Dalmeny House (
pronounced ) is a
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 ...
mansion
A mansion is a large dwelling house. The word itself derives through Old French from the Latin word ''mansio'' "dwelling", an abstract noun derived from the verb ''manere'' "to dwell". The English word '' manse'' originally defined a property l ...
located in an estate close to
Dalmeny
Dalmeny ( gd, Dùn Mheinidh, IPA: �t̪uːnˈvenɪʝ is a village and civil parish in Scotland. It is located on the south side of the Firth of Forth, southeast of South Queensferry and west of Edinburgh city centre. It lies within the tradit ...
on the
Firth of Forth
The Firth of Forth () is the estuary, or firth, of several Scottish rivers including the River Forth. It meets the North Sea with Fife on the north coast and Lothian on the south.
Name
''Firth'' is a cognate of ''fjord'', a Norse word meani ...
, to the north-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 ...
, Scotland. It was designed by
William Wilkins, and completed in 1817.
Dalmeny House is the home of the
Earl and Countess of Rosebery. The house was the first in Scotland to be built in the
Tudor Revival style
Tudor Revival architecture (also known as mock Tudor in the UK) first manifested itself in domestic architecture in the United Kingdom in the latter half of the 19th century. Based on revival of aspects that were perceived as Tudor architecture ...
.
[ It provided more comfortable accommodation than the former ancestral residence, ]Barnbougle Castle
Barnbougle Castle is a historic tower house on the southern shore of the Firth of Forth, between Cramond and Queensferry, and within the parish of Dalmeny. It lies within the Earl of Rosebery's estate, just north-west of Dalmeny House. Although ...
, which still stands close by. Dalmeny today remains a private house, although it is open to the public during the summer months. The 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 ...
, while 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 ...
.
History
In the 13th century, the estate was the property of the Mowbray family, who built Barnbougle Castle
Barnbougle Castle is a historic tower house on the southern shore of the Firth of Forth, between Cramond and Queensferry, and within the parish of Dalmeny. It lies within the Earl of Rosebery's estate, just north-west of Dalmeny House. Although ...
. In 1402 Sir John Mowbray of Barnbougle, Laird of Dalmeny, was knighted by Sir Thomas Erskine at the battle of Homildon Hill
The Battle of Holmedon Hill or Battle of Homildon Hill was a conflict between English and Scottish armies on 14 September 1402 in Northumberland, England. The battle was recounted in Shakespeare's '' Henry IV, part 1''. Although Humbleton Hi ...
.
The estate was acquired in 1662 by Sir Archibald Primrose, whose son was created Earl of Rosebery in 1703. In 1774 Neil Primrose, 3rd Earl of Rosebery, commissioned Robert Adam
Robert Adam (3 July 17283 March 1792) was a British neoclassical architect, interior designer and furniture designer. He was the son of William Adam (1689–1748), Scotland's foremost architect of the time, and trained under him. With his o ...
to design a new house at Barnbougle, and in 1788 Robert Burn also provided designs. However, the Earl concentrated on the estate, carrying out woodland planting and constructing a walled garden. The son of the 3rd Earl, Archibald Primrose, commissioned further plans in the early 19th century: from William Atkinson (1805) and 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 ...
(1808). Again nothing was done until Archibald succeeded as 4th Earl of Rosebery in 1814.[ He then turned for a new house to Jeffrey Wyatt, who provided a Tudor Gothic design. Lord Rosebery approved, but wished to employ William Wilkins, with whom he had attended ]Cambridge
Cambridge ( ) is a university city and the county town in Cambridgeshire, England. It is located on the River Cam approximately north of London. As of the 2021 United Kingdom census, the population of Cambridge was 145,700. Cambridge bec ...
. Wilkins was therefore asked for a Tudor Gothic design, which was eventually built in 1817.[ The design of the house draws on the 16th-century ]East Barsham Manor
East Barsham Manor is an important work of Tudor architecture, a leading and early example of a prodigy house, originally built in the 1520s. It is located in the village of East Barsham, about north of the town of Fakenham and south west of the ...
in Norfolk. From 1812 the designed landscape {{Unreferenced, date=April 2022
A designed landscape is an area of land which has been modified by people for primarily aesthetic effect. The term is used by historians to denote various types of site, such as gardens, parks, cemetery, cemeteries, a ...
around the house was also laid out, to designs by Thomas White Jr.[
The house was visited in 1927 by Queen Mary, and her daughter ]Mary
Mary may refer to:
People
* Mary (name), a feminine given name (includes a list of people with the name)
Religious contexts
* New Testament people named Mary, overview article linking to many of those below
* Mary, mother of Jesus, also calle ...
, the Princess Royal.
Interiors
In contrast to the exterior, most of the principal rooms are in the Regency
A regent (from Latin : ruling, governing) is a person appointed to govern a state '' pro tempore'' (Latin: 'for the time being') because the monarch is a minor, absent, incapacitated or unable to discharge the powers and duties of the monarchy ...
style, with the exception of the hammerbeam roof
A hammerbeam roof is a decorative, open timber roof truss typical of English Gothic architecture and has been called "...the most spectacular endeavour of the English Medieval carpenter". They are traditionally timber framed, using short beams pr ...
of the hall. The house contains many paintings and items of furniture from both the Rosebery and Rothschild
Rothschild () is a name derived from the German ''zum rothen Schild'' (with the old spelling "th"), meaning "with the red sign", in reference to the houses where these family members lived or had lived. At the time, houses were designated by sign ...
collections, as a result of the 5th Earl's 1878 marriage to Hannah, daughter and heir of Meyer de Rothschild.[ Much of the French furniture and porcelain came from the family's English mansion, ]Mentmore
Mentmore is a village and civil parish in the Aylesbury Vale district of Buckinghamshire, England. It is about three miles east of Wingrave, three miles south east of Wing.
The village toponym is derived from the Old English for "Menta's moor ...
, Buckinghamshire, following the latter's sale in 1977. Dalmeny also holds one of Britain's largest collections of Napoleon
Napoleon Bonaparte ; it, Napoleone Bonaparte, ; co, Napulione Buonaparte. (born Napoleone Buonaparte; 15 August 1769 – 5 May 1821), later known by his regnal name Napoleon I, was a French military commander and political leader who ...
ic memorabilia.[
]
Estate
The house stands in a large wooded park and enjoys views across the Firth of Forth
The Firth of Forth () is the estuary, or firth, of several Scottish rivers including the River Forth. It meets the North Sea with Fife on the north coast and Lothian on the south.
Name
''Firth'' is a cognate of ''fjord'', a Norse word meani ...
. A public path runs along the shore, from Queensferry in the west, to Cramond
Cramond Village (; gd, Cathair Amain) is a village and suburb in the north-west of Edinburgh, Scotland, at the mouth of the River Almond where it enters the Firth of Forth.
The Cramond area has evidence of Mesolithic, Bronze Age and Roman ac ...
in the east, although a passenger ferry across the River Almond that used to connect the path to the village of Cramond has not operated since 2000. There is still a traditional agricultural estate of tenanted farms.
Public opening
The house is open to the public for guided tours only. Some of the rooms are available to hire for corporate and private events.
Filming
The house was used as a filming location for the fictional castle of 'Dun Dunbar' in the 2021 film ''A Castle for Christmas
''A Castle for Christmas'' is a 2021 American Christmas romantic comedy film directed by Mary Lambert. The film was released on November 26, 2021, by Netflix.
Plot
Best-selling American author Sophie Brown travels to Scotland to escape the bac ...
''.
References
External links
Dalmeny House website
{{Residential buildings in Edinburgh
Houses in Edinburgh
Inventory of Gardens and Designed Landscapes
Category A listed buildings in Edinburgh
Historic house museums in Edinburgh
Prime ministerial homes in the United Kingdom