church , in 1733 while working on nearby Chatelherault. The last Jacobite rising occurred in 1745 , when " Bonnie Prince Charlie " attempted to seize
14125-460: Was involved in several industrial ventures and improvement schemes, including coal mining, salt panning , stone quarries and mills. In 1731 he began to build up his own estate in Kinross-shire , which he named Blair Adam. He was the father of three architects; John , Robert and James , the last two were the developers of the " Adam style ". William Adam was born in Linktown of Abbotshall, now
14250-530: Was made a burgess of Edinburgh, and moved with his family to a property on the Cowgate, where he later built a large tenement. His business activities continued to expand. Since the commission for Hopetoun in 1721, he had leased quarries near Queensferry which provided the stone for his building contracts. Starting in 1734, he leased lofts, granaries and warehouses in Leith, and leased coal mines and salt pans at Cockenzie , and later at nearby Pinkie he built
14375-556: Was particularly in demand. Also important was the work from the yard of John Bacon (1740–99). Bacon was also a partner in Mrs Eleanor Coade's Artificial Stone Manufactory at Lambeth in London. This produced a buff coloured ceramic that could be moulded to provide fine detail, and be fired in sections, but was impervious to frost and fire. Much cheaper than carved stone, Coadstone was used for sphinxes , balustrading , capitals , coats of arms, tablets and ornamental vases. It
14500-493: Was quick to put forward his son John's name for consideration, although he was unsuccessful in securing him the post. His three eldest sons were all involved in the family business by 1746, James and John both leaving Edinburgh University early to join their father. William Adam succumbed to illness in late 1747, dying the following summer. He was buried in Greyfriars Kirkyard , Edinburgh, where John Adam designed
14625-420: Was referred to as a palace, apparently the first use of this term in the country, from 1429. This was extended under James III and began to correspond to a fashionable quadrangular, corner-towered Italian signorial palace of a palatium ad moden castri (a castle-style palace), combining classical symmetry with neo-chivalric imagery. There is evidence of Italian masons working for James IV, in whose reign Linlithgow
14750-420: Was retained to rebuild the south-east wing. These works, completed in 1725, aimed to give the east front a bold new facade, stepping forward at the ends with curved sections. According to John Fleming, "nothing so ambitious or imaginative had ever before been attempted in Scotland". Over the following years, Adam would return to Hopetoun, building the south colonnade from 1726, the north wing from 1728, and finally
14875-450: Was started and named in response to Colen Campbell 's Vitruvius Britannicus . He commissioned some engravings during his 1727 trip to London, and had begun to collect subscriptions. Further engraving were completed in Edinburgh in the 1730s by Richard Cooper. The project then stalled, possibly due to the lack of subscriptions (only 150 were collected, compared to over 700 for Vitruvius Britannicus ), although it may have been revived around
15000-441: Was the baroque, Vanbrugh-inspired Arniston House , near Gorebridge . Built for Robert Dundas , a lawyer and politician linked to John Dalrymple, 1st Earl of Stair , Arniston includes extensive grounds laid out by Adam, with a parterre and cascade, and a main avenue centred on Arthur's Seat to the north. The stucco work to the hall at Arniston is one of Adam's finest Vanbrughian interiors. Duff House , Adam's major work of
15125-449: Was the first Palladian villa in Scotland, a collaboration between Adam and the owner, amateur architect Sir John Clerk of Penicuik. The latter claimed much of the credit, and certainly criticised some of Adam's suggestions, although evidence suggests Adam got his way on a number of points. As at Hopetoun, here Adam enjoyed an unusually close relationship with his client, despite their differences of opinion. His most ambitious early work
15250-533: Was the key figure in introducing the Palladian style into Scotland, following the principles of the Italian Renaissance architect Andrea Palladio (1508–1580). Palladio's ideas were strongly based on the symmetry, perspective and values of the formal classical temple architecture of the Ancient Greeks and Romans , and associated in England with the designs of Inigo Jones . Bruce popularised
15375-520: Was undertaken by Alexander Gordon, 2nd Duke of Gordon in the 1720s, greatly increasing the floorplan in relation to the original tower house. Architect John Adam was commissioned, alongside the exiled Huguenot (French) architect Abraham Roumieu , to redesign the castle in 1764, but this did not come to fruition. Eventually the commission fell to the lesser-known Edinburgh architect, John Baxter , who rebuilt it in 1769 for Alexander Gordon, 4th Duke of Gordon . The central four-storey block incorporated
15500-518: Was used extensively by the Adam brothers, particularly in the houses they built in Scotland, such as Cullen , Banff, Culzean Castle , Ayrshire, Dunbar Castle , East Lothian, Gosford House , East Lothian and Wedderburn , Berwickshire. They also supplied sculpture, candelabra and cippi that made up the neo-classical Adam Style . Nineteenth-century interiors could often be lavish and eclectic. The origins of this style were in Scott's Abbotsford, where
15625-472: Was used only for internal walls. James Smith worked as a mason on Bruce's rebuilding of Holyrood Palace. In 1683 he was appointed to be Surveyor and Overseer of the Royal Works, and was responsible for maintenance of Holyrood Palace. With his father-in-law, the master mason Robert Mylne , Smith worked on Caroline Park in Edinburgh (1685), and Drumlanrig Castle (1680s). Smith's country houses followed
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