Gardie House is an 18th-century

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 ...

Bressay Bressay ( sco, Bressa) is a populated island in the Shetland archipelago of Scotland. Geography and geology Bressay lies due south of Whalsay, west of the Isle of Noss, and north of Mousa. With an area of , it is the fifth-largest island in She ...

in Shetland, Scotland. Located opposite Lerwick, across the Bressay Sound, Gardie is described by

Historic Scotland Historic Scotland ( gd, Alba Aosmhor) was an executive agency of the Scottish Office and later the Scottish Government from 1991 to 2015, responsible for safeguarding Scotland's built heritage, and promoting its understanding and enjoyment ...

as an "example of the smaller Scottish country house, unique in Shetland." The house is protected as a

category A listed building Category, plural categories, may refer to: Philosophy and general uses *Categorization, categories in cognitive science, information science and generally *Category of being * ''Categories'' (Aristotle) *Category (Kant) * Categories (Peirce) * ...

, and the grounds 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.

History

The Henderson family owned Gardie from the 17th century, and in 1724 Magnus Henderson (died 1753) had the present house built. The builder was a mason from

Aberdeen Aberdeen (; sco, Aiberdeen ; gd, Obar Dheathain ; la, Aberdonia) is a city in North East Scotland, and is the third most populous city in the country. Aberdeen is one of Scotland's 32 local government council areas (as Aberdeen City), and ...

named Forbes. The double-pile plan of Gardie was relatively novel in the early 18th century. The symmetrical arrangement of walled gardens leading down to a harbour was laid out at the same time. The drawing room contains fine wooden panelling, installed around 1750. The house passed out of the Henderson family in 1799, and was inherited by Elizabeth Nicolson and her husband Thomas Mouat of Garth, the builder of Belmont House on

Unst Unst (; sco, Unst; nrn, Ønst) is one of the North Isles of the Shetland Islands, Scotland. It is the northernmost of the inhabited British Isles and is the third-largest island in Shetland after Mainland and Yell. It has an area of . Unst ...

. Their nephew, William Mouat, added the porch and constructed the steading and Gothic cottage in the grounds.

Sir Walter Scott Sir Walter Scott, 1st Baronet (15 August 1771 – 21 September 1832), was a Scottish novelist, poet, playwright and historian. Many of his works remain classics of European and Scottish literature, notably the novels '' Ivanhoe'', '' Rob Roy' ...

dined at Gardie House during his 1814 visit to Shetland. In 1905 the house was altered, and remains privately owned. In 2001, the owner was John Hamilton Scott,

Lord Lieutenant of Shetland This is a list of people who have served as Lord-Lieutenant of Shetland. The office was created when that of Lord Lieutenant of Orkney and Shetland was divided in 1948 * Sir Arthur Nicolson 8 April 1948 – 25 April 1952 * Sir Basil Hamilton H ...

References

External links

* Listed houses in Scotland Category A listed buildings in Shetland Houses completed in 1724 Inventory of Gardens and Designed Landscapes Country houses in Shetland 1724 establishments in Scotland Bressay {{Shetland-struct-stub