Country estate linked to Gordon Highlanders on market for £3m

● Duchess built house on banks of the Spey after split from her husband

A “heavenly” country estate that has been home to two remarkable women has been put on the market for £3 million.

Kinrara is set in more than 1,000 acres of the Highlands and boasts a large principal house and a further five estate cottages. It lies beside the River Spey in the Cairngorms National Park and has a renowned pheasant shoot.

And the main house, described as one of the finest Georgian properties in the region, has been home to two influential and colourful women.

It was built in the 1790s for Jane, Duchess of Gordon, following her estrangement from the Duke of Gordon.

She was known for her independence and beauty as well as her forthright determination and political endeavour.

The duchess was one of the leading political hostesses of her time and she threw lavish parties both at her London home on Pall Mall and on the sprung dance floor she had installed along the full length of Kinrara House.

One of her proudest achievementswassecuringtitledhusbands for all five of her daughters, including three dukes, a marquis and a baronet. She insisted the marriages and offspring of all her daughters be inscribed on her gravestone.

She also established The Gordon Highlanders, later commanded by her son George, recruiting its first battalion in 1794 with “a shilling and a kiss” by offering the

0 Kinara’s main house was built for Jane, Duchess of Gordon, in 1790 – the estate is now on the market with a £3m price tag

King’s shilling between her teeth to any man who would join their ranks.

From around 1929 until 1936 Kinrara was lived in by Lucy, Lady Houston, a former showgirl known as Poppy.

She eloped in 1873 at the age of 16 to Paris with a member of one of the families that owned the Bass Brewery, Frederick Gretton. They had a tumultuous relationship and when he died in 1882 he left her £6,000 per year for life. She went on to marry three times and was an active suffragette.

Later in her life she made a huge financial and political contribution to the fledgling aviation industry, with her funding leading to the development of the Spitfire.

Evelyn Channing, of estate

agents Savills, said: “Kinrara has it all, tranquillity and beauty and a range of possibilities for developing income streams. Its lovely setting, in glorious Speyside which attracts visitors from all over the world, will appeal to entrepreneurial buyers wishing to capitalise on Scotland’s growing tourist sector.”

She added: “Kinrara was the much loved family home of Major Robin Mclaren and his wife Anne, who both sadly passed away within the past 18 months. Withthenextgeneration of the family based in the south, after much soul searching they have come to the decision that it is now time to pass the estate to a new owner.”