Haltoun House
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Haltoun House, or Hatton House (or occasionally Argile House), was a
Scottish baronial Scottish baronial or Scots baronial is an architectural style of 19th century Gothic Revival which revived the forms and ornaments of historical architecture of Scotland in the Late Middle Ages and the Early Modern Period. Reminiscent of Scot ...
mansion set in a park, with extensive estates in the vicinity of
Ratho Ratho ( gd, Ràthach) is a village in the Rural West Edinburgh area of Edinburgh, Scotland. Its population at the 2011 census was 1,634 based on the 2010 definition of the locality. It was formerly in the old county of Midlothian. Ratho Statio ...
, in the west of
Edinburgh Edinburgh ( ; gd, Dùn Èideann ) is the capital city of Scotland and one of its 32 Council areas of Scotland, council areas. Historically part of the county of Midlothian (interchangeably Edinburghshire before 1921), it is located in Lothian ...
City Council area, Scotland. It was formerly in
Midlothian Midlothian (; gd, Meadhan Lodainn) is a historic county, registration county, lieutenancy area and one of 32 council areas of Scotland used for local government. Midlothian lies in the east-central Lowlands, bordering the City of Edinburgh, ...
, and it was extensively photographed by '' Country Life'' in September 1911.


Proprietors

The earliest known proprietor John de Haltoun sold the property on 26 July 1377 when Robert II confirmed it upon a court
favourite A favourite (British English) or favorite (American English) was the intimate companion of a ruler or other important person. In post-classical and early-modern Europe, among other times and places, the term was used of individuals delegated si ...
, Alan de Lawedre of Whitslaid,
Berwickshire Berwickshire ( gd, Siorrachd Bhearaig) is a historic county, registration county and lieutenancy area in south-eastern Scotland, on the English border. Berwickshire County Council existed from 1890 until 1975, when the area became part of th ...
. Alan and his first wife, Alicia, daughter of Sir Colin Campbell of Lochawe, already owned (1371) the adjoining lands of Norton.
George de Lawedre of Haltoun George de Lawedre (or Lauder) of Haltoun (c. 1351 – c. 1430) was a Burgess and Provost of Edinburgh in the early 15th century. Family He was the first son of Alan de Lawedre of Whitslaid, and Haltoun (d. before 20 March 1407) by his second ...
,
Provost of Edinburgh The Right Honourable Lord Provost of Edinburgh is the convener of the City of Edinburgh local authority, who is elected by City_of_Edinburgh_Council, the city council and serves not only as the chair of that body, but as a figurehead for the e ...
, Alan's second son by his second wife, Elizabeth, was put in fee of Haltoun in 1393. He died in 1430 and left only daughters as co-heirs. His brother, Sir Alexander Lauder became the ancestor of the Haltoun cadet branch. The first laird of Haltoun is sometimes said to be Sir George de Lawedre who married Helen Douglas, a sister of Lord Douglas, daughter of
Archibald Douglas, 3rd Earl of Douglas Archibald Douglas, Earl of Douglas and Wigtown, Lord of Galloway, Douglas and Bothwell (c. 1330 – c. 24 December 1400), called Archibald the Grim or Black Archibald, was a late medieval Scottish nobleman. Archibald was the bastard son of S ...
, 'The Grim' (d. 1400). William Lauder of Haltoun had a licence from
James I James I may refer to: People *James I of Aragon (1208–1276) *James I of Sicily or James II of Aragon (1267–1327) *James I, Count of La Marche (1319–1362), Count of Ponthieu *James I, Count of Urgell (1321–1347) *James I of Cyprus (1334–13 ...
to re-edify Haltoun in 1407. Sir Alexander's great-grandson, another Sir George Lauder of Haltoun, fell at the
Battle of Flodden The Battle of Flodden, Flodden Field, or occasionally Branxton, (Brainston Moor) was a battle fought on 9 September 1513 during the War of the League of Cambrai between the Kingdom of England and the Kingdom of Scotland, resulting in an English ...
with two of his brothers, James Lauder of Norton, and Sir
Alexander Lauder of Blyth Sir Alexander Lauder of Blyth, Knt. (died 9 September 1513) was Provost of Edinburgh almost continually from 1500 to 1513. He was Commissioner to the Scottish Parliament, 1504–06, and an Auditor of the Exchequer in Scotland. He appears to have ...
James VI of Scotland James VI and I (James Charles Stuart; 19 June 1566 – 27 March 1625) was King of Scotland as James VI from 24 July 1567 and King of England and Ireland as James I from the union of the Scottish and English crowns on 24 March 1603 until hi ...
stayed at Hatton using it as a hunting lodge in April 1589, but returned to Edinburgh over fears for his safety from disaffected lords. The Haltoun/Hatton estates remained in the Lauder family until the last
Laird Laird () is the owner of a large, long-established Scottish estate. In the traditional Scottish order of precedence, a laird ranked below a baron and above a gentleman. This rank was held only by those lairds holding official recognition in ...
, Richard Lauder of Haltoun, settled them upon his younger daughter. Richard Lauder was a
Justice of the Peace A justice of the peace (JP) is a judicial officer of a lower or ''puisne'' court, elected or appointed by means of a commission ( letters patent) to keep the peace. In past centuries the term commissioner of the peace was often used with the sa ...
, was
Member of Parliament A member of parliament (MP) is the representative in parliament of the people who live in their electoral district. In many countries with bicameral parliaments, this term refers only to members of the lower house since upper house members of ...
for
Edinburghshire Midlothian (; gd, Meadhan Lodainn) is a historic county, registration county, lieutenancy area and one of 32 council areas of Scotland used for local government. Midlothian lies in the east-central Lowlands, bordering the City of Edinburgh ...
in 1621, and in 1647 and 1648 was on the Committees of War for Edinburgh. He was also Commissioner of
Excise file:Lincoln Beer Stamp 1871.JPG, upright=1.2, 1871 U.S. Revenue stamp for 1/6 barrel of beer. Brewers would receive the stamp sheets, cut them into individual stamps, cancel them, and paste them over the Bunghole, bung of the beer barrel so when ...
in 1661. His wife, Mary Lauder, Lady Haltoun, had been born Mary Scot. Richard died in November 1675 in
Holyrood Abbey Holyrood Abbey is a ruined abbey of the Canons Regular in Edinburgh, Scotland. The abbey was founded in 1128 by David I of Scotland. During the 15th century, the abbey guesthouse was developed into a royal residence, and after the Scottish Ref ...
, Edinburgh, and was interred in
Ratho Ratho ( gd, Ràthach) is a village in the Rural West Edinburgh area of Edinburgh, Scotland. Its population at the 2011 census was 1,634 based on the 2010 definition of the locality. It was formerly in the old county of Midlothian. Ratho Statio ...
Church on the 29th. His portrait (right), by
John Scougal John Scougal (1645–1730) was a Scottish painter. Life He was a cousin to Patrick Scougal (died 1682), Bishop of Aberdeen and to Patrick's brother John Scougal, Lord Whitekirk. John Scougal is said to have been born at Leith, where his father ...
, hangs in
Thirlestane Castle Thirlestane Castle is a castle set in extensive parklands near Lauder in the Borders of Scotland. The site is aptly named Castle Hill, as it stands upon raised ground. However, the raised land is within Lauderdale, the valley of the Leader Water ...
. His second daughter, Elizabeth married, in 1652,
Charles Maitland, 3rd Earl of Lauderdale Charles Maitland, 3rd Earl of Lauderdale (c. 1620 – 9 June 1691), was the second son (''The Great Seal of Scotland'' gives him as third son) of John Maitland, 1st Earl of Lauderdale (died 1645). Maitland was born at Lethington. Following the ...
and carried Haltoun to him. Haltoun was much closer to Edinburgh than Thirlestane Castle, and with the loss of
Lethington 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 i ...
the Maitlands made Haltoun House their principal residence (as opposed to seat) until 1792 when the 8th Earl of Lauderdale sold the estate for £84,000 to Miss Henrietta Scott of Scotstarvet, who married William Henry Cavendish-Scott-Bentinck, 4th Duke of Portland. The estate was then of excellent land, the revenue at the time: £3000 per annum. Her trustees sold the estate in 1797 to James Gibson of Ingleston. He broke up the estate into lots, of which that including Haltoun House and was bought by the Reverend Thomas Randall (who afterwards took the surname of Davidson). He sold Haltoun House to the
Earl of Morton The title Earl of Morton was created in the Peerage of Scotland in 1458 for James Douglas of Dalkeith. Along with it, the title Lord Aberdour was granted. This latter title is the courtesy title for the eldest son and heir to the Earl of Morton. ...
in 1870, whose son Lord Aberdour sold it to James McKelvie in 1898. In 1915 it was sold to William Whitelaw, chairman of the
London and North Eastern Railway The London and North Eastern Railway (LNER) was the second largest (after LMS) of the " Big Four" railway companies created by the Railways Act 1921 in Britain. It operated from 1 January 1923 until nationalisation on 1 January 1948. At th ...
company.


Haltoun House

The first Lauders built a massive Pele Tower at Haltoun before 1400, which Hannan refers to as "an L-shaped castle with walls of a uniform thickness of about ." Sir William Lauder of Haltoun was a confidant of both King James II and the Earl of Douglas. In 1452 he was the King's personal messenger, sent to escort Douglas to
Stirling Castle Stirling Castle, located in Stirling, is one of the largest and most important castles in Scotland, both historically and architecturally. The castle sits atop Castle Hill, an intrusive crag, which forms part of the Stirling Sill geological ...
on a Royal promise of absolute safety, whereupon the Earl was murdered by the King. Haltoun Tower was subsequently besieged by King James and during that siege, Sir William Lauder died. The tower and battlements were subsequently restored to good condition by the King, at Exchequer expense. The castle became the nucleus of the subsequent greater country house which was built onto and around it. On the east face of the south-east angle tower was a sundial with the monogram "C.M.E.L" for Charles Maitland & his wife Elizabeth Lauder, the monogram being divided by the date 1664, the year in which Maitland commenced dramatic new extensions to the old castle. His son John added the east front in a
Renaissance The Renaissance ( , ) , from , with the same meanings. is a period in European history marking the transition from the Middle Ages to modernity and covering the 15th and 16th centuries, characterized by an effort to revive and surpass ideas ...
style in 1696 and 1704. It was restored in 1859 and in 1870 the windows were altered. The interiors were entered through a small entrance hall, panelled in
oak An oak is a tree or shrub in the genus ''Quercus'' (; Latin "oak tree") of the beech family, Fagaceae. There are approximately 500 extant species of oaks. The common name "oak" also appears in the names of species in related genera, notably ''L ...
brought from
Letheringham Letheringham is a sparsely populated civil parish in the East Suffolk district (formerly Deben Rural District and then Suffolk Coastal) in Suffolk, England, on the Deben River. St Mary is a tiny church, the remains of the tower and nave of a ...
Abbey,
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, into the main hall, by 20, panelled also with a magnificent finely-made Jacobean plaster ceiling. Other rooms included a morning room, situated between the library and dining room (both also panelled in oak). On the first floor the saloon and drawing rooms were fitted out with Memel pine panelling, greatly used in Scottish country houses at the time. 'Lord Jeffrey's study' in the tower, was a nine-sided decorative room, with much gilt. The centre of the ceiling was a painting of a man flying away with a lightly clothed female - a classical motif. Haltoun House was approached by an original avenue, half a mile long, abutted by tall
elm Elms are deciduous and semi-deciduous trees comprising the flowering plant genus ''Ulmus'' in the plant family Ulmaceae. They are distributed over most of the Northern Hemisphere, inhabiting the temperate and tropical-montane regions of North ...
s and
beech Beech (''Fagus'') is a genus of deciduous trees in the family Fagaceae, native to temperate Europe, Asia, and North America. Recent classifications recognize 10 to 13 species in two distinct subgenera, ''Engleriana'' and ''Fagus''. The ''Engle ...
es,
lime tree ''Tilia'' is a genus of about 30 species of trees or bushes, native throughout most of the temperate Northern Hemisphere. The tree is known as linden for the European species, and basswood for North American species. In Britain and Ireland they ...
s,
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,
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, and
rhododendron ''Rhododendron'' (; from Ancient Greek ''rhódon'' "rose" and ''déndron'' "tree") is a very large genus of about 1,024 species of woody plants in the heath family (Ericaceae). They can be either evergreen or deciduous. Most species are nati ...
s. The principal entrance was at the east through massive gate pillars. In 1952 the house caught fire, and was demolished in 1955, during a period when many other country houses suffered a similar fate. All that remains are the terraces along the south side of the house with a two-story pavilion at each end. The grounds currently support rare habitats for greater-crested newts, tree moles, wingless bats and land puffins; all protected species. A number of structures survive on the estate. The East Avenue Gates, the South Gateway and the South Terrace Wall with pavilions and bath-house are all category A listed buildings while the Garden Temple is Category B listed. The surviving garden, together with these buildings, is included in Historic Environment Scotland's Inventory of Gardens and Designed Landscapes.


References

* ''The Douglas Book'', by William Douglas, CB., LL.D., vol.1, p. 472, and vol.2, p. 609, Edinburgh, 1885. * ''The Grange of St.Giles'', by J.Stewart Smith, Edinburgh,1898, p. 251. * ''Famous Scottish Houses - The Lowlands'', by Thomas Hannan, MA, FSA(Scot), London, 1928, pps: 97 - 100. * ''Lost Houses of Scotland'' by Marcus Binney, John Harris, & Emma Winnington, published by
Save Britain's Heritage Save Britain's Heritage (styled as ''SAVE Britain's Heritage'') is a British charity, created in 1975 by a group of journalists, historians, architects, and planners to campaign publicly for endangered historic buildings. It is also active on the ...
, July 1980.


External links

* {{coord, 55.903, -3.396, display=title Country houses in Midlothian Former country houses in Scotland Inventory of Gardens and Designed Landscapes Scottish country houses destroyed in the 20th century