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Cairness House

1797 establishments in ScotlandBuildings and structures in BuchanCategory A listed buildings in AberdeenshireCountry houses in AberdeenshireHouses completed in 1797
Inventory of Gardens and Designed LandscapesListed houses in ScotlandNeoclassical architecture in ScotlandTourist attractions in Aberdeenshire
Cairness House south front
Cairness House south front

Cairness House, 4.5 miles (7 km) south-east of Fraserburgh in Buchan in the county of Aberdeenshire, is a country house built in the Neoclassical style between 1791 and 1797 to designs by architect James Playfair. It replaced an earlier house of 1781 by Robert Burn, which was in part incorporated into the Playfair scheme. Sir John Soane assisted in the final stages of the construction after Playfair's death in 1794. The park was laid out by Thomas White, a follower of Lancelot 'Capability' Brown. The Pevsner Architectural Guide for Aberdeenshire North and Moray states that "Cairness House, by James Playfair 1791-97, is of international importance as the only house in Britain, the design and construction of which reflected and evolved with the rapid advances in French Neoclassicism towards the end of the C18" and that "its survival is the more precious as so many of Playfair's other designs were either not built or have been lost or altered".

Excerpt from the Wikipedia article Cairness House (License: CC BY-SA 3.0, Authors, Images).

Geographical coordinates (GPS)

Latitude Longitude
N 57.6382 ° E -1.9375 °
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Address

B9033
AB43 8UH
Scotland, United Kingdom
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Cairness House south front
Cairness House south front
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Nearby Places

Crimonmogate
Crimonmogate

Crimonmogate is an estate near Crimond, Aberdeenshire. The estate formed part of Lonmay parish, dates back to the 14th century, and was included in the lands owned by the powerful Earls of Erroll. The estate was sold by Mary Hay, 14th Countess of Erroll, in the 1730s. Major development commenced when the land was owned by the merchant Patrick Milne in the late 18th and early 19th centuries and the estate is now most famous for Crimonmogate House, designed by the Aberdeen architect Archibald Simpson for Milne. The Greek Revival building is protected as a category A listed building and the grounds are included on the Inventory of Gardens and Designed Landscapes in Scotland. After Milne's death the estate passed to the Bannerman family, who continued to develop the lands and completed the construction of the mansion, also adding a mansard roof later. Simpson was commissioned to design further structures within the estate. Eventually, through marriage in the 20th century, the estate returned to the Errolls. Almost at the turn of that century, in 1996, the estate was purchased by Christopher Monckton, who began restoration work on the mansion. As a publicity stunt, Monckton falsely claimed in 2000 that he was having to offer it for sale to pay prize money after the Eternity puzzle was solved years sooner than anticipated. In 2001 the estate was bought by a former Chanel model and her husband, Viscount Petersham, who continued the renovation work and use the property as a function and wedding facility although bookings for weddings were discontinued at the end of 2016.

Inverallochy and Cairnbulg
Inverallochy and Cairnbulg

The villages of Inverallochy (Scottish Gaelic: Inbhir Aileachaidh) and Cairnbulg (from the Gaelic càrn builg meaning 'gap cairn') lie some 4 miles (6.4 km) east of Fraserburgh, in North East Scotland. It formerly consisted of the three fishing villages of Brandesburgh, Cairnbulg and Inverallochy, but the former village has since disappeared. Cairnbulg Castle, one of the nine castles of the Knuckle, originally dated to the 13th century and parts of the current construction are believed to date to an earlier period but whereas the land of Inverallochy was granted by Earl Alexander to Jordan Comyn in 1277, there is no indication that the now-ruined Inverallochy Castle was built at such an early date. Cairnbulg Castle was a stronghold of the Comyns, but was given by Robert the Bruce to the Earls of Ross in 1316 following the Harrying of Buchan, then passed to the Frasers from 1375 until 1666. The current construction is a late 19th-century re-build following a century of abandonment and dereliction. Well-established fishing communities were in place in the area by the early 16th century, but after an epidemic of cholera in the 1860s wiped out the "collections of huts next to which fishing boats were dragged out of reach of the tide", planned fishing settlements were recreated at Inverallochy and the twinned village Cairnbulg. As a result of this planning, within 20 years over 200 boats were based here, although in recent years this has dwindled to almost zero as larger, commercial operations became focused on the nearby ports of Fraserburgh and Peterhead. Cairnbulg railway station was opened on 1 July 1903. It was originally named Inverallochy, but was renamed on 1 September, two months after it opened. The station closed in 1965. Philorth Bridge Halt was located near the Water of Philorth at the entrance to Cairnbulg Castle. Owing to the close proximity of the villages to one another, the name Invercairn has in recent years become used on a local basis to represent both, such as in Invercairn Gala and Invercairn Utd FC.