Walter Schomberg Hepburn Scott (1910–1998) was a Scottish architect specialising in building restoration. From 1950 until 1975, he did multiple projects for 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 ...
.
Life
![Culzean Castle house and gardens 01](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/9/99/Culzean_Castle_house_and_gardens_01.JPG)
He was born on 14 September 1910 at
Monteviot House
Monteviot House is the early 18th century home of the Marquess of Lothian, the politician better known as Michael Ancram. It is located on the River Teviot near Jedburgh in the Scottish Borders area of Scotland.
History
The house which sits ...
in the Scottish Borders near the estate of
Floors Castle
Floors Castle, in Roxburghshire, south-east Scotland, is the seat of the Duke of Roxburghe. Despite its name it is an estate house rather than a fortress. It was built in the 1720s by the architect William Adam for Duke John, possibly incorporat ...
, where his father, James Corpatrick Hepburn Scott, was Chamberlain to the 8th and 9th
Duke of Roxburghe
The Duke of Roxburghe () is a title in the peerage of Scotland created in 1707 along with the titles ''Marquess of Bowmont and Cessford'', ''Earl of Kelso'' and ''Viscount Broxmouth''. John Ker, 5th Earl of Roxburghe became the first holder ...
. His father was second son of
Lord Polwarth
Lord Polwarth, of Polwarth in the County of Berwick, is a title in the Peerage of Scotland. It was created in 1690 for Sir Patrick Hume of Polwarth, 2nd Baronet, Lord Chancellor of Scotland from 1696 to 1702 (the baronetcy had been created in t ...
and his mother Isobel Alice Adelaide Kerr was the daughter of the 7th
Marquess of Lothian
Marquess of Lothian is a title in the Peerage of Scotland, which was created in 1701 for Robert Kerr, 4th Earl of Lothian. The Marquess of Lothian holds the subsidiary titles of Earl of Lothian (created 1606), Earl of Lothian (created again 1 ...
. Whilst not titled in his own right Schomberg Scott was steeped both in aristocratic life and the country houses of Scotland from birth.
[Dictionary of Scottish Architects: Schomberg Scott]
He was privately educated at
Radley College
Radley College, formally St Peter's College, Radley, is a public school (independent boarding school for boys) near Radley, Oxfordshire, England, which was founded in 1847. The school covers including playing fields, a golf course, a lake, and ...
then returned to Scotland to study architecture at
Edinburgh College of Art
Edinburgh College of Art (ECA) is one of eleven schools in the College of Arts, Humanities and Social Sciences at the University of Edinburgh. Tracing its history back to 1760, it provides higher education in art and design, architecture, histor ...
. In 1934/5, he then went to work under Edinburgh architect
Reginald Fairlie
Reginald Francis Joseph Fairlie LLD (7 March 1883 – 27 October 1952) was a Scottish architect. He served as a commissioner of RCAHMS and on the Ancient Monuments Board for Scotland.
Life
see
Born at Kincaple, Fife, he was the son of J. Ogi ...
at 7 Ainslie Place. In 1935/6, he did an extensive tour of Europe to study architecture. On return he obtained a position in
London
London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...
working for the architect Darcy Braddell.
In 1937, he returned to Edinburgh to work for
Orphoot, Whiting and Lindsay, but living some distance away at Broomlands House in Kelso. After a short period back in London working with
Edward Maufe
Sir Edward Brantwood Maufe, Royal Academy, RA, FRIBA (12 December 1882 – 12 December 1974) was an English architect and designer. He built private homes as well as commercial and institutional buildings, and is remembered chiefly for his ...
.
During 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 opposin ...
he served as a Captain in the
Royal Engineers
The Corps of Royal Engineers, usually called the Royal Engineers (RE), and commonly known as the ''Sappers'', is a corps of the British Army. It provides military engineering and other technical support to the British Armed Forces and is heade ...
in India, there designing a chapel in
Simla
Shimla (; ; also known as Simla, the official name until 1972) is the capital and the largest city of the northern Indian state of Himachal Pradesh. In 1864, Shimla was declared as the summer capital of British India. After independence, the ...
. After the war he became associated with the
National Trust for 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 ...
, his first major project being at
Culzean Castle
Culzean Castle ( , see yogh; sco, Cullain) is a castle overlooking the Firth of Clyde, near Maybole, Carrick, in South Ayrshire, on the west coast of Scotland. It is the former home of the Marquess of Ailsa, the chief of Clan Kennedy, but is ...
.
The Trust had been formed in 1931 but had been relatively stagnant during 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 opposin ...
due to lack of finance.
Around 1950, he set up his own office in Edinburgh's West End and in 1952 became a partner in the firm of Ian Lindsay & Partners. However his interests in the National Trust were too dominant and he left around 1954. In the same year he purchased
Northfield House, East Lothian
Northfield House is a seventeenth-century historic house at Preston, East Lothian, Scotland, UK. It is situated very close to Hamilton House and Preston Tower, and one mile east to Prestongrange House and the Royal Musselburgh Golf Club. It i ...
(near
Prestonpans
Prestonpans ( gd, Baile an t-Sagairt, Scots: ''The Pans'') is a small mining town, situated approximately eight miles east of Edinburgh, Scotland, in the Council area of East Lothian. The population as of is. It is near the site of the 1745 ...
) through contacts at the National Trust and restored it as is own home.
He retired in 1975 after his restoration of
Robert Adam
Robert Adam (3 July 17283 March 1792) was a British neoclassical architect, interior designer and furniture designer. He was the son of William Adam (1689–1748), Scotland's foremost architect of the time, and trained under him. With his o ...
's
Georgian House for the National Trust on
Charlotte Square
300px, Robert Adam's palace-fronted north side
Charlotte Square is a garden square in Edinburgh, Scotland, part of the New Town, designated a UNESCO World Heritage Site. The square is located at the west end of George Street and was intended ...
in Edinburgh.
Scott died in the Victoria Manor Nursing Home in Edinburgh on 11 February 1998.
[Obituary in The Independent (newspaper), 27 March 1998]
Restoration projects
![Menstrie Castle, Clackmannanshire](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/9/9e/Menstrie_Castle%2C_Clackmannanshire.JPG)
*
Mellerstain House
Mellerstain House is a stately home around north of Kelso in the Borders, Scotland. It is currently the home of the 14th Earl of Haddington, and is a historical monument of Scotland.
History
The older house or castle at Mellerstain included ...
*
Abbotsford House
Abbotsford is a historic country house in the Scottish Borders, near Galashiels, on the south bank of the River Tweed. Now open to the public, it was built as the residence of historical novelist and poet Sir Walter Scott between 1817 and 1825 ...
*
Drumlanrig Castle
Drumlanrig Castle is situated on the Queensberry Estate in Dumfries and Galloway, Scotland. The category A listed castle is the Dumfriesshire home of the Duke and Duchess of Buccleuch and Queensberry. It is open to the public at set times.
Con ...
*
Monzie Castle
Monzie Castle is a castellated mansion, near Monzie in Perth and Kinross, Scotland that incorporates an L-plan, early 17th-century building that was enlarged in 1797–1800. It is a category A listed building.
The current house dates from 190 ...
*
Winton House Winton may refer to:
Places Australia
*Winton, Queensland, a town
*Shire of Winton, Queensland
*Winton, Victoria, a town
*Winton Motor Raceway in Winton, Victoria
New Zealand
*Winton, New Zealand, a town in Southland
United Kingdom
*Winton, an ar ...
*
Hamilton House, East Lothian (c.1938)
*
Lennoxlove House
Lennoxlove House is a historic house set in woodlands half a mile south of Haddington in East Lothian, Scotland. The house comprises a 15th-century tower, originally known as Lethington Castle, and has been extended several times, principally in ...
*
Stobo Castle
Stobo Castle is located at Stobo in the Scottish Borders, in the former county of Peeblesshire. The Manor of Stobo was originally owned by the Balfour family. It became the family seat of the Graham-Montgomery Baronets from 1767. The buildin ...
*
Cleish Castle
Cleish Castle is a 16th-century tower house in Kinross-shire, Scotland. It is sited south-west of Kinross and west of the hamlet of Cleish. It was built by the Colville family, who owned it until 1775. It was restored and remodelled in the mid ...
*
Pilmuir House
*
Balmuto
*
Culzean Castle
Culzean Castle ( , see yogh; sco, Cullain) is a castle overlooking the Firth of Clyde, near Maybole, Carrick, in South Ayrshire, on the west coast of Scotland. It is the former home of the Marquess of Ailsa, the chief of Clan Kennedy, but is ...
for NTS (1946-1950)
*
Northfield House, East Lothian
Northfield House is a seventeenth-century historic house at Preston, East Lothian, Scotland, UK. It is situated very close to Hamilton House and Preston Tower, and one mile east to Prestongrange House and the Royal Musselburgh Golf Club. It i ...
(1954)
*
Airlie Castle
Airlie Castle is a mansion house in the parish of Airlie, Angus, near the junction of the Isla and Melgund rivers, 9 kilometres west of Kirriemuir, Angus, Scotland. A castle was built on the site in c. 1432 and was burnt out in 1640, with a mansi ...
(1956)
*
Falkland Palace
Falkland Palace, in Falkland, Fife, Scotland, is a royal palace of the Scottish Kings. It was one of the favourite places of Mary, Queen of Scots, providing an escape from political and religious turmoil. Today it is under the stewardship of ...
(1956) for NTS
*
Elshieshields Tower (1957) - extension
*
Gordon Castle
Gordon Castle is located near Fochabers in Moray, Scotland. Historically known as the Bog-of-Gight or Bog o'Gight, it was the principal seat of the dukes of Gordon. Following 18th-century redevelopment, it became one of the largest country hous ...
(1960)
*
Menstrie Castle
Menstrie Castle is a three-storey manor house in the town of Menstrie, Clackmannanshire, near Stirling, central Scotland. From the early 17th century, it was home to Sir William Alexander, 1st Earl of Stirling, who was instrumental in founding th ...
(1961) restoration and conversion to flats
*
Insch
Insch ( gd, An Innis or Innis Mo Bheathain) is a village in the Garioch, Aberdeenshire, Scotland. It is located approximately from the city of Aberdeen.
Etymology
The name of the village may have come from the Scottish Gaelic ''innis'', me ...
Parish Church (1963)
*
Inverewe Garden
Inverewe Garden is a botanical garden in the Scottish Highlands. It is located just to the north of Poolewe in Wester Ross, and is noted for the breadth of its collection.
The garden was created from barren land in 1862 by Osgood Mackenzie on t ...
visitor centre (1963)
*
Falkland Palace
Falkland Palace, in Falkland, Fife, Scotland, is a royal palace of the Scottish Kings. It was one of the favourite places of Mary, Queen of Scots, providing an escape from political and religious turmoil. Today it is under the stewardship of ...
visitor centre (1963)
*
Crathes Castle
Crathes Castle (pronounced ) is a 16th-century castle near Banchory in the Aberdeenshire region of Scotland. It is in the historic county of Kincardineshire. This harled castle was built by the Burnetts of Leys and was held in that family for a ...
new wing after fire and visitor centre (1967)
*
House of Pitmuies
A house is a single-unit residential building. It may range in complexity from a rudimentary hut to a complex structure of wood, masonry, concrete or other material, outfitted with plumbing, electrical, and heating, ventilation, and air condit ...
(1968) including conservatory
*Pan Ha's housing,
Kirkcaldy
Kirkcaldy ( ; sco, Kirkcaldy; gd, Cair Chaladain) is a town and former royal burgh in Fife, on the east coast of Scotland. It is about north of Edinburgh and south-southwest of Dundee. The town had a recorded population of 49,460 in 2011, ...
(1968)
*
Haddington House (1969) rebuilding as a collegiate centre
*
Pitmedden
Pitmedden is a rural village in the parish of Udny, Aberdeenshire, Scotland, situated midway between Ellon and Oldmeldrum, and approximately distant from Aberdeen. In addition to local shops, primary school, church, village hall and parks, the ...
House in
Udny, Aberdeenshire (1972)
*
Dalkeith Palace
Dalkeith Palace is a country house in Dalkeith, Midlothian, Scotland. It was the seat of the Dukes of Buccleuch from 1642 until 1914, and is owned by the Buccleuch Living Heritage Trust. The present palace was built 1701–1711 on the site of the ...
(1973)
*
The Georgian House
The Georgian House is a British children's historical fantasy television series produced by HTV in Bristol and first screened on ITV in 1976. The series consisted of seven episodes.
Plot
The story concerned two students, Dan and Abbie, who ...
, 7
Charlotte Square
300px, Robert Adam's palace-fronted north side
Charlotte Square is a garden square in Edinburgh, Scotland, part of the New Town, designated a UNESCO World Heritage Site. The square is located at the west end of George Street and was intended ...
(1975)
New build projects
*Chapel in
Simla
Shimla (; ; also known as Simla, the official name until 1972) is the capital and the largest city of the northern Indian state of Himachal Pradesh. In 1864, Shimla was declared as the summer capital of British India. After independence, the ...
(1944)
*
Dupplin House (1970–76)
*
Monteviot House
Monteviot House is the early 18th century home of the Marquess of Lothian, the politician better known as Michael Ancram. It is located on the River Teviot near Jedburgh in the Scottish Borders area of Scotland.
History
The house which sits ...
(1961–63)
*Membland,
Haddington (1966)
*Gannochy Lodge,
Edzell
Edzell (; sco, Aigle; gd, Eigill) is a village in Angus, Scotland. It is 5 miles (8 km) north of Brechin, by the River North Esk. Edzell is a Georgian-era planned town, with a broad main street and a grid system of side streets. Origina ...
(1973)
*St Matthews Church,
Barrow-in-Furness
Barrow-in-Furness is a port town in Cumbria, England. Historically in Lancashire, it was incorporated as a municipal borough in 1867 and merged with Dalton-in-Furness Urban District in 1974 to form the Borough of Barrow-in-Furness. In 2023 the ...
(1967)
Publications
*
Culzean Castle
Culzean Castle ( , see yogh; sco, Cullain) is a castle overlooking the Firth of Clyde, near Maybole, Carrick, in South Ayrshire, on the west coast of Scotland. It is the former home of the Marquess of Ailsa, the chief of Clan Kennedy, but is ...
(1975)
[https://www.amazon.co.uk/Culzean-Castle-Schomberg-Scott/dp/090162537X]
*Let's Look at Scottish Castles and Houses
*
Crathes Castle
Crathes Castle (pronounced ) is a 16th-century castle near Banchory in the Aberdeenshire region of Scotland. It is in the historic county of Kincardineshire. This harled castle was built by the Burnetts of Leys and was held in that family for a ...
*Leith Hall in the Heritage of Scotland
Family
In February 1945 he married Deborah Howard a descendent of the Howards of
Castle Howard
Castle Howard is a stately home in North Yorkshire, England, within the civil parish of Henderskelfe, located north of York. It is a private residence and has been the home of the Carlisle branch of the Howard family for more than 300 years. ...
. He had proposed by telegram from Suez during the war.
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Scott, Walter Schomberg Hepburn
1910 births
1998 deaths
Scottish architects