Victorian grandeur
Step back in time to a lost age of elegance, writes Paul Drury
CONVENTIONAL thinking may place conservatories at the heart of the 1970s, in the company of avocado bathrooms and orange space hoppers . Yet a century before the decade that taste forgot, rich Victorians were at the forefront of the fashion for bringing the outdoors in.
Witness the conservatory at Tillywhally House, an 1850s country house at Milnathort, Kinross-shire. There are no uPVC windows here, nor garish pine slats below. This is the real McCoy, with blonde sandstone pillars supporting floor-to-ceiling windows.
The luxury bow-ended conservatory boasts terrazzo flooring and a terrazzo fireplace, with stone thistle emblems.
Selling agent Jamie Macnab of Savills said: ‘It is a quite spectacular place to sit. Whenever you visit the house, it’s the first place the owner takes you to.
‘There is no sense that this is some kind of bolt-on, a feature that came to mind once the house was complete.
‘It is integral to the property and carries all the quality of Victorian construction techniques.’ As you might expect, the original family behind Tillywhally were major land owners in Kinross-shire, the Blacks.
In those days, the house was the centrepiece of their estate but tracts of land were sold off over the years, leaving the big house with 22 acres of gardens, woodland and parkland today.
You are reminded of the building’s provenance at the battlemented porch, which carries a date stone above the arched front doorway. The drawing room has a large bay window to the front of the house, overlooking the east gardens, plus a further window facing south. A wood-burning stove is set into a fireplace with Adam-style mantel.
But grand as it is, this apartment is surpassed by the sheer elegance of the dining room.
An extraordinary ceiling rose dominates, drawing comparison to the top tier of a wedding cake and framed by some of the most exquisite cornicing in the country. Panelled walls and matching woodwork provides a stunning entrance to a bay window, looking onto the gardens. Completing the picture in the dining room is the cast-iron open fireplace, with white marble inset.
Another fireplace features in Tillywhally’s office, off the reception hall. It has a tiled surround and the room comes with windows with views to the north and east, fitted with working shutters.
The bespoke Chalon dining kitchen is wonderfully appointed. There is a Britannia range cooker, with twin ovens, hob with seven burners, a freestanding Americanstyle Whirlpool fridge freezer and Kenwood dishwasher. A Belfast sink is set in front of a window, overlooking the side garden.
In all, Tillywally has five bedrooms, two of which are en suite.
Outside, there is a courtyard with stabling, four loose boxes, riding area and a coach house that offers conversion potential.
Offers over £1.25million to Jamie Macnab. Tel 0131 247 3738 or email jmacnab@savills.com