Monreith House is a
category A listed
This is a list of Category A listed buildings in Scotland, which are among the listed buildings of the United Kingdom.
For a fuller list, see the pages linked on List of listed buildings in Scotland.
Key
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Georgian
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mansion located east of the village of
Port William in
Mochrum
Mochrum () is a coastal civil and Church of Scotland parish situated to the east of Luce Bay on the Machars peninsula and southwest of Wigtown and in the historical county of Wigtownshire in Galloway, Scotland. It covers and is approximately ...
parish in the historical county of Wigtownshire in
Dumfries and Galloway, Scotland.
The classical-style house was designed by Alexander Stevens in 1791, for
Sir William Maxwell, 4th Baronet.
[ The new house replaced the now-ruined Myrton Castle on the estate. The grounds of the house 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 ...
, the national listing of significant gardens, and are classed as "outstanding" in five out of six categories.
History
The Maxwell family first acquired Monreith in the 15th century, and built Myrton Castle on the estate. William Maxwell of Monreith was created a baronet of Nova Scotia
This is a list of baronetcies in the Baronetage of Nova Scotia. These were first created in 1624, and were replaced by the Baronetage of Great Britain in 1707.
This page lists baronetcies, whether extant, extinct, dormant (D), unproven (U), ...
in 1681. Magdalene Blair, wife of the third baronet, made tapestries of the gardens in the mid 17th century, which remain in the house.[ Sir William Maxwell, 4th Baronet, inherited the estate in 1771 and commissioned the present Monreith House from Alexander Stevens (1739–1796) in 1791.][ Sir William also laid out the grounds of the house as they largely remain today.][ In 1821, the porch was added to designs 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 ...
.[
Sir Herbert Maxwell (1845–1937) succeeded as 7th Baronet in 1877. He sat as Member of Parliament for ]Wigtownshire
Wigtownshire or the County of Wigtown (, ) is one of the historic counties of Scotland, covering an area in the south-west of the country. Until 1975, Wigtownshire was an administrative county used for local government. Since 1975 the area has f ...
from 1880 to 1906, and was admitted to the Privy Council in 1897. He also served as Lord Lieutenant of Wigtown until 1935. In 1911, he published a book on Scottish gardens, and developed a substantial plant collection at Monreith.[ Following his death and the ]Second World War
World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposi ...
, the house was rented and the gardens declined. His grandson was Gavin Maxwell
Gavin Maxwell FRSL FZS FRGS (15 July 19147 September 1969) was a British naturalist and author, best known for his non-fiction writing and his work with otters. He wrote the book ''Ring of Bright Water'' (1960) about how he brought an otter ...
author of ''Ring of Bright Water'', who was born at The House of Elrig on the estate. Gavin's older brother, Sir Aymer Maxwell, the 8th Baronet, owned the house and estate at this point, although was forced to sell the Maxwells' farming interests to a consortium of local businessmen in the 1950s, only retaining ownership of the house and its grounds.
Sir Aymer's nephew, the 9th Baronet Sir Michael; inherited the estate in 1987 following his uncle's death and carried out restoration work to the house, including the creation of holiday accommodation.[ In March 2011, Monreith House was the subject of a ]Channel 4
Channel 4 is a British free-to-air public broadcast television network operated by the state-owned Channel Four Television Corporation. It began its transmission on 2 November 1982 and was established to provide a fourth television service ...
television documentary presented by hotelier Ruth Watson
Ruth (or its variants) may refer to:
Places
France
* Château de Ruthie, castle in the commune of Aussurucq in the Pyrénées-Atlantiques département of France
Switzerland
* Ruth, a hamlet in Cologny
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as part of her ''Country House Rescue
''Country House Rescue'' is an observational documentary series which airs on British terrestrial television channel, Channel 4. The series has also aired on BBC Canada, ABC1 in Australia and Living in New Zealand and in South Africa.
In each e ...
'' series.
Monreith Cross
The Monreith Cross is a 10th-century free-standing carved stone cross. The cross stands high, and the circular head is across. The cross originally stood on a hill known as the Mowr or Moure, but was moved several times. In 1974 it was removed from the Monreith estate for conservation, and is now on display in the Whithorn
Whithorn ( ʍɪthorn 'HWIT-horn'; ''Taigh Mhàrtainn'' in Gaelic), is a royal burgh in the historic county of Wigtownshire in Dumfries and Galloway, Scotland, about south of Wigtown. The town was the location of the first recorded Christia ...
Museum.
References
{{reflist
Category A listed buildings in Dumfries and Galloway
Country houses in Dumfries and Galloway
Inventory of Gardens and Designed Landscapes