FAMOUS SCOTTISH RESIDENCES

Evening Star, Issue 21748, 16 June 1934, Page 25

FAMOUS SCOTTISH RESIDENCES

INDUStRIAL DEVELOPMENT CHANGES " UNSYMPATHETIC" TREATMENT Many of the mansion-houses in West Fife which within the last forty years were family residences have lately become either derelict or put to some other use. This circumstance may be the. result of various contingencies, the most obvious of which is the industrial development of the area as regards coal mining operations. Colliery companies when they aecpiirc a proprietary interest' i'u an estate, on which, of course, minerals are existent, genera Hylic not have a direct use, for the mansions attached, as commercial or industrial enterprise is, in most eases, very unsympathetic to historical sentiment (writes John P. Hunter, in the ’ Weekly Scotsman’). A short historical narrative of a few. of the mansions in West Fife so affected may be of interest. . The mansion of Culross Abbey, a very fine example of architecture in the Renaissance style, was built by Edward Bruce, an eminent statesman and lawyer, who was created Lord of Kinloss by King James VI. His (prdship had bceu engaged in some delicate negotiations with Secretary Cecil prior to the decease of .Queen Elizabeth, in arranging King James’s accession to the English throne, and he accompanied the monarch to London, where ho became Master of the Rolls. He died in 1010, being interred in the Rolls Chapel in Chancery Lane. During his attachment to the English Court, Lord Kinloss is said to have met the famous architect, Inigo Jones, and 'to have engaged him to design the splendid mansion of Culross Abbey. His lordship was apparently determined to maintain Ins connection with his native place, he being the son of Edward Bruce, Laird of Blairhall, and brother of the celebrated Sir George Bruce, who was a pioneer in the wor.cit'.g of coal mines and salt works in the vicinity of Culross. CULROSS ABBEY HOUSE. 'The foundation stone of the mansion was laid in 1608, and it adjoins the parish ehuroh of Culross, and the ruins of the monastery which was founded by AJalcolm, Earl of Fife, in 1217. The mansion, which stands on the crest of a hill overlooking the ancient burgh, is an oblong building of three stories flan keel by turrets at the east and west ends of its front. It had originally been intended to be a building of two stories with flanking towers, and to take the form of a quadrangle, with a "court and grand -entrance. The original design was never completed, but Alexander, second Earl of Kincardine, into whose custody ■ the estate subsequently passed, added a third storv in 1(37) ‘

Through Lady Mary Bruce, daughter of Lord Kincardine, and wife of Win. Cochrane of Ochiltree, the estate passed to her son. Thomas Cochrane, who became/ in 1738. Earl of Dimdonald. His son, Archibald.-, ninth Earl of Dundouald, and father of the famous Admiral Cochrane, the hero of Basque Roads, engaged in mining and coal gas operations here, which ended in financial disaster. Tlic mansion and grounds were then sold to Sir Robert Preston of ■ Vaile-yfield at the beginning of last century, and was later bequeathed to the Elgin family, whose property it now is. There appears to be no record of any fuHlier continuance of the regular occupation of the mansion from the year 1888, when it was last occupied by Major Johnston of the Madras Civil Service.

The main portion of the mansion is now derelict, but a portiffh of the west side of the originally intended quadrangle is occupied by a caretaker. Within recent years local societies on one or two occasions have been allowed, through the kindness of the present Karl of Elgin, to hold social gatherings for charitable purposes w’vfcni the mansion, where there is in a good state of preservation, an excellent floor tor dancing, but this practice has, for the last ten years or so, been discouraged, owing no doubt to the state of the old building. THE MANSION OF VALLEYFIELD. The mansion and estate of Valleyfield was acquired in 1543 by .James Preston, grandson of William Preston, of Craigmillar, being conveyed to him by Patrick Bruce, who obtained it through transfer from William and John Cob ville, commendator and abbot of the monastery of Gulross. The grandson of James Preston was' knighted by King Janies VI., and his son George was made a baronet in 1637 by King Charles 1.

The. title still exists, though no longer connected with the estate of Valleylield. The last occupant of that family was Sir Robert Preston, who, having in various ways attained great wealth, conceived the idea, in the latter part of the eighteenth century, to emulate Sir George Bruce, in the working of coal mines and the making of salt. With this purpose in view, he built on an expanse of green turf at the east end of an island reef known as CTaigmore Hocks, in the Firth of Fortli, a long range of buildings including engine houses, salt pans, and houses for minors and salters. Pits wore sunk, and for a period a vast industry was carried on, but latterly the enterprise was run at a great loss, and finally abandoned. Preston Island has since remained a deserted place, appearing from the shore to be like the old ruins of a cathedral or monastery. General Preston, who commanded Kdinburgh Castle during the Torty-five rebellion, was one of the Prestons of Valleyfield.

The Prestons, during their occupancy of Valieyfield. had gradually acquired a great part of the land in the parish of Culross, and also land in the parish of Saline. When the male line of the Prestons failed, tho co-heiresses of the family were Mrs Robert Clarke, of Comrie, and Mrs Mary Johnston, of Sands, daughters of .Robert Wellwood, of Pitliver, Dunfermline, whose mother was a Preston. However, Sir Robert Preston, the last male of the family, did not favour his female relatives, and consequently he left all the property lie could dispose of to the Elgin family. The mansion of Valieyfield, with the lands of Valieyfield proper, he could not dispose of, because they were settled under an entail, the terms of which carried the property in default of male heirs to the ol<Wt heirs female, and these were the Clarkes of Comrie. Th Clarke# on this ascendancy, took the name of Preston, but by and by they fell heirs also through female succession. to the estate of the Campbells carefully kept lawns, ihc grounds and of Ardchattan, in Argyllshire, and the name became Clarke Campbell Preston. The mansion, which stands north of High Valleyfiokl village, was last occupied about twenty-five years ago by

Sir George Younger and family, but since that time has been allow,ed. to, go derelict. The Fife Coal Company acquired the estate a few years ago, and the mansion, which was a large square building of three stories, with an imposing canopy supported by large pillars to the front, was dismantled, and now only the ruins arc to be seen. BLAIR CASTLE. The estate of Blair Castle was, at an early period, the property of the Hamiltons, the illegitimate - progeny of the notorious Archbishop Hamilton, of St. Andrews. lie appears in his younger days to have been Abbot of Culross, and it is- tolerably well authenticated that ho caused great scandal through carrying on an intrigue with a “ lady of quality ” who was living separate from her husband, and proprifetrix of Blair. Several children were born, one of whom, John Hamilton, succeeded to the estate, and another, a daughter, Margaret, married Robert Bruce, of Blairhall, elder brother of the famous industrialist. Sir George Bruce, of Culross.

It is alleged that the archbishop built at Blair the substantial mansion which’ the Dundascs (whose patrimony the estate later became) had the greatest difficulty in demolishing owing to the thickness of the walls. It stood a little in front of the present house. The present house, a three-story square building, of eighteenth century design, was occupied during the latter part of last century by Robert Miller, Esq., and since that time, until about five or six years ago, by a succession of different owners and lessees. It now serves as a convalescent home for the miners of Fife. Clackmannan, and Kinross, being dedicated to servo this useful purpose as a memorial to the late diaries Carlow, who was for many years the managing director of the Fife Coal Company. It may bo interesting to note that large portions of the Now Town of Edinburgh, the Drury Lane Theatre, London, and other distant structures were built from the excellent stone obtained from the now disused quarries on this old estate. Incidentally, it may be interesting to know that on this estate there is an oak tree, twenty-two feet round, 'said to be “ tlie giant oak tree of Scotland.” THE MANSION OF TORRIE.

The estate connected witli the mansion of Torrie, in days long ago, belonged to the Wardlaws, who appear to have been the very oldest laniily in the neighbourhood of Dunfermline. They are believed to have been of Anglo-Saxon origin, to have settled in Fife from Dumfriesshire, and to have been refugees from England, who dining the time of the Conquest, escaped to Scotland, where they received great kindness - and benefactions from Malcolm Canmore.

They rose to a position of great wealth and influence and seemed at one period to have owned nearly the whole of .West Fife, one of their principal seats being Torrie, and another the castle of Lochore. A, branch of this family was settled at Pitreavie. South of Dunfermline, at a later period, which gave its name to a baronetcy conferred on the family by King Charles L, but although the title is said to be still existent, the family do not retain any of their ancestral domains.

Cardinal Wardlaw. the founder of St. Andrews University, was a cadet of the Torrie family, and we are informed by the ‘ Cronica Scotice ’ that, in 1435 “ Henriens Wardclan do Torry : was -amongst the nobles who accompanied Margaret, daughter of King James 1., 10 France lor her wedding with the Dauphin Louis. In another lecord, ‘‘Sir Floury Wardlaw. Laird of 'Terry. Knight,” is mentioned as having boon witness to an, act of homage on July 2, TILL The'earliest

mention of Torrie, how ever, .would appear to be tho signature, Richard, 'personae eglise de Torry del Counte’ do Fyfe,” who along with John Ealiol and others subscribed to the Act of Submission to Edward I. at Berwick-on-Tweed in. August 1926. The Wardlaws continued Lairds of Torrie until about 1619, after which tlie estate passed into' the hands of the Bruces, Earls of Kincardine who disposed of it to Colonel William Erskihe—about the end of the seventeenth century—whose son, and grandson, succeeded him, the latter receiving a baronetcy under the tifle of Sir William Erskine. The three sons who successively, succeeded the baronet having died without issue, the estate passed to his grandson Admiral Wemyss, whose mother Was Sir William Erskinc’s oldest daughter, and tho Wemyss family have been the Lairds of Torrie ever since.

The present mansion of Torrie is a handsome though somewhat irregularly constnmted building in the' Italian style of mid-eighteenth century, and more than a hundred year ago, the grounds were beautifully laid out with walks, gardens, and ponds by Sir James Evskine, who was then proprietor. The, gardens are now let, and the ponds, by courtesy of the proprietor, are resorted to in season by local curlers.

About five years ago the mansion and surrounding estate were acquired by the Dunfermline Golf Club, who laid out and constructed a golf course, which-can now reasonably claim to be one of the finest golf courses in Scotland. The mansion, finely situated on an eminence overlooking the Firth of Forth, is one of the inost outwardly beautiful and inwardly comfortable clubhouses in this country. CRAIGFLOWER. The grounds adherent to the mansion of Craigflower, which were apparently at one time included in the estate of Crombie, formed part of the land attached to the Monastery of Cnlross, and were granted by charter in April 1660, to James Colville (son of Sir James Colville of Ochiltree.) This charter was confirmed by Queen Mary in 1565. The estate passed subsequently through descendants individually untraceable until 1662, when the first. Lord of Ochiltree died at Crombie. It is recorded that his lordship requested that he should be buried on the same day as his death occurred, the funeral to take place after dark, by torchlight io Crombie church, within the ruins of which a gravestone still murks his memory.

He was succeeded by his nephew Hebert who died in ]671. the peerage and estates going to the latter's son who died without issue in.]723, A sister married a Sir John Ayton. whose son succeeded to the Crombie and Craigflowcr estates as Robert Ayton Colville, and from him the property passed to a succession of descendants. The estates now appear to be separated, much of the Crombie land being occunied by by the Admiralty. The present mansion of Craigflower is a compact though somewhat irregu-larly-constructed Ipn'lding, beautiful and finely preserved, standing amidst woods adjoining forming a picturesque sylvan region. The mansion was some years ago acquired for use as a private school, a purpose for which, with its beautiful surroundings, it is admirably suited. COWRIE CASTLE. The mansion and estate of Comrie belonged to an ancient family, the name of whom was Clarke, who later, owing to female succession, became owners of the estate of Valleyfield, formerly occupied by the Preston family which originally came from Craigmillar, ’Midlothian, to settle in Fife in the year 1543. The Clarkes, on succeeding to Valleyfield took the name of Preston, or rather, Clarke Preston,

the last' representative to own Comfia apparently being: -Mr; W.. CMarkbyPreston.,

Towards the . beginning' of. .last century there was a curious episode in the history of Comrie Castle, the story of winch was conveyed to the writer by Lord Sands, the eminent Scottish lawyer and judge:—Andrew ClarKe, who was then proprietor of Comrie—a man ■of violent temper, and as tradition alleges, not of very estimable character—had quarrelled with his wife, and,. like Lord Grange (one’of tho Erskine family) of a century earlier,; he made her a captive, locking her up . iiv a room in his castle. The residents of the neighbouring hamlet of Shire’s Mill, however, heard of the lady’s plight, and a band of them organised and led by George Halley, the joiner at Shire’s Mill, broke'into the castle by night and rescued the lady. Perhaps the only parallel to this nocturnal invasion of u mansion in this district was when, in 1772,' Mr Harry .Moncrieff, Minister of Blackford, carried off Susan Robertson Barclay through » window of Keavil House (near Dunfermline)' to, become the ancestress of many famous lawyers and divines. 1

. The mansion of Comrio Castle, said to have been built in the early part of the seventeenth century, is a threestory building of considerable size, having a square tower with bartizan much the same as that of' the old Abbey Church of Culross, although considerably larger.

Various owners and lessees have occupied the mansion, which later came to be identified with the colliery operations which were being carried on in the district, and part of the mansion was considerably altered internally to accommodate some of the Blairhall colliery officials. About three years ago ,the main portion was converted to the use of a mission by the Church' of Scotland. to eater to the spiritual welfare of the villagers of Blairhall. A special feature of the old building was-the magnificent plaster work, contained therein, which was said tp‘ be the finest example of that sort of work in this part of the country. The mansion is 4 excellently preserved, and' the, adjoining gardens kept in beautiful condition. DUNIMARLE AND BANDRUMThe' Castle of Duuimarle was, within Jiving memory, a residential family mansion. It was, in former times, known under the appellation of Castle- c hill, the property of the ancient family of Blaw. which intermarried with the ancestors both of the Elgin and Rosebery families.

Nearly a century ago Dunimarle was acquired by Airs Sharpe Erskiue, grand aunt of the Earl of Rosslyn, and its revenues were bequeathed by her as an endowment of the Episcopal Church of St. Sorf’s-Next-Culross. which 1 she had erected on the beautiful slope below the mansion. The latter, with it* tower and castellated surroundings, she appointed to be the residence of the incumbent clergyman, who at present is the Very Rev. J. W. Harper. Dean of St. Andrews. ; Associated within the mansion is a museum containing a fine, collection of pictures and other curiosities, which, in accordance with certain terms of Mrs Erakine’s will,, is open to the publio during summer months, and is much appreciated by visitors to the locality. Another mansion which has ceased to be, a family residence is that of Bandrum, Saline, the last dccupant of which was the late Dr J,. Burnett Smith, husband of (he celebrated authoress, Annie S. Swan, The mansion was acquired sever?! years ago by the Carnegie Dunfermline Trust tor the purpose of establishing a convalescent home for the children of the noted benefactor’s native town.

[The writer acknowledges his indebtedness to the publishers of the works of the late Mr D. Beveridge]