Prestonfield House

Last updated

Prestonfield House
Prestonfield House - geograph.org.uk - 1599982.jpg
Prestonfield House
General information
LocationPriestfield Road, Edinburgh, Flag of Scotland.svg  Scotland
Coordinates 55°56′11″N3°09′27″W / 55.936426°N 3.157475°W / 55.936426; -3.157475
Opening1960s
Other information
Number of suites23
Number of restaurants1
Website
www.prestonfield.com

Prestonfield House is a boutique hotel in Prestonfield, Edinburgh, Scotland. Originally built in 1687 by architect Sir William Bruce, [1] it was once considered a wealthy rural estate, however in recent decades, it has come to serve as a hotel. Although it falls on the small side as an establishment, having only 23 rooms, it is well-known to hotel and hospitality critics. [2] [3] The hotel is at the foot of Arthur's Seat and has a large roundhouse, previously used for keeping horses. The stables were repurposed and now host events, including the "Taste of Scotland Festival". [4]

Contents

History

Originally known as Priestfield, the site was once a wealthy monastery, founded in 1150 by Henry, Earl of Northumbria. [5]

Circa 1510, Walter Chepman built Priestfield House on the site. Thomas Hamilton, Lord Priestfield was clearly living in the house in 1607, when he adopted Prestonfield as his style as a Senator of the College of Justice. [6]

James Dick bought the house in 1671. It burned down during an anti-Catholic riot in 1681. Dick employed Sir William Bruce to design a replacement building, which was then renamed Prestonfield, distancing it from its Catholic connections. [7]

The house remained the home of the Dick baronets for many centuries.

In 1751 the house was inherited by Sir Alexander Dick [8] from his elder brother William and his wife Anne Dick. The Dick family continued to modify and improve the estate, adding paintings, a new staircase with reception rooms and a porte-cochère. Most notably, the stable house was built in the 19th century, as designed by James Gillespie Graham. In the late 19th century it was the home of Sir William Hanmer Dick-Cunyngham, 8th Baronet of Prestonfield and Lambrughton. His son, Lieutenant Colonel William Henry Dick-Cunyngham VC (16 June 1851 – 6 January 1900) was a Scottish recipient of the Victoria Cross. He was in command of the 2nd Battalion Gordon Highlanders, in the Second Boer War where he was mortally wounded in action at the siege of Ladysmith.

The estate was converted for use as a hotel in the 1960s and, in 2003, the hotel was bought by restaurateur James Thomson.

In 2004 Mike Watson, Baron Watson of Invergowrie was charged and later convicted of Wilful fire raising after setting fire to a set of curtains in the hotel following a night of heavy drinking in The Stables at The Scottish Politician of the Year party. [9] [10]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Dean Cemetery</span> Historic Victorian cemetery in Edinburgh

The Dean Cemetery is a historically important Victorian cemetery north of the Dean Village, west of Edinburgh city centre, in Scotland. It lies between Queensferry Road and the Water of Leith, bounded on its east side by Dean Path and on its west by the Dean Gallery. A 20th-century extension lies detached from the main cemetery to the north of Ravelston Terrace. The main cemetery is accessible through the main gate on its east side, through a "grace and favour" access door from the grounds of Dean Gallery and from Ravelston Terrace. The modern extension is only accessible at the junction of Dean Path and Queensferry Road.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">William Dick-Cunyngham</span> Recipient of the Victoria Cross

Lieutenant Colonel William Henry Dick-Cunyngham VC was a Scottish recipient of the Victoria Cross, the highest and most prestigious award for gallantry in the face of the enemy that can be awarded to British and Commonwealth forces.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Corstorphine</span> Village in Scotland

Corstorphine is an area of the Scottish capital city of Edinburgh. Formerly a separate village and parish to the west of Edinburgh, it is now a suburb of the city, having been formally incorporated into it in 1920.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Duddingston Kirk</span>

Duddingston Kirk is a Parish Church in the Church of Scotland, located adjacent to Holyrood Park in Duddingston Village, on the east side of the City of Edinburgh. Regular services are held at the kirk, conducted by the minister, Rev Dr James A. P. Jack.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">The Grange, Edinburgh</span> Human settlement in Scotland

The Grange is an affluent suburb of Edinburgh, just south of the city centre, with Morningside and Greenhill to the west, Newington to the east, The Meadows park and Marchmont to the north, and Blackford Hill to the south. It is a conservation area characterised by large early Victorian stone-built villas and mansions, often with very large gardens. The Grange was built mainly between 1830 and 1890, and the area represented the idealisation of country living within an urban setting.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Francis Ogilvy-Grant, 6th Earl of Seafield</span> Scottish nobleman

Colonel Francis William Ogilvy-Grant, 6th Earl of Seafield was a British Conservative Member of Parliament, military officer, and the 25th Chief of Clan Grant. He was appointed Scottish representative peer between 1841 and 1853.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Prestonfield, Edinburgh</span> Human settlement in Scotland

Prestonfield is a primarily residential suburb in the south of Edinburgh, the capital of Scotland. It lies to the east of the A7 road, as it leaves the city centre, approximately 3 miles south of the centre. It is best known as being home to Prestonfield House, a renowned hotel, and Prestonfield Golf Club. The golf course is the nearest to the city centre. The area was developed with housing in the interwar period with a series of private bungalows by James Miller and others alongside a council estate designed by Adam Campbell and built under City Architect Ebenezer J MacRae.

Sir Alexander Seton of Pitmedden, 1st Baronet, Lord Pitmedden was a Scottish advocate, a Senator of the College of Justice, a Lord of Justiciary, and a Commissioner.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Coworth Park Hotel</span> Building in Windsor and Maidenhead, UK

Coworth House, currently known as Coworth Park Hotel, is a late 18th-century country house situated at Sunningdale, near Ascot, in the English county of Berkshire. It is one of the ten hotels operated by the Dorchester Collection, a group of luxury hotels in Europe and the United States owned by the Brunei Investment Agency.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Regent Terrace</span>

Regent Terrace is a residential street of 34 classical 3-bay townhouses built on the upper south side of Calton Hill in the city of Edinburgh, Scotland. Regent Terrace is within the Edinburgh New and Old Town UNESCO World Heritage Site inscribed in 1995.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Hotel Senator (Saskatoon)</span> Building in Saskatchewan, Canada

The Hotel Senator is a landmark building located in downtown Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, Canada. The building was built as the Flanagan Hotel by James Flanagan, an early settler in Saskatoon, and designed by Walter William LaChance, an architect who designed many local Saskatoon buildings at the turn of the century. When originally built, the hotel included many luxury features for 1907, including steam heating, hot and cold running water, telephones in each room and extensive use of marble and wood paneling. James Flanagan died in 1909; the hotel was subsequently sold in 1910 for $150,000 by his estate.

The Dick baronetcy in Prestonfield, Edinburgh was created in the Baronetage of Nova Scotia for James Dick. Initially created in 1677, it was renewed in 1707 and merged with the Cunningham of Lambrughton, Ayrshire baronetcy in 1829. The family seat was Prestonfield House, Edinburgh. Sir William Dick, 2nd Baronet and Sir Alexander Dick, 3rd Baronet were the younger sons of Sir William Cunningham, 2nd Baronet and his wife Janet Dick, the daughter and heiress of Sir James Dick, 1st Baronet. Both brothers changed their surname to Dick on inheriting Prestonfield in turn.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Penicuik House</span> Grand estate house in Penicuik, Midlothian, Scotland

Penicuik House survives as the shell of a formerly grand estate house in Penicuik, Midlothian, Scotland. The 18th-century palladian mansion was built on the site of an earlier house by Sir James Clerk, 3rd Baronet. It was destroyed by fire in 1899 and a major restoration, stabilising the ruin, was completed in 2014 by G Brown Stonemasons.

Lady Anne Dick or Anne Cunyngham or Anne Mackenzie was a Scottish noblewoman, poet and eccentric. Some of her lampoons and verses are said to have embarrassed her friends.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sir Alexander Dick, 3rd Baronet</span> Scottish physician

Sir Alexander Dick, 3rd Baronet of Prestonfield PRCPE FRSE FSAScot was a Scottish landowner and physician, who rose to be President of the Royal College of Physicians of Edinburgh.

Sir James Dick of Prestonfield was a 17th and 18th century Scottish merchant who served as Lord Provost of Edinburgh from 1679 to 1681. He was the first Baronet of Prestonfield and was progenitor to the Dick baronets.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">William Dick of Braid</span> Scottish merchant and financier

Sir William Dick of Braid (1580–1655) was a 17th-century Scottish landowner, banker and merchant who served as Lord Provost of Edinburgh from 1638 to 1640. His fortunes took him from being "the richest man in Scotland" in 1650 to his death as a pauper a few years later.

Thomas Hamilton, Lord Priestfield (c.1535–1611) was a 16th/17th century Scottish judge and Senator of the College of Justice.

Andrew Hamilton, Lord Redhouse was a 16th/17th-century Scottish landowner and Senator of the College of Justice.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Priestfield Parish Church</span> Christian church in Scotland

Priestfield Parish Church, Edinburgh is a member of the Church of Scotland, in the presbytery of Edinburgh. It is located approximately 1.5 miles (2.4 km) south of Edinburgh city centre on Dalkeith Road at its junction with Marchhall Place. The church building was completed in 1880 and is now a category A listed building.

References

  1. Porter, Darwin; Prince, Danforth (2009), Frommer's Scotland (11 ed.), Frommer's, p. 101, ISBN   978-0-470-47075-6
  2. "PRESTONFIELD - Updated 2019 Prices, Hotel Reviews, and Photos (Edinburgh)".
  3. "Luxury 5 Star Boutique Hotel, Edinburgh | Prestonfield House Hotel". www.prestonfield.com.
  4. Taste of Scotland.
  5. "Luxury 5 Star Boutique Hotel, Edinburgh | Prestonfield House Hotel". www.prestonfield.com.
  6. An Historical Account of the Senators of the College of Justice
  7. "Luxury 5 Star Boutique Hotel, Edinburgh | Prestonfield House Hotel". www.prestonfield.com.
  8. "Dick, Alexander"  . Dictionary of National Biography . London: Smith, Elder & Co. 1885–1900.
  9. "Prison for drunken peer who set fire to hotel curtain". the Guardian. 23 September 2005. Retrieved 27 January 2022.
  10. "MSP admits setting fire to hotel curtains". The Independent. 1 September 2005. Retrieved 27 January 2022.