Penicuik House (alternative spellings in use until mid 19th century: ''Penycuik'', ''Pennycuik'') survives as the shell of a formerly grand

estate house An estate is a large parcel of land under single ownership, which would historically generate income for its owner. British context In the UK, historically an estate comprises the houses, outbuildings, supporting farmland, and woods that s ...

Penicuik Penicuik ( ; sco, Penicuik; gd, Peighinn na Cuthaig) is a town and former Police burgh, burgh in Midlothian, Scotland, lying on the west bank of the River Esk, Lothian, River North Esk. It lies on the A701 road, A701 midway between Edinburgh a ...

, Midlothian, Scotland. The 18th-century

palladian Palladian architecture is a European architectural style derived from the work of the Venetian architect Andrea Palladio (1508–1580). What is today recognised as Palladian architecture evolved from his concepts of symmetry, perspective and ...

mansion (at ) was built on the site of an earlier house by

Sir James Clerk, 3rd Baronet There has been one creation of a baronetcy with the surname Clerk () (as distinct from Clark, Clarke and Clerke). It was created in the Baronetage of Nova Scotia by Letters Patent dated 24 March 1679, for John Clerk of Pennycuik (or Penicuik; ...

. It was destroyed by fire in 1899 and a major restoration, stabilising the ruin, was completed in 2014 by G Brown Stonemasons. Old Penicuik House and New Penicuik House (the former stables block in which the Clerk family were living even before the fire) are both designated 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 ...

s by

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 ...

History

The merchant John Clerk returned to Scotland from France in 1646 and purchased the estate and barony of Penicuik, the "Penicuik Policies", including the older Newbiggin House, which he extended and improved. The estate became the residence and title of his descendants. From 1700 to 1730, the laird Sir John Clerk of Penicuik planted 300,000 on the estate.Scottish Garden Buildings by Tim Buxbaum p.11 The current Penicuik House was built in 1761 by Sir James Clerk, the 4th Laird of Penicuik and 3rd Baronet. Clerk had travelled widely, especially in Italy, and had studied Italian architecture. Now a roofless shell, it is constructed of ashlar, it has a central

hexastyle A portico is a porch leading to the entrance of a building, or extended as a colonnade, with a roof structure over a walkway, supported by columns or enclosed by walls. This idea was widely used in ancient Greece and has influenced many cult ...

portico with two-way stair, piano nobile, basement and

Palladian Palladian architecture is a European architectural style derived from the work of the Venetian architect Andrea Palladio (1508–1580). What is today recognised as Palladian architecture evolved from his concepts of symmetry, perspective and ...

windows. The interior was gutted by fire in 1899, but formerly had many fine rooms. The house was a great meeting point for figures of the Scottish Enlightenment, who came to view its collection of paintings, including a noted ceiling painting of Ossian's Hall, by

Alexander Runciman Alexander Runciman (15 August 1736 – 4 October 1785) was a Scottish people, Scottish painter of historical and mythological subjects. He was the elder brother of John Runciman, also a painter. Life He was born in Edinburgh, and studied at ...

Replica of Arthur's O'on

The deliberate destruction of Arthur's O'on so appalled Sir James Clerk, that in 1760 he decided to have a dovecote built, as an exact replica of the temple, on his stable block at Penicuik House.

References

External links

Official website
{{coord, 55.8197, -3.2508, type:landmark_region:GB, display=title Houses completed in 1761 Category A listed buildings in Midlothian Listed houses in Scotland 1761 establishments in Scotland Palladian architecture in the United Kingdom 1899 disasters in the United Kingdom Building and structure fires in Scotland Ruins in Midlothian Scottish Enlightenment Inventory of Gardens and Designed Landscapes Ruined houses Listed ruins in Scotland 18th-century architecture in the United Kingdom

History

Replica of Arthur's O'on

See also

References

External links