Hopetoun House is a country house near

South Queensferry Queensferry, also called South Queensferry or simply "The Ferry", is a town to the west of Edinburgh, Scotland. Traditionally a royal burgh of West Lothian, it is administered by the City of Edinburgh council area. It lies ten miles to the no ...

owned by the Hopetoun House Preservation Trust, a charity established in 1974 to preserve the house and grounds as a national monument, to protect and improve their amenities, and to preserve the furniture, paintings, manuscripts, and other articles of historical interest associated with the house. The south wing of the house is occupied by the family of

Adrian Hope, 4th Marquess of Linlithgow Adrian John Charles Hope, 4th Marquess of Linlithgow (born 1 July 1946), styled Viscount Aithrie until 1952 and Earl of Hopetoun between 1952 and 1987, is a British noble. His family seat is Hopetoun House, near Edinburgh, Scotland. He was educa ...

. The house is 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 ...

and the grounds are included in 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 cont ...

History

Architecture

The house was built 1699–1701 and designed 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 ...

with Bruce's master mason

Tobias Bauchop Tobias Bauchop or Baccup (c.1665 – 1710) was a 17th-century Scottish master mason responsible for several architctural masterpieces, mainly working as contractor to the eminent architect William Bruce (architect), Sir William Bruce. Life He was ...

in charge of the construction and working drawings (aided by his apprentice

Alexander Edward Alexander Edward (10 June 1651 – 16 November 1708) was a priest of the Scottish Episcopal Church who later became a draughtsman, architect and landscape designer. He was a stylistic follower of Sir William Bruce, and planned several gardens i ...

). The house was then hugely extended from 1721 by William Adam until his death in 1748, being one of his most notable projects. The interior was completed by his sons John Adam and

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 ...

. The magnificent entrance hall dates from 1752. The Hope family acquired the land in the 17th century and operated

lead mines Lead is a chemical element with the symbol Pb (from the Latin ) and atomic number 82. It is a heavy metal that is denser than most common materials. Lead is soft and malleable, and also has a relatively low melting point. When freshly cut, le ...

. Charles Hope, the first occupant, was only 16 years old when his mother, Lady Margaret Hope, signed the contract for building with William Bruce, on 28 September 1698. The master mason is noted as Tobias Bachope of

Alloa Alloa (Received Pronunciation ; educated Scottish pronunciation /ˈaloʊa/; gd, Alamhagh, possibly meaning "rock plain") is a town in Clackmannanshire in the Central Lowlands of Scotland. It is on the north bank of the Forth at the spot wher ...

. The plumber and glazier was John Forster of Berwick. The house was the site of the departure of the

visit of King George IV to Scotland The visit of George IV to Scotland in 1822 was the first visit of a reigning monarch to Scotland in nearly two centuries, the last being by King Charles II for his Scottish coronation in 1651. Government ministers had pressed the King to bring ...

on 29 August 1822 and the knighthood of Captain Adam Ferguson and

Henry Raeburn Sir Henry Raeburn (; 4 March 1756 – 8 July 1823) was a Scottish portrait painter. He served as Portrait Painter to King George IV in Scotland. Biography Raeburn was born the son of a manufacturer in Stockbridge, on the Water of Leith: a fo ...

Garden park

The English garden style landscape park in which it lies were laid out in 1725, also by William Adam. The east front centres on the distant isle of

Inchgarvie Inchgarvie or Inch Garvie is a small, uninhabited island in the Firth of Forth. On the rocks around the island sit four caissons that make up the foundations of the Forth Bridge. Inchgarvie's fortifications pre-date the modern period. In the day ...

and

North Berwick Law North Berwick Law, sometimes abbreviated to Berwick Law, is a conical hill which rises conspicuously from the surrounding landscape (this is the definition of the Lowland Scots word "law"). It overlooks the East Lothian town of North Berwick, ...

. The walled garden dates from the late 18th century. In the grounds an 18th-century mound was excavated in 1963 to reveal the remains of the earlier manor house, Abercorn Castle, dating from the 15th century.

Preservation

In 1974,

Charles William Frederick Hope, 3rd Marquess of Linlithgow Charles William Frederick Hope, 3rd Marquess of Linlithgow MC (7 April 1912 – 7 April 1987) was a British peer and businessman. Early years The son of Victor Hope, 2nd Marquess of Linlithgow. He was the elder twin brother of John Hope, 1st Ba ...

created The Hopetoun House Preservation Trust to ensure Hopetoun House and the estate were preserved for future generations.

Access

During the summer months, parts of the castle and gardens are open to visitors. Classical musical recitals are occasionally put on at Hopetoun House. Chilean pianist Alfredo Perl once performed recitals of Chopin at the house. The site can also be let for weddings, conferences, and filming.

In popular culture

First seen as the Duke of Sandringham's home, Hopetoun House has been used in seasons 1, 2 and 3 of Outlander, to recreate scenes in Scotland, England and Paris. In 2020, some scenes for the

ITV ITV or iTV may refer to: ITV *Independent Television (ITV), a British television network, consisting of: ** ITV (TV network), a free-to-air national commercial television network covering the United Kingdom, the Isle of Man, and the Channel Islan ...

drama series ''

Belgravia Belgravia () is a Districts of London, district in Central London, covering parts of the areas of both the City of Westminster and the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea. Belgravia was known as the 'Five Fields' Tudor Period, during the ...

'' were filmed at the castle. In the 2020 film The Princess Switch: Switched Again, Hopetoun House was used for the exterior of the fictional Montenaro Royal Palace.The Princess Switch: Switched Again Filming Locations
18 November 2021

References

External links

Hopetoun House

{{Authority control Scottish gardens in the English Landscape Garden style Inventory of Gardens and Designed Landscapes Listed houses in Scotland William Adam buildings William Bruce buildings