Dramatic features
Movie maker’s jewel of a mansion has become the perfect home
WITH its imposing pillared doorway and magnificent two-storey entrance hall, Craigielands House is certainly not short of architectural drama. But this remarkable property also has links to a very different type of drama – as the birthplace of the most successful soap opera in British TV history, plus a Hollywood movie starring Colin Firth.
The mansion, near Beattock in Dumfriesshire, was home to television pioneer Sir Denis Forman, who brought Coronation Street to our screens, as well as series such as The Jewel in the Crown and World in Action.
Sir Denis became director of the British Film Institute and chairman of the Granada Group between 1974 and 1987.
His life story was made into the film My Life So Far, in 1999, starring Colin Firth and Mary Elizabeth Mastrantonio.
Current owner Alistair Harkness said: ‘It’s a fabulous home.
‘Some country houses are just too big, with wings containing 16 bedrooms and the like. This place just gives you a hug.’
Grade A-listed Craigielands was built in 1817 by Edinburgh brewing family the Youngers, and at that time was part of a much bigger country estate.
Laid out in typical Regency style, with a simple rectangular footprint, it is clearly a property which was built to entertain.
The wow factor comes in the form of the dramatic galleried entrance hall, which rises up two floors and floods the reception area with light.
Offering a classical greeting, the word ‘Salve’ – Latin for welcome – is inscribed in the mosaic tiled floor.
The house features a tall ‘piano nobile’ – an Italian architectural term for the main floor of a palazzo, the hub of a mansion off which all the public rooms and bedrooms lie.
The drawing room and morning room each have double aspects and retain an impressive array of period features, including imposing mantelpieces, cornicing, window shutters and some original radiators. These two reception rooms are supported by the library and dining room, again rich in original detail and accessed from the central hall.
Mr Harkness explained: ‘The house just swallows up people. We had a big party at the millennium, and there were 120 people here for my wedding.
‘The lower ground floor is the original ‘‘man cave’’, with plenty of space for a party at the bar and there’s a billiards room next door.’
On this level, there’s also a family room or cinema room, spa pool with sauna, wine cellar and playroom. The kitchen boasts a fouroven Aga and a broad archway, leading to the breakfast room.
Six bedrooms lie off the central hallway on the first floor, along with a sitting area which is located over the entrance hallway at the eastern front.
There is also a ground-floor bedroom suite, with bathroom and dressing room as well as a utility room, laundry and cloakroom with WC.
In the generous gardens, a coach house and stables are also available, possibly as a separate lot. There have been other notable owners of Craigielands over the years. The widow of celebrated philanthropist Andrew Carnegie bought the house in 1943 and, years later, the keys were handed to F1 driver Eddie Cheever Jnr, who won the famous Indy 500 race in America in 1988.
If that’s not racy enough for you, the sales brochure reveals: ‘More speculatively, the local grapevine has it that Elton John and Freddie Mercury jointly hosted a lengthy and decadent birthday party at Craigielands.’