Old Manse tale’s a real page turner
Rev obsessed by books had the nation’s largest library
WE all love a good book, but one 19th century clergyman became so obsessed by the printed word, it put his family on the brink of starvation. The Rev Harry Nicoll, a minister in the Free Church of Scotland, revelled in his reputation for assembling the largest manse library in the country.
It boasted a staggering 17,000 titles – but his obsession ate up most of his meagre stipend, leaving little money for food for his family.
The library remains at the Old Manse at Lumsden, near Huntly in Aberdeenshire, although the book collection was donated to Aberdeen University more than 20 years ago.
Local commentators say the rural property was ‘austere and sparse’ in Rev Nicoll’s day, in the 1890s, but successive owners have cheered it up considerably.
The four-bedroom home, with four reception rooms, is now on sale for offers over £440,000.
Fiona Gormley, of selling agents Savills, said: ‘Old Manse in Lumsden is both a historic former home of a fascinating family and also a very appealing property in its own right.
‘It offers myriad possibilities within its extensive grounds and registered agricultural holding status.’
Manses were never flamboyant, particularly in the Victorian era. At a time when parish members suffered dire financial hardship, it was not the done thing for the church to flaunt its wealth.
Yet this country manse from 1851 appears to be the product of the best efforts of various skilled craftsmen.
There is fine wood panelling throughout, original fireplaces, carved woodwork, plasterwork and original window shutters.
Unusually, you enter the house through a small conservatory which leads to a panelled hallway.
An imposing drawing room, with intricate carved mantelpiece and fireplace, lies on one side of the hallway, with a sitting room on the other. This leads to the library, decked out in tartan-lined bookcases and with views to the garden through a large bay window.
The house boasts a more informal study, which once would have been the morning room, again featuring a fireplace.
The formal dining room, with twin aspects, sits adjacent to the kitchen, featuring a twooven Aga in Hunter Green. A former maid’s parlour is now a spacious laundry room.
An elegant staircase rises to the first floor, where there are four bedrooms, two bathrooms, a shower room and box room.
Six acres of land consist of a rose garden, woodland, lawn, a paddock, fish pond, hen house, greenhouses, kitchen garden and a courtyard with outbuildings. Lumsden is set between the foothills of the Cairngorms and the north-east Moray coast.The house is within 30 minutes of the Lecht Ski Centre and 20 minutes from the cross-country skiing tracks of Clashindarroch Forest.
The harsh conditions to which the Rev Nicoll subjected his family do not appear to have had any lasting impact on the son of the manse. The boy who grew to become Sir William Robertson Nicoll flourished in the world of the printed word and was even described as ‘the most successful Christian of modern times’.
Sir William was a prominent journalist and editor, helping to build Hodder and Stoughton into one of the biggest publishing houses in the world. He launched The British Weekly, a political publication which won favour with prime ministers David Lloyd George and Winston Churchill.
Did his upbringing forge a love of writing that would make his fortune? Unlike his father, it does give you food for thought.