Mansion where love is all around
Arts and Crafts gem reflects the adoration of its creator for his bride
SET among lush lawns and trees in the heart of some of Scotland’s most stunning countryside lies a beautifully preserved and spacious Arts and Crafts gem that boasts a truly heart-warmingly romantic history. Maplehurst is an eight-bedroom mansion built by mill owner Andrew Fairgrieve for his new bride – a labour of love and fine detail to reflect his adoration.
More than 100 years after the property’s creation, we remain grateful he was such an Edwardian show-off.
The house was constructed between 1904 and 1906, towards the end of the Arts and Crafts movement, which means Mr Fairgrieve was able to incorporate almost every established facet of the influential style.
The home, in Galashiels, Selkirkshire – for sale with a guide price of £975,000 – features Belfast sinks, dark wood panelling and gorgeous stained glass windows, almost every pane of which contains a secret message of love.
Mr Fairgrieve owned the Huddersfield Mill, which employed many of Galashiels’s residents. In the late 19th Century he travelled to Canada and met the love of his life, his cousin Carrie Jane Fairgrieve.
Maplehurst was built in her honour on Gala Hill, overlooking the town, by the local firm of J&J Hall. The name reflected Canada’s famed maple leaves.
Maple trees were planted in the grounds and almost every pane in the house’s stained glass windows carries a maple leaf.
‘Mr Fairgrieve was a very clever guy,’ explained the home’s present owner, Peter Gruber. ‘But he was a terrible show-off.
‘Maplehurst was built to demonstrate his wealth. The house must have been a stateof-the-art masterpiece when it was completed at the start of the 20th Century.
‘For example, the lady in the stained glass window in the reception hall is largely depicted in red and green.
‘This is no coincidence. Red and green colours were the most expensive to reproduce at the time.’
Another tribute to Mrs Fairgrieve can be found in the reception hall in the form of an intricate, original Canadian tapestry depicting the hunting of deer and this will remain in the house as part of the sale.
Maplehurst is on four levels, with the basement area once being the preserve of the butler and his staff. It contains a sizeable laundry room, complete with chute from the upper levels, three store rooms and a wine cellar.
OUTSIDE, a collection of outbuildings provides a threecar garage, a utility kitchen, a workshop and a ‘refrigerated cell’, which would have been used to keep food cold before the advent of electricity. The ground floor is where the Fairgrieves would have entertained. It boasts the most opulent apartments, reception hall, morning room, drawing room, kitchen and dining room.
As well as the colourful Canadian tapestry, the reception hall has a copperfronted fireplace with smart green tiles that run the length of the wall.
Maplehurst is now used as an upmarket boutique hotel, so the eight bedrooms are all en suite and named. They include the Mackintosh, which is finished in furniture in the renowned Glasgow style.
To complete the country house look, you approach by a driveway that sweeps through 1.35 acres of bountiful gardens.
Thanks to the newly restored Borders railway, Edinburgh is only 50 minutes from Galashiels.
While Andrew Fairgrieve was undoubtedly wealthy he was not too rash with his cash, as Mr Gruber discovered after examining the dining room floor.
‘It’s all solid oak,’ he said. ‘But the section underneath the dining table is pitch pine. He knew a carpet would be going over that so he thought he’d save himself a bit of money.’
Guide price of £975,000. Contact Jamie Macpherson at Macpherson Property in Melrose on 01896 820226 or email Jamie@ macphersonproperty.co.uk.