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Leith Hall is a
The house contains fine china, family portraits and tapestries and some interesting clocks. The hall is noted for its gardens, set in stages with each sheltered by a wall or hedge and each with its own special character. The gardens contain flowering trees and shrubs, roses, fruit, vegetables and ornamental grasses. A little stream winds its way through the gravel paths and stone crevices and at the top of the garden, near the 18th century curved stables, is the circular "Moon Gate" leading to the old turnpike road, once the main thoroughfare to Aberdeen. There are also two nature trails, each about one and a half to two miles (3 km) long. The gardens also contain two ponds and a birdwatching site.
Leith Hall Garden & Estate
National Trust for Scotland
Leith Hay family site
{{Authority control Country houses in Aberdeenshire Houses completed in 1650 National Trust for Scotland properties Category A listed buildings in Aberdeenshire Gardens in Aberdeenshire Inventory of Gardens and Designed Landscapes 1650 establishments in Scotland
Leith Hall is a country house
An English country house is a large house or mansion in the English countryside. Such houses were often owned by individuals who also owned a town house. This allowed them to spend time in the country and in the city—hence, for these peopl ...
in Kennethmont
Kennethmont (archaically Kinnethmont) is a village in the Marr area of Aberdeenshire, Scotland, approximately south of Huntly.
It has a population of approximately 470 people. Kennethmont children attend Kennethmont Primary School and the Gor ...
, Aberdeenshire
Aberdeenshire ( sco, Aiberdeenshire; gd, Siorrachd Obar Dheathain) is one of the 32 Subdivisions of Scotland#council areas of Scotland, council areas of Scotland.
It takes its name from the County of Aberdeen which has substantially differe ...
, Scotland. It was built in 1650, on the site of the medieval Peill Castle, and was the home of the Leith-Hay family for nearly three centuries. Since 1945 it has been run by the National Trust of Scotland
The National Trust for Scotland for Places of Historic Interest or Natural Beauty, commonly known as the National Trust for Scotland ( gd, Urras Nàiseanta na h-Alba), is a Scottish conservation organisation. It is the largest membership organ ...
(NTS). Leith Hall is set in a estate with scenic gardens.
History
The north wing of the house was constructed in 1650, on the site of the earlier Peill Castle, by James Leith of New Leslie (see Castle Croft). The east wing was added in 1756, and the south wing was built in 1797 by GeneralAlexander Leith Hay
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General Alexander Leith-Hay 'formerly'' Alexander Leith(1758 – 16 May 1838), was a British Army officer.
Life
Hay was born in Aberdeen on 21 December 1758, the second son of John Leith (1731–1763) of Leith Hall, Aberdeenshire and his ...
. The west wing, containing the entrance front, was added in 1868 to complete the courtyard.
In 1745, Andrew Hay of Rannes hid at Leith Hall after the Battle of Culloden
The Battle of Culloden (; gd, Blàr Chùil Lodair) was the final confrontation of the Jacobite rising of 1745. On 16 April 1746, the Jacobite army of Charles Edward Stuart was decisively defeated by a British government force under Prince Wi ...
where he fought for Bonnie Prince Charlie
Bonnie, is a Scottish given name and is sometimes used as a descriptive reference, as in the Scottish folk song, My Bonnie Lies over the Ocean. It comes from the Scots language word "bonnie" (pretty, attractive), or the French bonne (good). That ...
, later escaping to France.
During the First World War
World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...
it became a temporary Red Cross hospital and housed over 500 patients. In 1945 the house and grounds were presented to the NTS.
The writer Elizabeth Byrd
Elizabeth Byrd (December 8, 1912 – May 11, 1989) was an American author. Her main body of work is historical fiction, and her most successful novel is ''Immortal Queen,'' a historical romance about Mary, Queen of Scots. Nine of her thirteen nov ...
rented 14 rooms with her second husband, Barrie Gaunt in the 1960s. In ''The Ghosts in My Life'' and ''A Strange and Seeing Time,'' Byrd describes the paranormal occurrences she and her husband experienced while living here.
The gardens and grounds are open to the public all year round. After several years' closure the Hall was re-opened by the NTS in 2013.
Leith Hall was featured on the paranormal investigation show "Most Haunted" during their third series. The episode aired on Tuesday 28 October 2003 on Living TV.
Description
The house contains fine china, family portraits and tapestries and some interesting clocks. The hall is noted for its gardens, set in stages with each sheltered by a wall or hedge and each with its own special character. The gardens contain flowering trees and shrubs, roses, fruit, vegetables and ornamental grasses. A little stream winds its way through the gravel paths and stone crevices and at the top of the garden, near the 18th century curved stables, is the circular "Moon Gate" leading to the old turnpike road, once the main thoroughfare to Aberdeen. There are also two nature trails, each about one and a half to two miles (3 km) long. The gardens also contain two ponds and a birdwatching site.
See also
*James Leith (British Army officer)
Lieutenant-General Sir James Leith (8 August 1763 – 16 October 1816) was a Scottish soldier who served in the British Army, commanding the 5th Division in the Duke of Wellington's Anglo-Portuguese Army at several critical battles during the Pe ...
(1763–1816)
*Andrew Leith Hay
Sir Andrew Leith Hay of Rannes (17 February 1785 – 13 October 1862) was a Scottish soldier, Whig politician and writer on architecture.
Biography
Andrew Leith Hay was the eldest son of General Alexander Leith Hay of Rannes and Mary Forbes of ...
(1785–1862)
References
External links
*Leith Hall Garden & Estate
National Trust for Scotland
Leith Hay family site
{{Authority control Country houses in Aberdeenshire Houses completed in 1650 National Trust for Scotland properties Category A listed buildings in Aberdeenshire Gardens in Aberdeenshire Inventory of Gardens and Designed Landscapes 1650 establishments in Scotland