Saltoun Hall is an historic house standing in extensive lands off the B6355,

Pencaitland Pencaitland is a village in East Lothian, Scotland, about south-east of Edinburgh, south-west of Haddington, and east of Ormiston. The land where the village lies is said to have been granted by William the Lion to Calum Cormack in 1169, ...

to East Saltoun road, about 1.5 miles from each village, in

East Lothian East Lothian (; sco, East Lowden; gd, Lodainn an Ear) is one of the 32 council areas of Scotland, as well as a historic county, registration county and lieutenancy area. The county was called Haddingtonshire until 1921. In 1975, the histo ...

, Scotland. The house is reached by way of an impressive gateway and is situated at .

History

Saltoun Hall began life, in the 12th century, as a tower or castle and, at that time, was in the hands of the powerful de Morville family. Hugh de Morville was granted lands in the 12th century by King David I at Saltoun and his family were created hereditary High Constables of Scotland. Hugh de Morville was famed for his patronage of religious establishments: he founded

Dryburgh Abbey Dryburgh Abbey, near Dryburgh on the banks of the River Tweed in the Scottish Borders, was nominally founded on 10 November (Martinmas) 1150 in an agreement between Hugh de Morville, Constable of Scotland, and the Premonstratensian canons regu ...

in the old county of

Roxburghshire Roxburghshire or the County of Roxburgh ( gd, Siorrachd Rosbroig) is a historic county and registration county in the Southern Uplands of Scotland. It borders Dumfriesshire to the west, Selkirkshire and Midlothian to the north-west, and Berw ...

around 1150. By 1260, Sir William Abernethy owned the lands and castle at Saltoun, and his descendant Sir Lawrence Abernethy was created

Lord Saltoun Lord Saltoun, of Abernethy, is a title in the Peerage of Scotland. It was created in 1445 for Sir Lawrence Abernethy. The title remained in the Abernethy family until the death in 1669 of his descendant the tenth Lady Saltoun. She was succeeded ...

in 1445. The Abernethys were owners at Saltoun for nearly 400 years but in 1643, the estates were bought by

Andrew Fletcher, Lord Innerpeffer Andrew Fletcher, Lord Innerpeffer (died 1650) was a Scottish judge. Life Fletcher was the eldest son of Robert Fletcher of Innerpeffer and Beucleo, Forfarshire, a burgess of Dundee. He succeeded Sir John Wemyss of Craigtoun as an ordinary lord ...

, to whose family the land still belongs. His grandson

Andrew Fletcher of Saltoun Andrew Fletcher of Saltoun (1655 – September 1716) was a Scottish writer and politician, remembered as an advocate for the non-incorporation of Scotland, and an opponent of the 1707 Act of Union between Scotland and England. Fletcher became ...

(1655–1716) is remembered for his opposition to the

Acts of Union 1707 The Acts of Union ( gd, Achd an Aonaidh) were two Acts of Parliament: the Union with Scotland Act 1706 passed by the Parliament of England, and the Union with England Act 1707 passed by the Parliament of Scotland. They put into effect the te ...

Over the years, Saltoun Castle was spared trouble and there is only one recorded incident at the castle. In 1548, during

Somerset ( en, All The People of Somerset) , locator_map = , coordinates = , region = South West England , established_date = Ancient , established_by = , preceded_by = , origin = , lord_lieutenant_office =Lord Lieutenant of Somerset , lord_ ...

's occupation of Haddington, John Cockburn of

Ormiston Ormiston is a village in East Lothian, Scotland, near Tranent, Humbie, Pencaitland and Cranston, located on the north bank of the River Tyne at an elevation of about . The village was the first planned village in Scotland, founded in 1735 ...

held the castle for the English commander Grey of Wilton. Cockburn was an 'assured' Scot, one who agreed with the English point of view during the "

Rough Wooing The Rough Wooing (December 1543 – March 1551), also known as the Eight Years' War, was part of the Anglo-Scottish Wars of the 16th century. Following its break with the Roman Catholic Church, England attacked Scotland, partly to break the ...

" campaign. The castle was quickly retaken in February 1548 by the Earl of Arran, who brought artillery from

Edinburgh castle Edinburgh Castle is a historic castle in Edinburgh, Edinburgh, Scotland. It stands on Castle Rock (Edinburgh), Castle Rock, which has been occupied by humans since at least the Iron Age, although the nature of the early settlement is unclear. ...

, and hanged 5 of Cockburn's men and took 5 prisoner. There were many extensions, changes and renewals at the castle but there are no records until the days of the Fletcher family. In 1769, Lord Fletcher added a new wing on the south side of the building. A separate extension was built for the library in 1779. This created an L-shaped house and a 'great stair' was built in the angle. In 1803, architect Robert Burn designed new turrets on the corners giving the 'new' house a castellated appearance. His son,

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 ...

, completely transformed the building on a large scale in 1817, creating what was described as a 'bleak magnificence'. A large square turret was added. The interior is in the

Gothic Revival Gothic Revival (also referred to as Victorian Gothic, neo-Gothic, or Gothick) is an architectural movement that began in the late 1740s in England. The movement gained momentum and expanded in the first half of the 19th century, as increasingly ...

style, with

rib vault A rib vault or ribbed vault is an architectural feature for covering a wide space, such as a church nave, composed of a framework of crossed or diagonal arched ribs. Variations were used in Roman architecture, Byzantine architecture, Islamic ...

ing throughout. A new corridor was built to provide a Gothic gallery and rooms were recast in a Grecian style. The house was sold in the late 1960s and subdivided into apartments. The Fletchers sold the building and some of the estate but the family still live nearby. Today's house owes much to the architectural style of William Burn. The house is said to be haunted by a 'grey lady'. Saltoun Hall was famed for a formally designed garden in the 19th century. Botanist

David McHattie Forbes David McHattie Forbes (21 July 1863 – 23 March 1937) was a Scottish botanist, ethnologist, sugarcane plantation manager and explorer on the island of Hawai'i. He practised forestry, agronomy, and horticulture and served as the first district ...

served as Foreman Forester for the estate from 1883 until his departure for Hawaii in 1887.

Listed buildings

The house is 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

doocot A dovecote or dovecot , doocot (Scots Language, Scots) or columbarium is a structure intended to house Domestic pigeon, pigeons or doves. Dovecotes may be free-standing structures in a variety of shapes, or built into the end of a house or ba ...

is listed at category B.

References

External links

Saltoun Hall Official Page
{{coord, 55.9059, -2.8637, type:landmark_region:GB, display=title Category A listed buildings in East Lothian Country houses in East Lothian Castles in East Lothian Reportedly haunted locations in Scotland Inventory of Gardens and Designed Landscapes