Maryculter House is a historic house in the village of

Maryculter Maryculter () or Kirkton of Maryculter is a village in the Lower Deeside area of Aberdeenshire, Scotland. The River Dee separates it from the town of Peterculter, and the B979 road runs through Maryculter. Maryculter House Hotel lies slightly ...

, or Kirkton of Maryculter, in the

Lower Deeside Lower Deeside is a region along the River Dee in Aberdeenshire and Aberdeen in Scotland. The boundaries of this area are subject to interpretation, since the usage has altered through historic times; however, the area is generally associated wit ...

area of

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 Scotland (, ) is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Covering the northern third of the island of Great Britain, mainland Scotland has a border with England to the southeast and is otherwise surrounded by the Atlantic Ocean to the ...

History

Lying along both banks of the River Dee, the Lands of Culter originally included the parishes of

Peterculter Peterculter ( sco, Petercouter), also known as Culter (Scots: ''Couter''), is a suburb of Aberdeen, Scotland, about inland from Aberdeen city centre. Peterculter is on the northern banks of the River Dee, near the confluences with Crynoch ...

and Maryculter. These were in the jurisdiction of the monks of Kelso. However, about the year 1187,

William the Lion William the Lion, sometimes styled William I and also known by the nickname Garbh, "the Rough"''Uilleam Garbh''; e.g. Annals of Ulster, s.a. 1214.6; Annals of Loch Cé, s.a. 1213.10. ( 1142 – 4 December 1214), reigned as King of Scots from 11 ...

granted the portion of the Culter lands on the south bank of the river to the

Knights Templar , colors = White mantle with a red cross , colors_label = Attire , march = , mascot = Two knights riding a single horse , equipment ...

. Between 1221 and 1236

Walter Byset, Lord of Aboyne Walter Byset, Lord of Aboyne (died 1251) was a Scoto-Norman nobleman. Biography Born in Scotland. Walter married in 1233, Ada de Galloway, daughter of Lochlann of Galloway. She was the sister of Alan of Galloway. Walter fled to Ireland and th ...

, founded the

Preceptory A preceptor (from Latin, "''praecepto''") is a teacher responsible for upholding a ''precept'', meaning a certain law or tradition. Buddhist monastic orders Senior Buddhist monks can become the preceptors for newly ordained monks. In the Buddhi ...

or College of the Knights Templar on the site of Maryculter House Hotel. The barrel-vaulted basement of the house is said to have formed part of the

Preceptor A preceptor (from Latin, "''praecepto''") is a teacher responsible for upholding a ''precept'', meaning a certain law or tradition. Buddhist monastic orders Senior Buddhist monks can become the preceptors for newly ordained monks. In the Buddhi ...

's Lodging. The Templars also built a chapel. This became the parish church in 1535, was abandoned in 1782 and is now a fragmentary ruin, the only architectural feature surviving being the

piscina A piscina is a shallow basin placed near the altar of a church, or else in the vestry or sacristy, used for washing the communion vessels. The sacrarium is the drain itself. Anglicans usually refer to the basin, calling it a piscina. For Roman ...

built into the south wall. The chapel and surrounding graveyard are a

Scheduled monument In the United Kingdom, a scheduled monument is a nationally important archaeological site or historic building, given protection against unauthorised change. The various pieces of legislation that legally protect heritage assets from damage and d ...

. The chapel was replaced as the parish church by

Maryculter Trinity Church Maryculter () or Kirkton of Maryculter is a village in the Lower Deeside area of Aberdeenshire, Scotland. The River Dee separates it from the town of Peterculter, and the B979 road runs through Maryculter. Maryculter House Hotel lies slightl ...

. The Templars were suppressed around 1309 but their lands and the parish church remained in the hands of the

Knights Hospitaller The Order of Knights of the Hospital of Saint John of Jerusalem ( la, Ordo Fratrum Hospitalis Sancti Ioannis Hierosolymitani), commonly known as the Knights Hospitaller (), was a medieval and early modern Catholic Church, Catholic Military ord ...

until 1563/64. From 1535 to 1811 Maryculter House was first rented and then owned by the Menzies family of Pitfodels,

Aberdeen Aberdeen (; sco, Aiberdeen ; gd, Obar Dheathain ; la, Aberdonia) is a city in North East Scotland, and is the third most populous city in the country. Aberdeen is one of Scotland's 32 local government council areas (as Aberdeen City), and ...

, though another source says it was owned by the

Lindsay family Lindsay may refer to: People *Clan Lindsay, a Scottish family clan *Lindsay (name), an English surname and given name, derived from the Scottish clan name; variants include Lindsey, Lyndsay, Linsay, Linsey, Lyndsey, Lyndsy, Lynsay, Lynsey Places ...

until 1726. In 1811, Maryculter was bought by General William Gordon of

Fyvie Fyvie is a village in the Formartine area of Aberdeenshire, Scotland. Geography Fyvie lies alongside the River Ythan and is on the A947 road. Architecture What in 1990, at least, was a Clydesdale Bank was built in 1866 by James Matthews. The ...

, and the Gordon family owned the estate until the death of Sir Cosmo Duff-Gordon in 1931 led to the sale of the property in 1935. The estate was broken up and the home-park was bought by the City of Aberdeen Boy Scouts' Association to create

Templars' Park Scout Campsite Scouting in Scotland is largely represented by Scouts Scotland, a registered Scottish Charity No. SC017511 that is affiliated to the Scout Association of the United Kingdom. The Baden-Powell Scouts' Association also has a presence in Scotland. Ther ...

. Alterations to the house took place in 1936. The building is now a hotel, previously the Deeside Hotel and now Maryculter House Hotel. It is a

Historic Environment Scotland Historic Environment Scotland (HES) ( gd, Àrainneachd Eachdraidheil Alba) is an executive non-departmental public body responsible for investigating, caring for and promoting Scotland's historic environment. HES was formed in 2015 from the mer ...

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 ...

References

External links

Maryculter House Hotel website

Blog post about the house and graveyard

Maryculter House Sweet Chestnut

Details of film, Maryculter Calling, 1934

Video footage of St Mary's Chapel

Bibliography

* Nicol, Norman D (1999) ''Maryculter in the Eighteenth Century: Lairds, Kirk and People in a Lower Deeside Parish'' {{coord, 57.0897, -2.2590, type:landmark_region:GB, display=title Category B listed buildings in Aberdeenshire Houses in Aberdeenshire Knights Hospitaller