Brucefield is an 18th-century country house in

Clackmannanshire Clackmannanshire (; sco, Clackmannanshire; gd, Siorrachd Chlach Mhannainn) is a historic county, council area, registration county and Lieutenancy area in Scotland, bordering the council areas of Stirling, Fife, and Perth & Kinross and the ...

Scotland Scotland (, ) is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. Covering the northern third of the island of Great Britain, mainland Scotland has a Anglo-Scottish border, border with England to the southeast ...

. It is located east of

Clackmannan Clackmannan ( ; gd, Clach Mhanainn, perhaps meaning "Stone of Manau"), is a small town and civil parish set in the Central Lowlands of Scotland. Situated within the Forth Valley, Clackmannan is south-east of Alloa and south of Tillicoultry. ...

. The house was largely built in 1724 by Alexander Bruce, younger of

Kennet Kennet may refer to: Places in the United Kingdom *Kennet, Clackmannanshire, Scotland People *Baron Kennet, a title in the Peerage of the United Kingdom * D. Mark Kennet (born 1957), American economist *Josh Kennet (born 1987), English-Israel ...

. It was restored in the early 20th century, and is now protected as a Category A

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 ...

History

Alexander Bruce (d.1747) was a soldier who fought in

Flanders Flanders (, ; Dutch: ''Vlaanderen'' ) is the Flemish-speaking northern portion of Belgium and one of the communities, regions and language areas of Belgium. However, there are several overlapping definitions, including ones related to cultu ...

during the

War of the Spanish Succession The War of the Spanish Succession was a European great power conflict that took place from 1701 to 1714. The death of childless Charles II of Spain in November 1700 led to a struggle for control of the Spanish Empire between his heirs, Phil ...

, and also fought on the government side during the

Jacobite rising of 1715 The Jacobite rising of 1715 ( gd, Bliadhna Sheumais ; or 'the Fifteen') was the attempt by James Edward Stuart (the Old Pretender) to regain the thrones of England, Ireland and Scotland for the exiled Stuarts. At Braemar, Aberdeenshire ...

. Bruce married Mary Balfour, daughter of Robert Balfour, 4th

Lord Balfour of Burleigh Lord Balfour of Burleigh, in the County of Kinross, is a title in the Peerage of Scotland. It was created in 1607 for Sir Michael Balfour. He was succeeded by his daughter, Margaret, his only child. She married Robert Arnot, who assumed the su ...

, in 1714. Ten years later he built or substantially remodelled the house of Brucefield. The location of the house was described by the diarist

John Ramsay of Ochtertyre John Ramsay of Ochtertyre FRSE FSAScot (1736–1814) was a Scottish writer and antiquarian. A renowned letter-writer even in his own lifetime, most of his extensive correspondence has since been lost. His home in Stirlingshire is near Blair Drumm ...

as being "upon the top of a moor without a tree". The house passed to Alexander's son Robert (1718–1785), who became a

Lord of Session The senators of the College of Justice are judges of the College of Justice, a set of legal institutions involved in the administration of justice in Scotland. There are three types of senator: Lords of Session (judges of the Court of Session); ...

under the title Lord Kennet. Around 1758 he sold Brucefield House to George Abercromby of

Tullibody Tullibody ( gd, Tulach Bòide), is a town set in the Central Lowlands of Scotland. It lies north of the River Forth near to the foot of the Ochil Hills within the Forth Valley. The town is south-west of Alva, north-west of Alloa and east-n ...

, whose daughter he had married in 1754. George Abercromby's son,

Sir Ralph Abercromby Lieutenant General Sir Ralph Abercromby (7 October 173428 March 1801) was a British soldier and politician. He rose to the rank of lieutenant-general in the British Army, was appointed Governor of Trinidad, served as Commander-in-Chief, Ir ...

(1734–1801), was a prominent soldier in the

Napoleonic Wars The Napoleonic Wars (1803–1815) were a series of major global conflicts pitting the French Empire and its allies, led by Napoleon I, against a fluctuating array of European states formed into various coalitions. It produced a period of Fren ...

. During the 1930s the house was restored for the Bruce family by the architect James Shearer. It is now the home of the current Lady Balfour of Burleigh, a descendant of the 4th Lord Balfour of Burleigh through the Bruces of Kennet.

Architectural history

Brucefield House comprises a three-storey central block, with a three-storey northern pavilion, and a two-storey pavilion to the south. Different interpretations of the development of the house have been published. Adam Swan states that the 18th-century house was a rebuilding of the 15th-century hunting lodge of Hartshaw, belonging to the Stewarts of Rosyth, and that the stone spiral stair in the north pavilion is a surviving part of this. According to this interpretation, Alexander Bruce remodelled the existing building in a contemporary style, and added the south pavilion. However, the ''Stirling and Central Scotland'' volume of the Buildings of Scotland series suggests that the central block was newly built in 1724, and attributes the south pavilion to c.1760, and the north pavilion to the early 19th century. The original entrance was on the east front, where a window now takes the place of the main door. A 19th-century porch now forms the entrance from the west. Above the porch is a panel carved with the

arms Arms or ARMS may refer to: *Arm or arms, the upper limbs of the body Arm, Arms, or ARMS may also refer to: People * Ida A. T. Arms (1856–1931), American missionary-educator, temperance leader Coat of arms or weapons *Armaments or weapons **Fi ...

of Alexander Bruce and Mary Balfour. This panel was moved to the Bruce's other property, Kennet House (now demolished) in 1760, but was returned during the 1930s restorations. The interiors were mostly remodelled at the same time, though several 18th-century chimney pieces survive. An 18th-century

walled garden A walled garden is a garden enclosed by high walls, especially when this is done for horticultural rather than security purposes, although originally all gardens may have been enclosed for protection from animal or human intruders. In temperate ...

is located to the south of the house. To the north is Brucefield Mains, the former stables, which dates from the early 18th century and was restored as a dwelling in 2009. The main feature of the stables is the central tower containing a

doocot A dovecote or dovecot , doocot ( Scots) or columbarium is a structure intended to house pigeons or doves. Dovecotes may be free-standing structures in a variety of shapes, or built into the end of a house or barn. They generally contain pige ...

(pigeon house).

References

{{coord, 56, 06, 24, N, 3, 40, 45, W, region:GB, display=title Listed houses in Scotland Category A listed buildings in Clackmannanshire Houses completed in 1724 Country houses in Clackmannanshire 1724 establishments in Scotland Clan Balfour