| Northfield House | |
|---|---|
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| General information | |
| Type | Preston, East Lothian |
| Country | Scotland |
Northfield House is a seventeenth-century historic house at Preston, East Lothian, Scotland, UK. It is situated very close to Hamilton House and Preston Tower, and one mile east to Prestongrange House and the Royal Musselburgh Golf Club. It is a Category A listed building. [1]
This L-plan house was built for the Hamiltons of Preston (who occupied nearby Preston Tower) in the late 16th century and was sold to Joseph Marjoribanks, a burgess of Edinburgh in 1607. [2] He and his wife Marion Symesoune enlarged and embellished the house, the completion of the work being commemorated by the magnificent door on the south side of the house which incorporates the date 1611 and the motto (in Scots) "Excep the Lord Buld Inwane Bulds Man" and the Marjoribanks and Symesoune arms. Marjoribanks was a Baillie of Edinburgh. In 1617, when James VI and I visited Scotland, Marjoribanks hosted banquets for the courtiers James Maxwell and James Bowie and the Lord Provost, William Nisbet, and for the Dean of Westminster, George Montaigne. [3]
The house was occupied for most of the 17th century by the Marjoribanks family, and was eventually sold around the year 1700. In 1746 it was owned by a surgeon named A. Nesbit, and later by James Syme, a slater, whose son, a Royal Navy Captain, later sold it in 1896 to James McNeill a mining engineer from Wishaw who had acquired the estate to work the coal.
In 1954 the architect Schomberg Scott bought Northfield House [2] with its walled garden of about 2 acres from Miss McNeill, James McNeill's daughter. Miss McNeill sold off the remainder of the estate for development over the ensuing years with the result that the house is now surrounded by 19th and 20th century development of mixed quality and the old home farm buildings are converted into dwellings. An early 17th century chimneypiece was added in 1954 having been rescued from the demolition of the nearby Woolmet House due to mine workings. [4]
By 1999 the house and garden were in serious disrepair and in late 1999 the trustees of Mr and Mrs Scott's contract of marriage trust sold it to Finlay Lockie who has been restoring both house and garden gradually since. Finlay Lockie gave a tour of the House on BBC Two's "Castle in the Country", season 4, episode 9 (part of the Floors Castle series), first broadcast on 23 July 2008.
Apart from a brief period between the death of Schomberg Scott and acquisition of the house by Finlay Lockie, the house has been continuously occupied as a private house. It has never belonged to East Lothian Council, though the council was concerned as to its future when it was empty and has been supportive of Lockie's restoration efforts. The National Trust for Scotland did at one time consider making the house into a museum of painted ceilings - the house has several fine ceilings (beam and board painted in floral patterns and arabesques in egg tempera) in good condition, but this plan never came to fruition. The house was put on the market in October 2020. [5]
In the former grounds of Northfield House stands a 16th-century beehive doocot (Scots for "dovecot"), also a Category A listed building. [6] There are also some interesting garden features including brick-lined walls (18th and 19th century) and a mock bartizan accessible by a stone stair within the garden.
Cockenzie and Port Seton is a unified town in East Lothian, Scotland. It is on the coast of the Firth of Forth, four miles east of Musselburgh. The burgh of Cockenzie was created in 1591 by James VI of Scotland. Port Seton harbour was built by George Seton, 11th Lord Seton between 1655 and 1665.
Craigmillar Castle is a ruined medieval castle in Edinburgh, Scotland. It is three miles (4.8 km) south-east of the city centre, on a low hill to the south of the modern suburb of Craigmillar. The Preston family of Craigmillar, the local feudal barons, began building the castle in the late 14th century and building works continued through the 15th and 16th centuries. In 1660, the castle was sold to Sir John Gilmour, Lord President of the Court of Session, who breathed new life into the ageing castle. The Gilmours left Craigmillar in the 18th century for a more modern residence, nearby Inch House, and the castle fell into ruin. It is now in the care of Historic Environment Scotland as a scheduled monument, and is open to the public.
Pencaitland is a village in East Lothian, Scotland, about 12 miles south-east of Edinburgh, 5 mi (8 km) south-west of Haddington, and 1 mi (2 km) east of Ormiston.
Prestonpans is a small mining town, situated approximately eight miles east of Edinburgh, Scotland, in the council area of East Lothian. The population as of 2020 is 10,460. It is near the site of the 1745 Battle of Prestonpans. Prestonpans is "Scotland's Mural Town", with many murals depicting local history.
Dirleton Castle is a medieval fortress in the village of Dirleton, East Lothian, Scotland. It lies around 2 miles (3.2 km) west of North Berwick, and around 19 miles (31 km) east of Edinburgh. The oldest parts of the castle date to the 13th century, and it was abandoned by the end of the 17th century.
Linlithgow is a town in West Lothian, Scotland. It was historically West Lothian's county town, reflected in the county's historical name of Linlithgowshire. An ancient town, it lies in the Central Belt on a historic route between Edinburgh and Falkirk beside Linlithgow Loch. The town is situated approximately 20 miles (32 km) west of Edinburgh.
Regent Bridge is a road bridge in Edinburgh, Scotland, where the A1 road enters the New Town from the east and passes over a hollow near Calton Hill. The bridge was built in the 19th century, in the neoclassical style as the medieval city was modernised and expanded to the north and east.
Preston Tower is a ruined L-plan keep in the ancient Scottish village of Prestonpans. It is situated within a few metres of two other historic houses, Hamilton House and Northfield House.
Greenknowe Tower is a 16th-century tower house, located just west of the village of Gordon, in the Scottish Borders. Although a roofless ruin, the stonework of the tower is well preserved, and represents a fine example of a later tower house, built more as a residence rather than as a place of defence. The building is located at NT639428, beside the A6105 road. It is a Scheduled Ancient Monument, and is in the care of Historic Scotland.
Clan Marjoribanks is a Scottish clan of the Scottish Lowlands.
James Murray of Kilbaberton, (d.1634), was a Scottish master wright and architect. He served as the King's Master of Works under James VI, and Charles I. He was one of the first men in Scotland to be called an architect.
Hamilton House, also known as Magdalen's House, is a 17th-century "Laird's House" in the town of Prestonpans in East Lothian, Scotland. It is an exemplar of this type of architecture and has retained its crow-stepped gables and corner towers. It is owned by the National Trust for Scotland and is a Category A Listed Building.
Phantassie is an agricultural hamlet near East Linton, East Lothian, Scotland. It is close to the River Tyne, Preston Mill, and Prestonkirk Parish Church.
Balbardie House was an 18th-century Scottish mansion house in West Lothian, Scotland, near to the town of Bathgate.
Prestongrange Parish Church is a Church of Scotland kirk situated in the small, former mining town of Prestonpans in East Lothian. The church was built in 1596, one of the first churches to be built in Scotland following the Scottish Reformation in 1560. In 1606, Prestonpans was created a parish in its own right following centuries of being part of the parish of Tranent.
Saltoun Hall is an historic house standing in extensive lands off the B6355, Pencaitland to East Saltoun road, about 1.5 miles from each village, in East Lothian, Scotland. The house is reached by way of an impressive gateway and is situated at grid reference NT461685.
Bankton House is a late 17th-century house situated south of Prestonpans in East Lothian, Scotland. The house is located between the A1 road and the East Coast Main Line railway at grid reference NT394736.
The Inch is a district of Edinburgh, Scotland, located to the south of Inch Park in the south of the city. It is located 2 miles south south-east of central Edinburgh. It incorporates the Inch housing development, Inch Park and the category A listed Inch House, a former country house now used as a community centre. The associated Inch Doocot or dovecot, also a category A listed building, is situated close by, west of Gilmerton Road.
Walter Schomberg Hepburn Scott (1910–1998) was a Scottish architect specialising in building restoration. From 1950 to 1975, he did multiple projects for the National Trust of Scotland.