Charleton House is located in the

East Neuk of Fife The East Neuk () or East Neuk of Fife is an area of the coast of Fife, Scotland. "Neuk" is the Scots word for nook or corner, and the East Neuk is generally accepted to comprise the fishing villages of the most northerly part of the Firth of ...

, eastern Scotland. It lies around west of

Colinsburgh Colinsburgh is a village in east Fife, Scotland, in the parish of Kilconquhar. History The village is named after Colin Lindsay, 3rd Earl of Balcarres (1652–1722), who gave the land on which it was built. It was here that the first meeting of ...

, and east of

Lower Largo Lower Largo or Seatown of Largo is a village in Fife, Scotland, situated on Largo Bay along the north side of the Firth of Forth. It is east of, and contiguous with, Lundin Links. Largo is an ancient fishing village in the parish of Largo ...

. The house dates from the mid 18th century, with later additions, and is the home of Baron Bonde. Charleton House is protected as a 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 ...

, and the grounds are included on 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 conti ...

, the national listing of significant gardens.

History

Charleton House was built by John Thomson in 1759, on land bought by his father from Colonel John Hope in 1713. The house may have been built from designs by William Adam, and was designed as part of a large formal garden with radial avenues, and a southward vista to the

Bass Rock The Bass Rock, or simply the Bass (), ( gd, Creag nam Bathais or gd, Am Bas) is an island in the outer part of the Firth of Forth in the east of Scotland. Approximately offshore, and north-east of North Berwick, it is a steep-sided volcan ...

. Colonel

John Anstruther-Thomson Colonel John Anstruther-Thomson of Charleton (15 April 1776 – 10 April 1833) was a Scottish nobleman and Colonel of the Royal Fifeshire Yeomanry Cavalry. Family Anstruther-Thomson was the son of Colonel John Anstruther and Grizel Maria Thomson ...

(1776–1833) inherited the estate in 1797, and in 1807 he married Clementina Adam of Blair Adam. Anstruther-Thomson commissioned classical extensions to the house in 1815–1817, and a further east wing, designed by

William Burn William Burn (20 December 1789 – 15 February 1870) was a Scottish architect. He received major commissions from the age of 20 until his death at 81. He built in many styles and was a pioneer of the Scottish Baronial Revival,often referred t ...

in 1832. The surrounding parkland was informalised around this time, with woodland clumps and trees replacing the avenues. Anstruther-Thomson's son, also

John John is a common English name and surname: * John (given name) * John (surname) John may also refer to: New Testament Works * Gospel of John, a title often shortened to John * First Epistle of John, often shortened to 1 John * Second ...

, commissioned further additions from Burn after 1833. Charleton House gate and drive - geograph

In 1904, the estate passed to Colonel Charles Anstruther-Thomson (1855–1925). He had alterations to the house made by

Robert Lorimer Sir Robert Stodart Lorimer, KBE (4 November 1864 – 13 September 1929) was a prolific Scottish architect and furniture designer noted for his sensitive restorations of historic houses and castles, for new work in Scots Baronial and Gothi ...

, including moving the main entrance to the north side. In the gardens, he reinstated some of the avenues, and created a Japanese garden, following a visit to Japan in the 1890s. In 1925 the estate was inherited by his daughter Grizel Anstruther Thomson, who married the Swedish diplomat baron Knut Corfitz Bonde and subsequently moved to Sweden. Their son Baron John Bonde (1918–2009) returned to live at Charleton in 1955, and it remains in the family. The house is operated as an events venue with accommodation, and a golf course was laid out in the parkland in 1994.

References

{{reflist

External links

Charleton Golf Club
Category A listed buildings in Fife Listed houses in Scotland Inventory of Gardens and Designed Landscapes Houses completed in 1759