Abbotsford.
Formerly the home of Sir Walter Scott.
Date: 1880.
Source: Morris’s “Country Seats”.
This File: 7 February 2006.
User: Merchbow~commonswiki
(Wikimedia Commons)
Sir Walter Scott.
Artist: Sir Thomas Lawrence.
Date: 1820-1826.
Collection: Royal Collection.
Source: Royal Collection.
This File: 10 July 2020.
User: BotMultichill.
(Wikimedia Commons)
Date: 4 August 2008.
Source: Own work.
Text from Wikipedia - the free encyclopædia,
unless stated otherwise.
Abbotsford is a historic Country House in the Scottish Borders, near Galashiels, on the South Bank of the River Tweed.
Now open to the public, it was built as the residence of historical novelist and poet Sir Walter Scott between 1817 and 1825.[1]
It is a Category A Listed Building[2] and the estate is listed in the Inventory of Gardens and Designed Landscapes in Scotland.[3]
The nucleus of the estate was a farm of 100 acres, called Cartleyhole, nicknamed Clarty (i.e., Muddy) Hole, and was bought by Scott on the lapse of his lease (1811) of the neighbouring house of Ashestiel.[4]
Scott renamed Cartleyhole “Abbotsford”, after a neighbouring Ford used by the Monks of Melrose Abbey.[5]
“If thou wouldst view fair Melrose aright,
Go visit it by the pale moonlight”
(Sir Walter Scott).
Painting: J. M. W. Turner’s “Melrose Abbey”.
Date: 1822.
Current location: The Clark Art Institute.
Source/Photographer:
(Wikimedia Commons)
Date: 12 January 1822.
Source:
Lyon Register, vol. 2, folio 194 (reference)
This File: 19 April 2023.
User: Ravenpuff
(Wikimedia Commons)
In this mansion Scott gathered a large library, a collection of ancient furniture, arms and armour, and other relics and curiosities especially connected with Scottish history, notably the Celtic Torrs Pony-cap and Horns and the Woodwrae Stone, all now in the Museum of Scotland.[6][7]
Scott described the resulting building as “a sort of romance in Architecture”[8] and “a kind of Conundrum Castle to be sure”.[9]
The last and principal acquisition was that of Toftfield (afterwards named Huntlyburn), purchased in 1817. The new house was then begun and completed in 1824.[4]
The last and principal acquisition was that of Toftfield (afterwards named Huntlyburn), purchased in 1817. The new house was then begun and completed in 1824.[4]
The Study, Abbotsford House.
Photo: 6 March 2018.
Source: Own work.
This File is made available under the
Author: Michael D Beckwith.
(Wikimedia Commons)
With his architects William Atkinson and Edward Blore, Sir Walter Scott was a pioneer of the Scottish Baronial Style of architecture: The house is recognised as a highly-influential creation, with themes from Abbotsford being reflected across many buildings in the Scottish Borders and beyond.[10]
The manor as a whole appears as a “Castle-in-miniature”, with small towers and imitation battlements decorating the house and garden walls.[11]
The manor as a whole appears as a “Castle-in-miniature”, with small towers and imitation battlements decorating the house and garden walls.[11]
Into various parts of the fabric were built relics and curiosities from historical structures, such as the doorway of the old Tolbooth in Edinburgh.[4]
Date: 14 April 2012.
Source: WALTER SCOTT IMAGE COLLECTION
This File is licensed under the
3.0 Unported Licence.
This File: 8 June 2023.
User: Violetyule1234
Author:
University of Edinburgh Heritage Collections.
(Wikimedia Commons)
Scott collected many of these curiosities to be built into the walls of the South Garden, which previously hosted a colonnade of Gothic Arches along the garden walls.
Along the path of the former colonnade sits the remains of Edinburgh’s 15th-Century Mercat Cross and several examples of classical sculpture.[12]
The estate and its Neo-Mediæval features nod towards Scott’s desire for a historical feel, but the writer ensured that the house would provide all the comforts of modern living.
The estate and its Neo-Mediæval features nod towards Scott’s desire for a historical feel, but the writer ensured that the house would provide all the comforts of modern living.
As a result, Scott used the space as a proving-ground for new technologies. The house was outfitted with early gas lighting and pneumatic bells connecting residents with servants elsewhere in the house.[13]
Scott had only enjoyed his residence for one year when, in 1825, he met with that reverse of fortune which involved the estate being in debt.
Scott had only enjoyed his residence for one year when, in 1825, he met with that reverse of fortune which involved the estate being in debt.
The Walled Garden, Abbotsford.
Photo: 16 September 2007.
Source: PANORAMIO
This File is licensed under the
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Author: ingawh
(Wikimedia Commons)
In 1830, the library and museum were presented to him as a free gift by the creditors. The property was wholly disencumbered in 1847 by Robert Cadell, the publisher, who cancelled the bond upon it in exchange for the family’s share in the copyright of Sir Walter’s works.[4]
Scott’s only son, Walter, did not live to enjoy the property, having died on his way back from India in 1847.
Scott’s only son, Walter, did not live to enjoy the property, having died on his way back from India in 1847.
Among subsequent possessors were Scott’s grand-son, Walter Scott Lockhart (later Walter Lockhart Scott, 1826–1853), his younger sister Charlotte Harriet Jane Hope-Scott (née Lockhart) 1828–1858, J. R. Hope Scott, QC, and his daughter (Scott’s great-grand-daughter), the Hon. Mrs Maxwell Scott.[4]
The house was opened to the public in 1833, but continued to be occupied by Scott’s descendants until 2004.
The house was opened to the public in 1833, but continued to be occupied by Scott’s descendants until 2004.
The last of his direct descendants to hold the Lairdship of Abbotsford was his great-great-great-grand-daughter Dame Jean Maxwell-Scott (8 June 1923 – 5 May 2004).
Date: 5.8.2005.
Source: Own work.
This File is licensed under the
Share Alike 2.0 Germany Licence.
This File: 17 February 2006.
User: Fingalo
Author: Christian Bickel.
(Wikimedia Commons)
She inherited it from her elder sister Patricia Maxwell-Scott in 1998. The sisters turned the house into one of Scotland’s premier tourist attractions, after they had to rely on paying visitors to afford the upkeep of the house. It had electricity installed only in 1962.
Dame Jean was at one time a Lady-in-Waiting to Princess Alice, Duchess of Gloucester, Patron of the Dandie Dinmont Club, a breed of dog named after one of Sir Walter Scott’s characters; and a horse trainer, one of whose horses, Sir Wattie, ridden by Ian Stark, won two Silver Medals at the 1988 Summer Olympics.[14]
On Dame Jean’s death, the Abbotsford Trust was established to safeguard the estate.[5]
Dame Jean was at one time a Lady-in-Waiting to Princess Alice, Duchess of Gloucester, Patron of the Dandie Dinmont Club, a breed of dog named after one of Sir Walter Scott’s characters; and a horse trainer, one of whose horses, Sir Wattie, ridden by Ian Stark, won two Silver Medals at the 1988 Summer Olympics.[14]
On Dame Jean’s death, the Abbotsford Trust was established to safeguard the estate.[5]
In 2005, Scottish Borders Council considered an application by a property developer to build a housing estate on the opposite bank of the River Tweed from Abbotsford, to which Historic Scotland and the National Trust for Scotland objected.[15][16]
There have been modifications to the proposed development, but it is still being opposed in 2020.[17]
Signature of Sir Walter Scott.
Date: 1900 (facsimile from book).
Source:
This File: 4 June 2019.
User: Einstein95
Author:
Publisher: Houghton Mifflin, Boston, 1900.
(Wikimedia Commons)
Sir Walter Scott rescued the “jougs” from Threave Castle in Dumfries and Galloway and attached them to the castellated gateway he built at Abbotsford.[18]
Tweedbank Railway Station is located near to Abbotsford.
Abbotsford gave its name to the Abbotsford Club, Founded by William Barclay Turnbull in 1833 or 1834 in Scott’s honour, and a successor to the Bannatyne and Maitland Clubs.
It was a text publication society, which existed to print and publish historical works connected with Scott’s writings. Its publications extended from 1835 to 1864.[4]
In August 2012, a new Visitor Centre opened at Abbotsford, which houses a small exhibition, gift shop, and Ochiltree’s café, with views over the house and grounds. The house re-opened to the public after extensive renovations in July 2013.
In 2014 it won the European Union Prize for Cultural Heritage / Europa Nostra Award for its then recent conservation project.[19][20]
THIS CONCLUDES THE ARTICLE ON ABBOTSFORD COUNTRY HOUSE.
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