Dalmeny House

We sneaked ourselves a cheeky Monday off just for the heck of it and it delivered in spades, with the mid-July weather hot and sunny for once. We had planned our itinerary more in hope than expectation so we were delighted to be able to go for it.

The Dalmeny Estate sits on the south shore of the Firth of Forth, stretching from the River Almond at Cramond to South Queensferry where the Forth Bridge comes ashore. We have walked through the estate many times over the years but we had never been inside the house itself.

It was well worth the wait.

The house is open for a limited time each year, currently only during June and July from Sunday to Wednesday with guided tours twice per day. Depending on when you are reading this blog you may have to visit very soon or diary it for next summer. I’d suggest you check the web-site for the most current details.

A small purely practical note: they don’t accept card payments for your entry ticket. This is not because they are behind the times; it’s because the walls of the small office in the lobby are too thick for the wi-fi to penetrate. How remiss of them not to think of this when they were building the house in the early 1800’s.

Looking north from the house there is a magnificent view across the Forth to Fife and various islands including Inchcolm, Inchmickery and Cramond Island. Our guide told us, with a twinkle in her eye, that the locals say that if you can see Fife it will rain soon and, if you can’t see it, it’s already raining.

Not far from Dalmeny House, Barnbougle Castle stands on the shore. From 1662 Barnbougle was the original family home of Sir Archibald Primrose, father of the first Earl of Rosebery. There are tales of a ghostly dog at Hound Point and the castle itself was badly damaged when stored explosives were accidentally ignited, although the castle was later restored.

Barnbougle Castle

My favourite story concerns the description of the castle in the late 18^th century as ‘sea-battered and much neglected’. This was evidenced by the fact that the 3^rd Earl was soaked by a wave which came in through the dining room window. Perhaps a few running repairs were called for.

It was the 4th Earl of Rosebery who built Dalmeny House between 1814 and 1817 and moved the family there on its completion. The family also had an English property, Mentmore, and many of the contents of Dalmeny House were brought from there as the family chose to make their main home here on their Scottish estate.

And so to the house itself.  The entrance lobby leads through to a magnificent hammer beam ceilinged hall and around the walls and up the stairs there are numerous pictures including Goya tapestries and various family portraits, including a delightful 1978 picture of the current Earl and his family in the parkland in front of the house.

I won’t list all the paintings and other house contents of interest here. It’s always my intent to share my impression of a place rather than to catalogue every detail and, furthermore, the guides on the day and the supporting book will impart far more extensive information than I could possibly do justice to here.

One thing I will mention is that the house is the family home of the Roseberys and taking interior photos would intrude on their privacy and is therefore not permitted, which I fully respect. Whilst I have included a selection of exterior shots there are no interior shots for this reason, although the house web-site has the official interior photos.

My favourite room must be the Library. The walls are lined with book cabinets (one of which I’m assured can be opened to reveal a drinks bar behind) and the superb view across to the water could tempt you to select a good read, settle onto a suitably comfortable chair and enjoy the ambience. However, the guided tour progresses and you can but dream.

The Library was badly damaged by fire in 1942 although, fortuitously, most of the room contents were rescued.

The Drawing Room is next and houses some of the finest pieces of French furniture from the collection of Baron Mayer de Rothschild, of the banking dynasty. His daughter married the 5^th Earl of Rosebery, hence the inheritance of the furniture and various tapestries and decorative pieces from the reigns of Louis XIV, XV and XVI. These include Sevres Biscuit (i.e. unglazed) statuettes of Marie Antoinette and a porcelain statute of her dog, once owned by the great lady herself.

The Gothic Corridor is a curiosity in itself. The gothic style was favoured by the Earl and his architect, hence the fan-vaulted ceiling, but in truth gothic architecture pre-dated the concept of corridors and rooms were simply accessed via other rooms. The idea of corridors followed later providing greater privacy for those in individual rooms and sensible access routes to required locations within a property.

A ‘Gothic Corridor’ is therefore something of an oxymoron as no such thing strictly exists, except here at Dalmeny. Of course that does not stop it being delightful, with further paintings and artefacts to admire. The two central panels in the quartet of stained glass windows were installed back to front, the main giveaway being that they depict a couple getting married but instead of facing each other the kneeling pair are back to back. The background detail also shows the mismatch in the continuity of the pillars and stonework.

The 5^th Earl of Rosebery was very interested in the career rise and fall of Napoleon Bonaparte and one of the rooms off the Gothic Corridor is devoted to his collection of paintings and memorabilia. Everything from the desk, screens, shaving stand and paraphernalia from his life as he ploughed his egotistical furrow to positions of great power in Europe is represented here along with his fall from grace and exile, notably marked by the leather campaign chair of the Duke of Wellington who plotted Napoleon’s downfall at Waterloo.

The Dining Room is home to an excellent display of portraits by Raeburn, Gainsborough, Reynolds and others.  That list of artists alone should make this a must see, and they chronicle much of the history of the Rosebery dynasty.

The jewel in the crown of the smaller rooms open to the public must be Lord Rosebery’s Sitting Room, kept exactly as it was during the lifetime of the 6^th Earl. As well as the desk and fireside chairs there are many items confirming his interest in horse racing.

There are other rooms to explore and a large cabinet of Vicenne and Sevres porcelain thrown in for good measure (although ‘thrown in’ may not be the ideal phrase when speaking of porcelain!).

King Tom

Throughout the house there is so much evidence of the Rosebery influence around royalty, politics, aristocracy and horse racing (the statue in the grounds to the east of the house is of King Tom, the foundation stallion of Baron Meyer de Rothschild’s stud, and was moved from Mentmore in 1982 and takes pride of place).

Toots and Redhead enjoying the sunshine

The Rosebery family have influence. They also have a wonderful house, a stone’s throw from the bustle of Edinburgh but miles away in terms of peace and calm. It was a pleasure to spend an afternoon on the guided tour of their captivating house and a stroll around some of their grounds on a delightful summer day.