Broomhall House is the

family seat A family seat or sometimes just called seat is the principal residence of the landed gentry and aristocracy. The residence usually denotes the social, economic, political, or historic connection of the family within a given area. Some families to ...

of the

Earls of Elgin Earl of Elgin is a title in the Peerage of Scotland, created in 1633 for Thomas Bruce, 3rd Lord Kinloss. He was later created Baron Bruce, of Whorlton in the County of York, in the Peerage of England on 30 July 1641. The Earl of Elgin is the h ...

, south-west of

Dunfermline Dunfermline (; sco, Dunfaurlin, gd, Dùn Phàrlain) is a city, parish and former Royal Burgh, in Fife, Scotland, on high ground from the northern shore of the Firth of Forth. The city currently has an estimated population of 58,508. Accord ...

, sitting above the village of

Limekilns Limekilns is a village in Fife, Scotland. It lies on the shore of the Firth of Forth, around south of Dunfermline. History and economy Unlike the neighbouring village of Charlestown, Limekilns is an old settlement dating back to the 14th cen ...

and near the village of Charlestown, in

Fife Fife (, ; gd, Fìobha, ; sco, Fife) is a council area, historic county, registration county and lieutenancy area of Scotland. It is situated between the Firth of Tay and the Firth of Forth, with inland boundaries with Perth and Kinross (i ...

, Scotland. The building was designated as a Category A listed building in 1971.

The house

The house has a complex building history. First built in 1702 to designs by

Sir William Bruce Sir William Bruce of Kinross, 1st Baronet (c. 1630 – 1 January 1710), was a Scottish gentleman-architect, "the effective founder of classical architecture in Scotland," as Howard Colvin observes.Colvin, p.172–176 As a key figure in introduc ...

, it was remodelled in 1766 by John Adam, brother of

Robert Adam Robert Adam (3 July 17283 March 1792) was a British neoclassical architect, interior designer and furniture designer. He was the son of William Adam (1689–1748), Scotland's foremost architect of the time, and trained under him. With his o ...

, although there is debate about the extent of these alterations. In 1796, a further more extensive redesign was undertaken by Thomas Harrison (1744–1829), the

Yorkshire Yorkshire ( ; abbreviated Yorks), formally known as the County of York, is a Historic counties of England, historic county in northern England and by far the largest in the United Kingdom. Because of its large area in comparison with other Eng ...

-born architect noted for working in the Grecian manner. This essentially extended and re-faced the façades, creating a rectangular block 11 bays by 3 wide bays, although there are differing opinions on quite what was achieved by Harrison's designs. Part of the Harrison design, a semi-circular bay on the south front is decorated with three Coade Stone panels depicting reclining figures. Harrison was an important architect in north west England, being based in Lancaster then

Chester Chester is a cathedral city and the county town of Cheshire, England. It is located on the River Dee, close to the English–Welsh border. With a population of 79,645 in 2011,"2011 Census results: People and Population Profile: Chester Loca ...

. His life is described in Champness's ''Thomas Harrison''. He was perhaps underrated nationally, as his work was almost entirely confined to the North and Scotland. Much of his work was in public commissions, but he designed and altered several country houses. Broomhall was his third country house commission in Scotland, after work at

Gosford Gosford is the city and administrative centre of the Central Coast Council local government area in the heart of the Central Coast region, about north of Sydney and about south of Newcastle. The city centre is situated at the northern extre ...

then the design and build of Kennet House (demolished 1967). Colvin describes Broomhall as Harrison's most notable country house. The house at this point was intended to display the

Elgin Marbles The Elgin Marbles (), also known as the Parthenon Marbles ( el, Γλυπτά του Παρθενώνα, lit. "sculptures of the Parthenon"), are a collection of Classical Greek marble sculptures made under the supervision of the architect and s ...

from the

Parthenon The Parthenon (; grc, Παρθενών, , ; ell, Παρθενώνας, , ) is a former temple on the Athenian Acropolis, Greece, that was dedicated to the goddess Athena during the fifth century BC. Its decorative sculptures are considere ...

, a portion of these having been removed by the 7th Lord Elgin from 1801 on, mostly shipped in 1804 but some not finally reaching Britain until 1812. However, the building was not completed to Harrison's designs and there followed a long period where numerous architects submitted designs to finish the house. The 7th Earl, over some 30 years, commissioned 14 architects to produce plans, especially for the completion of the north front entrance porch. For example, a massive columned portico designed by

Sir Robert Smirke Sir Robert Smirke (1 October 1780 – 18 April 1867) was an English architect, one of the leaders of Greek Revival architecture, though he also used other architectural styles. As architect to the Board of Works, he designed several major ...

was made 1808 to 1810 but never installed and became the entrance to the

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 ...

Sheriff Court in 1819. The north front was finally completed with the addition of a three bay porch in 1865–66 to a design by

Charles Heath Wilson Charles Heath Wilson (1809–1882) was an Anglo-Scottish art teacher and author. Life The eldest son of Andrew Wilson, the landscape-painter, he was born in London in September 1809. He studied art under his father, and in 1826 accompanied him to ...

, the low east and west wings in their present form not until 1874. As well, various internal alterations were made throughout the 19th century. The 7th Earl died in 1842 and while the house was not completed to his grand designs, it is nevertheless a substantial and important building, '' Country Life'' describing it as “A stupendous country house". It is a Scottish Category A listed building. It has a fine if restrained interior in the

Greek Revival The Greek Revival was an architectural movement which began in the middle of the 18th century but which particularly flourished in the late 18th and early 19th centuries, predominantly in northern Europe and the United States and Canada, but ...

style, with major collections of furniture and paintings, many collected by the 7th Earl, including some fragments of the Elgin Marbles and plaster casts of others.

References

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Elgin 1702 establishments in Scotland Houses completed in 1702 Houses in Fife * Buildings and structures in Dunfermline Category A listed buildings in Fife Thomas Bruce, 7th Earl of Elgin

The house

See also

References

External links