 | This article needs additional citations for verification .(July 2018) |
Barony Castle, also known as Black Barony, and formerly as Darnhall, is a historic house at Eddleston in the Scottish Borders area of Scotland. The house is currently operated as a hotel, under the name of Barony Castle Hotel, and is protected as a Category B listed building. [1] Situated within the grounds lies the Great Polish Map of Scotland, a large relief model of Scotland, the largest of such in Europe.
The remains of a 16th-century tower house, built by the Murrays of Blackbarony, form the oldest part of the building. [2] Sir Alexander Murray, 2nd Baronet, purchased the nearby estate of Cringletie in 1666. [3] Sir Archibald Murray, 3rd Baronet (died c. 1700) was a soldier and from 1689 served as "Sole Master of Work, Overseer, and Director-General of their Majesties' buildings" to King William II and Queen Mary II, filling the post which had been vacant since Sir William Bruce's dismissal in 1678. [4]
The house was extended in the 18th century, resulting in the present facade. In 1771 Black Barony passed to the Murrays of Elibank, who retained ownership until 1930. [1] Further enlargements were made in the 19th century, and in the first half of the 20th century the house was converted to hotel use. [2] As of 2012, the hotel is operated by Prestige Hotel Management.
In 1843 James Gillespie Graham was commissioned to replace the whole structure with a new mansionhouse, but this was never progressed. Instead smaller extensions were made in the late 19th century under the 9th and 10th Lord Elibank. [5]
During the Second World War, Black Barony at Eddleston near Peebles was requisitioned for military use and in 1942 became The Polish Higher Military School used for staff officer training. Poland had been invaded by Nazi Germany, Soviet Russia and Slovakia. Many Polish military personnel escaped via Romania to France and the United Kingdom. After the Fall of France in May 1940, many more Polish forces arrived in the UK. Most Polish land forces were deployed to Scotland and so Black Barony and other sites were requisitioned for the use of the Polish forces stationed in Scotland. These included the 10th Armoured Cavalry Brigade commanded by General Stanisław Maczek, which formed the nucleus of the 1st Polish Armoured Division organised in February 1942. Polish forces were initially deployed throughout Scotland for the defence of Scotland's East Coast against possible invasion by Nazi German forces in Norway and Denmark. The Poles provided the defence of many areas and vital services such as patrolling and guarding beaches, ports, estuaries, airfields and radar sites. They operated anti-aircraft guns and barrage balloons and installed tank obstacles.
An underground, ovoid structure, dated 1789 was constructed 100m to the north-east of the house by the 7th Lord Elibank. [6]
Peeblesshire, the County of Peebles or Tweeddale is a historic county of Scotland. Its county town is Peebles, and it borders Midlothian to the north, Selkirkshire to the east, Dumfriesshire to the south, and Lanarkshire to the west.
Sir James Montgomery, 1st Baronet Stanhope, FRSE was a Scottish advocate, judge, country landowner, agriculturalist and politician who sat in the House of Commons from 1766 to 1775. In 1783 he was a joint founder of the Royal Society of Edinburgh.
Alexander William Charles Oliphant Murray, 1st Baron Murray of Elibank, called The Master of Elibank between 1871 and 1912, was a Scottish nobleman and Liberal politician. He served as Parliamentary Secretary to the Treasury under H. H. Asquith between 1910 and 1912, when he was forced to resign after being implicated in the Marconi scandal.
Broughton is a village in Tweeddale in the historical county of Peeblesshire in the Scottish Borders council area, in the south of Scotland, in the civil parish of Broughton, Glenholm and Kilbucho and Upper Tweed Community Council. Broughton is on the Biggar Water, near where it flows into the River Tweed. It is about 7 km east of Biggar, and 15 km west of Peebles.
Comlongon Castle is a tower house dating from the later 15th century or early 16th century. It is located 1 kilometre (0.62 mi) west of the village of Clarencefield, and 10 kilometres (6.2 mi) south-east of Dumfries, in south west Scotland. The original tower has been extended by the addition of a baronial style mansion, completed around 1900. Originally built by the Murrays of Cockpool, it remained in the Murray family until 1984. It was subsequently restored, having been vacant for some time, and the castle and mansion are now a hotel. As of 15 April 2019, the business side of Comlongon Castle has gone into Administration, consequently all weddings due and accommodation booked for after this date were cancelled, leaving the future of the castle uncertain.
Yester Castle is a ruined castle, located 1+1⁄2 miles southeast of the village of Gifford in East Lothian, Scotland. The only remaining complete structure is the subterranean Goblin Ha' or Hobgoblin Ha' . It is a Scheduled Ancient Monument, recorded as such by the Royal Commission on the Ancient and Historical Monuments of Scotland. Yester castle is on private land and is not open to the public.
Ochtertyre is a country house and estate in Perth and Kinross, Scotland. It is located in Strathearn, between Crieff and Loch Turret, north of the A85.
Eddleston is a small village and civil parish in the Scottish Borders area of Scotland. It lies 4 miles (6.4 km) north of Peebles and 9 miles (14 km) south of Penicuik on the A703, which passes through the centre of the village. Nearby is the Great Polish Map of Scotland, a large terrain map. The Eddleston Water runs through the village.
Craigiehall is a late-17th-century country house, which until 2015 served as the Headquarters of the British Army in Scotland. It is located close to Cramond, around 9 km (5.6 mi) west of central Edinburgh, Scotland.
Venlaw Castle, also known as Smithfield Castle, lies north of Peebles on the Edinburgh Road in the Borders of Scotland. Since 1949, it has been operated as a hotel. It was designated in 1971 as a Category A listed building.
Ballencrieff Castle, also known as Ballencrieff House, is a large tower house at Ballencrieff, East Lothian, Scotland. It is located three miles north west of Haddington, and one mile south of Aberlady.
Dawyck House is a historic house at Dawyck, in the parish of Drumelzier in the former Peeblesshire, in the Scottish Borders area of Scotland. The alternative name is 'Dalwick House'. Canmore ID 49816.
Cavers is a parish in the Scottish Borders area of Scotland, in the former county of Roxburghshire, south and east of Hawick. The largest village in the parish is Denholm.
Cringletie is a Scottish Baronial house by the Eddleston Water, around 3 kilometres (1.9 mi) south of Eddleston in the Scottish Borders area of Scotland, in the former Peeblesshire. Designed by David Bryce and built in 1861, the house is a Category B listed building. Since 1971 it has been operated as a country house hotel.
Darnhall Mains is a farm and settlement off the A703, near Eddleston and the Eddleston Water in the Scottish Borders area of Scotland, in the former Peeblesshire.
Stobo Castle is located at Stobo in the Scottish Borders, in the former county of Peeblesshire. The Manor of Stobo was originally owned by the Balfour family. It became the family seat of the Graham-Montgomery Baronets from 1767. The building of the present castle began in 1805 and was completed in 1811 under the supervision of architects Archibald and James Elliot. It is currently operated as a health spa. The house is protected as a category A listed building, while the grounds are included in the Inventory of Gardens and Designed Landscapes in Scotland, the national listing of significant parks and gardens.
The Great Polish Map of Scotland is a large three-dimensional, outdoor concrete scale model of Scotland, located in the grounds of the Barony Castle Hotel, outside the village of Eddleston near Peebles in the Scottish Borders. It is also known as the Mapa Scotland or the Barony Map. The brainchild of Polish war veteran Jan Tomasik, it was built between 1974 and 1979 and is claimed to be the world's largest terrain relief model. The sculpture is a category B listed building, and has been restored by the Mapa Scotland volunteer group.
Westgate Hall is located in Westgate in the village of Denholm, Roxburghshire, in the Scottish Borders. It stands at the western and south-western approaches to the village. Dating from the 17th century, it is an example of a building of that period that was once common in Scotland and is now a category A listed building.
Skirling is a parish, community council area and village in Peeblesshire in the Scottish Borders situated 2+1⁄2 miles east of Biggar in Lanarkshire. Biggar Water, a tributary the River Tweed forms the southern boundary of the parish with the parish of Broughton, Glenholm and Kilbucho. It is also bounded by that parish on the east, namely the Broughton part of it. On the north it is bounded by the parish Kirkurd in Peeblesshire. Spittal Burn forms most of its western boundary with Lanarkshire.
Baron of Stobo is a title of nobility in the Baronage of Scotland which takes its name from Stobo in the Scottish Borders.