A Georgian gem in the Borders

ALEX INGLIS of Scottish agents Galbraith’s Kelso office (01573 224244) wants ‘offers over £750,000’ for Georgian, Category C-listed Tanlaw House, which sits amid the wooded 19th-century parkland of the Hendersyde estate, on the north bank of the Tweed, a mile or so north-east of Kelso in the Scottish Borders. Protected on three sides by the estate parkland, Tanlaw House enjoys lovely south-easterly views over the Tweed Valley to the Cheviot Hills.

Its listing describes it as ‘a good example of an early 19th century estate house surviving largely in its original condition and forming an important element of the group of buildings that form the Hendersyde Estate’. The house was formerly the coach house to Hendersyde Park, the seat of the Waldie family, which included Robert Waldie, a friend of Sir Walter Scott and a regular visitor to Hendersyde, where he made good use of its library. In those days, the wings to either side of Tanlaw House housed the coach and horses, and were incorporated into the main house in the 1930s.

According to Historic Environment Scotland, early maps show further outbuildings in the garden to the rear that have now been lost. An interesting survival, however, together with Tanlaw’s gardens, gates and railings, is the listed hen house, a small, symmetrical stone building in its original condition with nesting boxes and a rare underground tunnel that allowed hens to forage beyond the ha-ha—perhaps the only listed hen house in Scotland?

Acquired by the current vendors in the 1990s, Tanlaw House and its two acres of beautifully landscaped, early-19th-century gardens have been lovingly maintained and improved over time, with the addition of a heated indoor swimming pool and a bowended stair tower to the rear. This peaceful rural retreat offers comfortable accommodation on two floors, including two main reception rooms, four bedrooms, two bath/shower rooms and attics that could be converted to provide extra bedrooms if required.