Amisfield House
Amisfield House was a substantial Palladian mansion near Haddington, East Lothian.
History
The land was purchased by Lady Anne Douglas and she changed the name of Newmilns to Amisfield after her ancestral home Amisfield Tower in Dumfriesshire.[1] An original (smaller) estate house was built on the East Lothian estate, east of Haddington, around 1700.[2]
The 18th century house was the creation of Francis Charteris, second son of James Wemyss, 5th Earl of Wemyss. The family became estranged from much of Scottish society when his elder brother, David, Lord Elcho chose to back the Jacobite cause, and Bonnie Prince Charlie and, as a result of the Jacobite defeat at the Battle of Culloden in 1746 David was ineligible to inherit the estate and on the death of the 6th Earl in 1756 Francis was instead the heir. Having done a "Grand Tour" of Europe, he chose to rebuilt the old house at Amisfield in the Palladian style. He commissioned the English architect Isaac Ware to design the house, due to his skill in the Palladian style. It faced north onto the River Tyne but had a formal south frontage facing the garden and broader estate.[3]
Charteris commissioned architect John Henderson (d.1786) in 1784 to update some interiors and add some features in the landscape. Most importantly, it was Henderson who added the continuous balustrade around the perimeter of the roof, and adding curved ramps in place of steps on the north frontage. Plasterwork dating from 1784 included work by James Nisbet in the dining room and other principal rooms. Henderson was also commissioned to create architectural features in the walled garden and other buildings around the estate (see below).[4]
While works progressed Charteris relocated to a newly purchased estate: Gosford House on the Firth of Forth, which he enjoyed the additional pleasure of a nearby golf links. When Amisfield was ready, he commissioned Robert Adam to remodel Gosford.[5]
Francis Charteris died in 1808 (and was buried on his Gosford estate). The estate then passed to his eldest son, Francis Charteris (1749-1808). The family vacillated between Gosford and Amisfield until 1883 when the treasures of Amisfield were transferred to Gosford. The family rented the house for some years, but the vast house was beyond almost all, and the house went into decline.[6]
Amisfield was abandoned in 1925 and demolished 1928/9. The Edinburgh architect Stewart Kaye was involved in making a photographic record of the house prior to demolition. The huge grounds of the house were partly used to create Amisfield Park and partly for Haddington Golf Club. The land closest to Haddington was used for new housing.[7] The gardens (publicly accessible under the name Amisfield Park) remain substantially intact.[8]
Surviving elements
- Quoins from the original house re-used on Longniddry Golf club House in 1929[9]
- Stable block by John Henderson (1785, remodelling a structure of c. 1700) east of where the house stood
- Walled garden by John Henderson (1783) now open to the public[10]
- Gothic Folly south of garden (c.1820)
- Ice house on opposite side of river (c.1760)
- Temple, north-east of house by Isaac Ware (1756)
- Entrance gates and pair of lodges, possibly early 18th c. remodelled by Ware
- Amisfield Mains, farmhouse c.1810, with Gothic lodge facing the A1 c.1810
- Amisfield Mains farm cottages c.1830
References
- ^ Castles of Scotland by Andrew Coventry
- ^ Buildings of Scotland: Lothian by Colin McWilliam
- ^ "Amisfield House | Canmore".
- ^ "Volunteer – Amisfield Walled Garden".
- ^ Scotland's Lost Houses, by Ian Gow p.85
- ^ Scotland's Lost Houses, by Ian Gow p.85
- ^ "Amisfield - Haddington".
- ^ Scottish Garden Buildings by Tim Buxbaum
- ^ Buildings of Scotland: Lothian by Colin McWilliam p.317
- ^ https://www.amisfield.org.uk/