Moy House is an 18th-century country house near Forres in

Moray Moray () gd, Moireibh or ') is one of the 32 local government council areas of Scotland. It lies in the north-east of the country, with a coastline on the Moray Firth, and borders the council areas of Aberdeenshire and Highland. Between 1975 ...

, Scotland. Built on the site of an older house by Collen Williamson and John Adam in the mid eighteenth century for Sir Ludovic Grant of Grant, it was the first building designed by a member of the Adam family to be built in Moray. It was designated a Category A listed building in 1971, and has been listed on the

Buildings at Risk Register for Scotland The Buildings at Risk Register for Scotland records buildings of national architectural or historic interest which are considered to be under threat. The list is maintained by Historic Environment Scotland (HES). The register was established in 1 ...

since 1990; ravaged by fire in 1995, it is now a ruin.

Description

Moy House is a ruined

mansion A mansion is a large dwelling house. The word itself derives through Old French from the Latin word ''mansio'' "dwelling", an abstract noun derived from the verb ''manere'' "to dwell". The English word '' manse'' originally defined a property l ...

, built in the classical style. Its three-storey central block, which is now roofless, has two main facades, one facing east and the other west, with its principal entrance in the east front. Three-storey wings project to the east at either end of the main block, forming a U-shaped courtyard, and two-storey wings projecting beyond these to the north and south. The building is not inhabited, and has remained in a ruinous state since a fire in 1995. Its dilapidation has been described by Walker and Woodworth as "one of the greatest architectural losses in Moray".

East elevation

The house's principal entrance is in the east facade. Prior to the bridging of the Findhorn, visitors would have approached the house from the east, following the road from the Findhorn Ferry; the bridge's construction around 1799 allowed carriages to approach the house from the west. The symmetrical frontage, described by Walker and Woodworth as "almost uncompromisingly severe", has five

bays A bay is a recessed, coastal body of water that directly connects to a larger main body of water, such as an ocean, a lake, or another bay. A large bay is usually called a gulf, sea, sound, or bight. A cove is a small, circular bay with a narr ...

, and a round-headed central door surmounted by a

cornice In architecture, a cornice (from the Italian ''cornice'' meaning "ledge") is generally any horizontal decorative moulding that crowns a building or furniture element—for example, the cornice over a door or window, around the top edge of a ...

d doorpiece and flanked by narrow ionic columns. Above the door is an enlarged window, which may have been designed to accommodate a balcony, but this is no longer present.

West elevation

Also of three storeys and five bays, the west front has a recessed entrance, flanked by two

Roman Doric The Doric order was one of the three orders of ancient Greek and later Roman architecture; the other two canonical orders were the Ionic and the Corinthian. The Doric is most easily recognized by the simple circular capitals at the top of colu ...

columns, which in the past supported a porch roof. Above this is a Venetian window, with Ionic columns and decorated

architrave In classical architecture, an architrave (; from it, architrave "chief beam", also called an epistyle; from Greek ἐπίστυλον ''epistylon'' "door frame") is the lintel or beam that rests on the capitals of columns. The term can ...

Interior

Much of the interior has been ruined by the 1995 fire. A cantilevered stairway survives in the hall, with a moulded ceiling above. An ornately moulded

ceiling rose In the United Kingdom and Australia, a ceiling rose is a decorative element affixed to the ceiling from which a chandelier or light fitting is often suspended. They are typically round in shape and display a variety of ornamental designs. In mod ...

is still present in the former drawing room, as is an elaborate fire surround with brass reliefs of a king and prince of Wales, assumed to be George III and his son, the future George IV.

History

The land that Moy House stands on was purchased by John Campbell, of the Campbells of Cawdor, from the

Bishop of Moray The Bishop of Moray or Bishop of Elgin was the ecclesiastical head of the Diocese of Moray in northern Scotland, one of Scotland's 13 medieval bishoprics. If the foundation charter of the monastery at Scone is reliable, then the Bishopric of Moray ...

in 1579. It remained in the Campbell's possession until 1733, when the seventeenth-century 'auld house' that had been built on the site was acquired by Major George Grant. The wings projecting to the east added to the house in the 1750s by Collen Williamson, and in 1862 Grant's nephew, Sir Ludovic Grant of Grant, had the original part of the house demolished, at a cost of £5, and a new central block built. Williamson was the overseer and mason on the project, which was built between 1762-3 to a design by John Adam, after a design by his brother Robert Adam had been rejected. It was the first building designed by a member of the Adam family to be built in Moray. In 1870, while the house was still owned by the Grant family, Alexander Ross added the two-storey wings to the north and south. The house remained in the possession of the Grants until 1922, since when it has had various owners. Moy House was designated a Category A listed building in 1971. In 1988, concerns were reported in the local press about the condition of the building, which was at that date occupied in part by its owners, with some of the house rented to tenants. In 1990 it was listed on the

, and the local authority issued a repair notice, but the owners asserted that they were unable to afford cost of repairs, which were estimated at £80,000 - £160,000. A plan was put forward to build new properties within the house's grounds, which would raise funds to allow the repair of the house, but these were refused. In 1991, compulsory purchase proceedings were initiated, but these were appealed, and eventually rescinded, in 1992. A new plan for twelve houses to be built on the grounds was submitted later that year, which was accepted, and the building was completed in 1994, and in 1995 a fire broke out in Moy House that reduced it to a ruinous state. External supports were erected to stabilise the fabric of the building, and it was boarded up. Its owners indicated in 1997 that they hope to restore the house and convert it into flats, but building has remained abandoned and boarded up since the fire. The

rates its condition as ruinous, and its level of risk as severe.

References

{{Reflist

External links

Canmore listing, with gallery
Category A listed buildings in Moray Country houses in Moray 1763 establishments in Scotland