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There is nothing more poignant than the ruination of a once-grand house, except perhaps the photographs which are the only evidence that it existed.
Ian Gow, the curator of the National Trust for Scotland, has selected 20 of the country’s most important lost houses for an authoritative and beautiful book which has recently been published.
The reasons for the losses of these major houses were many-: fire, dry rot, mining subsidence, or simply demolition resulting from the prohibitive cost of upkeep. As one would expect, the architectural styles that fell victim to such destruction were similarly varied – from Scotch baronial, to Palladian villa, as well as vast 19th century Gothic properties like Perthshire’s Abercairney and Millearne. Even some of the finest work by one of Scotland’s greatest architects Robert Adam has gone forever with the loss of houses like Balbardie in West Lothian.
This article features five of the lost properties courtesy of the National Trust for Scotland and Aurum Press.
Numbers of red kites in Scotland are rising slowly - have you ever seen one of these birds flying wild in Scotland?
