Tyninghame House is a mansion in East Lothian, Scotland. It is located by the mouth of the River Tyne, east of

Tyninghame Tyninghame is a small settlement in East Lothian, Scotland, about two miles north-east of East Linton. Together with the nearby settlement of Whitekirk, it gives its name to the parish of Whitekirk and Tyninghame. Tyninghame Tyninghame is ...

, and west of

Dunbar Dunbar () is a town on the North Sea coast in East Lothian in the south-east of Scotland, approximately east of Edinburgh and from the English border north of Berwick-upon-Tweed. Dunbar is a former royal burgh, and gave its name to an ecc ...

. There was a manor at Tyninghame in 1094, and it was later a property of the Lauder of

The Bass 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 ...

family. In the 17th century, it was sold to the

Earl of Haddington Earl of Haddington is a title in the Peerage of Scotland. It was created in 1627 for the noted Scottish lawyer and judge Thomas Hamilton, 1st Earl of Melrose. He was Lord President of the Court of Session from 1616 to 1625. Hamilton had alread ...

. The present building dates from 1829 when the 9th Earl of Haddington employed

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 ...

to greatly enlarge the house in the Baronial style. In 1987 the contents of the house were sold, and the house was divided into flats. 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

There was a manor on the lands in 1094, when it was mentioned in a charter of

Duncan II of Scotland Donnchad mac Máel Coluim ( Modern Gaelic: ''Donnchadh mac Mhaoil Chaluim'';''Donnchad mac Maíl Coluim'' is the Mediaeval Gaelic form. anglicised as Duncan II; c. 1060 – 12 November 1094) was king of Scots. He was son of Malcolm III (Máel Co ...

to the monks of St Cuthberts. From 1250 into the 16th century Tyninghame was held by the Bishops of St Andrews. It was leased to the Lauder family as a winter residence. The Lauders owned

and lived there in the summer. In 1617 the Dowager Lady Bass, Isabella Hepburn (widow of George Lauder of The Bass (died 1611)) made additions to the house.Hannan, p.182 She sold the house and estate to the courtier

John Murray, 1st Earl of Annandale John Murray, 1st Earl of Annandale (died 1640) was a Scottish courtier and Member of Parliament. Career He was known as John Murray of Lochmaben or Lincluden Lincluden Collegiate Church, known earlier as Lincluden Priory or Lincluden Abbey ...

in 1621 for 200,000

merks The merk is a long-obsolete Scottish silver coin. Originally the same word as a money mark of silver, the merk was in circulation at the end of the 16th century and in the 17th century. It was originally valued at 13 shillings 4 pence (exactly ...

Earls of Haddington

In 1628 when

Thomas Hamilton, 1st Earl of Haddington Thomas Hamilton, 1st Earl of Haddington (1563 – 29 May 1637), designated before his peerage as 'of Drumcarny, Monkland, and Binning', was a Scottish administrator, Lord Advocate, judge, and Lord Lieutenant of Haddingtonshire. Family The son ...

received that title in exchange for that of Earl of Melrose he acquired Tyninghame by purchase. He gave the house and furnishings to his son in 1635, and an inventory was made of the contents. The building then comprised an old tower with newer wings or "jambs" over vaulted cellars. Thomas Hamilton, 2nd Earl of Haddington was killed in an explosion at Dunglass Castle in 1640, and by 1669 the 5th Earl had inherited the property. He married Margaret Leslie, 8th Countess of Rothes, daughter of the Duke of Rothes, and lived mainly on his wife's estate. His son, the 6th Earl, took up residence at Tyninghame following his marriage to Helen Hope around 1700. The couple found the estate in poor condition and set about renovating and replanting. His wife is largely responsible for the layout of the parks which survives today, including avenues, plantations, and the Binning Wood. She named the wood after their son. Inspired by his wife to become a noted agricultural improver, the Earl wrote a book, ''A Treatise on the Manner of Raising Forest Trees'', published in 1761. In 1791 Charles, the 8th Earl, renovated the house, but these were superseded by the works carried out by the 9th Earl. In 1828 he commissioned

to redesign the house in the

Scots 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 ...

style. Burn made only limited alterations to the plan of the house but totally altered the elevations, refacing most of the building in red sandstone, and adding turrets and other details. The original 17th-century masonry can be seen on the south facade. The 9th Earl also carried out further plantings in the parks and erected an obelisk in 1856 to commemorate the work of the 5th Earl. On the death of the 9th Earl in 1858, the estate was inherited by a cousin, George Baillie of Mellerstain. His son, the 11th Earl, carried out further plantings in the 1880s, including the Walled Gardens. Formal gardens, including Lady Haddington's Secret Garden, were established by the 12th Earl and his wife in the 20th century. The house was featured in ''Country Life'' on 7 August 1975, and in ''Scottish Field'' in August 1953. After the 12th Earl died in 1986, the 13th Earl chose to retain

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 ...

near

Duns Duns may refer to: * Duns, Scottish Borders, a town in Berwickshire, Scotland ** Duns railway station ** Duns F.C., a football club ** Duns RFC, a rugby football club ** Battle of Duns, an engagement fought in 1372 * Duns Scotus ( 1265/66–1308 ...

, Berwickshire as his main residence, and Tyninghame was sold the following year. The bulk of the contents were auctioned by

Sotheby's Sotheby's () is a British-founded American multinational corporation with headquarters in New York City. It is one of the world's largest brokers of fine and decorative art, jewellery, and collectibles. It has 80 locations in 40 countries, an ...

in a two-day sale at the house, on 28–29 September 1987. The house was then divided into apartments by country house developer

Kit Martin Kit Martin CBE (born 6 May 1947) is a British architectural designer and country house property developer. Martin is the son of Sir Leslie Martin, Professor of Architecture at the University of Cambridge. Since the 1970s Martin has specialised i ...

References

External links

* {{Commons category-inline Category A listed buildings in East Lothian Listed houses in Scotland Country houses in East Lothian Inventory of Gardens and Designed Landscapes Houses completed in 1829