Impressive homes no longer standing
New‘Lost Country Houses’book published
A new volume of ‘Lost Country Houses of Perthshire’ has recently been published by Dr David Robertson, who has researched what happened to 50 of the county’s once impressive piles.
Many castles, shooting lodges and rambling homes of Victorian business tycoons had become millstones to their owners, particularly during the 1960s, so the decision was taken to knock many of them down or let them fall in to disrepair.
‘More Lost Country Houses of Perthshire’ is Dr Robertson and his brother Ian’s second illustrated book on the subject. The first had houses that met their end between 1860 and the end of the 1950s.
The Robertson brothers, who stay in Strathtay, have looked at a series of subjects relating to Perthshire heritage and worked with Perth and Kinross Archive to share their findings.
Perthshire is not alone in having lost many of its fine country houses over the past century and more. In all, the authors have identified more than 50 country houses as having been lost across the length and breadth of the old county of Perthshire, a significantly larger number than had previously been noted.
Changing economic circumstances throughout the 20th century meant many families found it increasingly difficult to afford to maintain the large mansions which their Victorian ancestors had built or developed.
Wartime use by military and other public authorities left many country houses in a poor state of repair and needing substantial and costly restoration.
In the aftermath of the Second World War many estate owners simply chose to demolish or abandon these mansions. Only in the 1970s did new planning laws force owners and architects to look at finding new uses for redundant country houses.
Dr Robertson said: “Lost Country Houses of Perthshire was a natural follow-on to the research we had undertaken for our two previous books on the Lost Gardens of Perthshire.
“We found that several of the gardens lost in the 20th century had disappeared because the mansions they once graced had burnt down or been demolished.
“At the same time we realised that the early photographers of the Scottish landscape had captured images of nearly all of the old country houses of Perthshire. These had then often been reproduced as picture postcards in the years leading up to the First World War, but some were becoming hard to find a century on.
“We felt therefore that a record of just what had been lost could be a valuable contribution to keeping alive the memory of this important facet of Perthshire’s heritage.
“Moreover, we wanted to do more than just compile a mere list of what had been lost. So, we have tried to provide a little historical context for each of the houses that have disappeared.
“We hope in this way our books will refresh the memory for some of the older residents of the county and perhaps encourage an interest among younger residents about the history around them.”
Of the houses demolished, burnt down or abandoned in the years since about 1960, one was the small mansion of Gourdiehill in the Carse of Gowrie, which was the home of the 19th century horticulturist and writer Patrick Matthew, credited with having anticipated the theory of evolution. Gourdiehill was eventually lost to fire. Another was the huge Victorian mansion of Dunalastair near Tummel Bridge, designed for General Sir John Macdonald by the Perth architect Andrew Heiton. Dunalastair was simply abandoned to the elements to become ruinous and overgrown.
Many interesting historical titbits are revealed in the book: Dupplin Castle was the first stop for Queen Victoria on her
Abercairny Abbey near Crieff was knocked down in 1960 much acclaimed visit to Perthshire in 1842, while Ballechin House in Strathtay was controversially rented by ghost hunters in the 1890s.
Copies of both Lost Houses books can be purchased from the AK Bell Library in Perth; from various bookshops and heritage and visitor centres or by contacting the authors on 01529 497354 or by e-mail at dmrbraceby@hotmail. com
To mark the release of the follow up volume, the Friends of Perth and Kinross Archive has set up a talk by Dr David Robertson, on Thursday, November 22 at 2pm.
It will be held in the Soutar Theatre, AK Bell Library. Talks are free to friends members and £5 for non-members. Booking is essential. Call the archive on 01738 477022 or email archives@ culturepk.org.uk House, west of Logierait was demolished in 1963