Battleby is a country house in

Perth and Kinross Perth and Kinross ( sco, Pairth an Kinross; gd, Peairt agus Ceann Rois) is one of the 32 council areas of Scotland and a Lieutenancy Area. It borders onto the Aberdeenshire, Angus, Argyll and Bute, Clackmannanshire, Dundee, Fife, Highland and S ...

, Scotland. It is in the parish of

Redgorton Redgorton is a settlement in Gowrie, Perth and Kinross, Scotland. It lies a few miles from the River Tay and the A9 road, across the latter from Luncarty. It lies close to the Inveralmond Industrial Estate. Etymology The first recorded spe ...

, west of

Luncarty Luncarty (; pronounced ''Lung''-cur-tay) ) is a village in Perth and Kinross, Scotland, approximately north of Perth. It lies between the A9 to the west, and the River Tay to the east. Etymology The name ''Luncarty'', recorded in 1250 as ''Lum ...

and north of

Perth Perth is the capital and largest city of the Australian state of Western Australia. It is the fourth most populous city in Australia and Oceania, with a population of 2.1 million (80% of the state) living in Greater Perth in 2020. Perth is ...

. The 19th-century house is occupied by

Scottish Natural Heritage NatureScot ( gd, NàdarAlba), which was formerly known as Scottish Natural Heritage, is an executive non-departmental public body of the Scottish Government responsible for the country's natural heritage, especially its natural, genetic and ...

, and is protected as a

category B listed building In the United Kingdom, a listed building or listed structure is one that has been placed on one of the four statutory lists maintained by Historic England in England, Historic Environment Scotland in Scotland, in Wales, and the Northern Irel ...

. The grounds are listed on the

Inventory of Gardens and Designed Landscapes in Scotland The ''Inventory of Gardens and Designed Landscapes in Scotland'' is a listing of gardens and designed landscapes of national artistic and/or historical significance, in Scotland. The Inventory was originally compiled in 1987, although it is a conti ...

, the national listing of significant gardens, for their important plant collection.

History

The estate is named after the Battle of Luncarty, recorded by

Hector Boece Hector Boece (; also spelled Boyce or Boise; 1465–1536), known in Latin as Hector Boecius or Boethius, was a Scottish philosopher and historian, and the first Principal of King's College in Aberdeen, a predecessor of the University of Abe ...

as a battle between Scots and Danes in 990, although a later historian has doubted whether such a battle occurred. The Battleby estate was acquired in the 19th century by the Maxtone-Graham family. The house was built around 1862, to designs by the Perth-based architect David Smart. The design of the house shows the influence of

Alexander Thomson Alexander "Greek" Thomson (9 April 1817 – 22 March 1875) was an eminent Scottish architect and architectural theorist who was a pioneer in sustainable building. Although his work was published in the architectural press of his day, it was ...

. The Grahams also laid out the grounds of the house, and planted many of the trees which still remain. Later in the 19th century the house was leased, and served as a hospital during the First World War. Battleby was bought in 1947 by Sir Alexander Cross, who built up an important plant collection in the grounds. In 1970 the house was purchased by the

Countryside Commission for Scotland The Countryside Commission for Scotland was a statutory body in Scotland that was established by the Countryside (Scotland) Act 1967. Its role was to provide, develop and improve facilities for the enjoyment of the Scottish countryside, and to cons ...

, a public body with responsibility for

natural heritage Natural heritage refers to the sum total of the elements of biodiversity, including flora and fauna, ecosystems and geological structures. It forms part of our natural resources. Definition Heritage is that which is ''inherited'' from past gener ...

, and was converted for use as their national headquarters, with a visitor centre designed by

Morris and Steedman Morris and Steedman was an architecture firm based in Edinburgh, Scotland. The firm was founded by James Shepherd Morris (1931–2006) and Robert Russell Steedman (born 1929) in the 1950s. The pair are best known for their private houses in the mo ...

. In 1992, the Countryside Commission for Scotland was replaced with a new body, Scottish Natural Heritage (SNH). SNH later moved their main headquarters to Inverness, and Battleby now serves as a local office within the Tayside and Grampian Area Management Unit.

References

{{Authority control Category B listed buildings in Perth and Kinross Inventory of Gardens and Designed Landscapes Listed houses in Scotland Country houses in Perth and Kinross NatureScot