Yester House

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Yester House

Yester House is a mansion near the Scottish town of Gifford in the East Lothian Council Area . In 1971 the building was included in the Scottish Monuments List in the highest category A. Furthermore, the associated buildings are registered as monuments. The gateway, St Bothan's Chapel and Danskine Gateway are classified as Category A buildings. A bridge, the gardener's house and the stables are classified as Category B structures. All buildings together also form a Category A monument ensemble. The property was most recently included in the Scottish Landscape Gardens Register.

history

In the 13th century, Baron Hugh de Giffard (also Hugo de Gifford ) received the lands of Yester. They remained in the possession of his descendants until the middle of the 20th century. Yester Castle was built in the late 13th century and is still preserved in fragments today. Two centuries later, St Bothan's Chapel was added near the village of Yester . Yester was relocated in the 1700s, creating what is now Gifford. Through marriage, the history of the lands became intertwined with the politically influential Clan Hay .

John Hay, 2nd Marquess of Tweeddale

John Hay, 1st Earl of Tweeddale , considered building a mansion in the 17th century. His successor, John Hay, 1st Marquess of Tweeddale, began building a landscape park in the mid-17th century. Construction on Yester House finally began under John Hay, 2nd Marquess of Tweeddale in 1699. James Smith and Alexander McGill acted as engineers . First buildings were erected in the periphery and the main building followed last. The construction work progressed slowly and finally dragged on until 1728. Upon completion, John Hay, 4th Marquess of Tweeddale soon initiated a revision of Yester House. For this, the important Scottish architect William Adam was hired. In the late 1780s, William Adams' sons John and Robert were entrusted with further remodeling. With the relocation of the entrance area to the west side in connection with the adaptation of the interior, the last significant construction phase took place in 1830. William George Montagu Hay, 11th Marquess of Tweeddale , had Yester House modernized in the 1920s. After his death in 1967 the property was sold.

The composer Gian Carlo Menotti acquired Yester House in the 1970s. It was put up for sale after his death in 2007. The price of 12 to 15 million pounds, after no buyer was found, was reduced to 8 million pounds two years later, but a wooded area was spun off from the property. It was eventually sold to Gareth and Nicola Wood for an undisclosed amount .

description

Yester House is set in extensive grounds around one kilometer southeast of Gifford. The two-story mansion is designed in a classical style. The masonry is made of sandstone . The north side was once the front. It is nine axes wide and ends with a triangular gable . The central projection, which is three axes wide , has arched windows and colossal pilasters . The south side is similar, but designed more simply. A round arch portal leads into the center. Today's entrance area on the west side is designed with a porte-cochère with a simple coat of arms in the tympanum . Yester House ends with a slate-covered platform roof . A two-story pavilion extends from the northeast edge.

Danskine Gateway

The Danskine Gateway is a gateway to Yester House. This is about two kilometers west of the manor house and was probably built in the early 18th century. The gate pillars have a square floor plan. A cornice sits on the simple rusticated pillars . They close with step pyramids on which balls sit. The wrought iron , two-winged gate is decorated with crowns.

Gate access

Gate access to Yester House

The gate driveway marks the western approach to Yester House. It is about one kilometer northwest of the manor house and was built between 1753 and 1760 according to a design by Robert Adam. The structure consists of a pair of identical residential buildings with tall pillars between them. These are made of red sandstone and tower above the lodges. They are decorated with Ionic pillars. The wrought iron gates are decorated with initials and a crown. The gates of the flanking pedestrian paths are designed more simply. A balustrade runs above it , connecting the pillars with the lodges. The classicist lodges are single-story and end with slate-roofed hipped roofs .

St Bothan's Chapel

St Bothan's Chapel

St Bothan's Chapel dates back to a parish church from 1241. This was used as a collegiate church from 1421 and became obsolete after the completion of the Yester Parish Church in 1710. Much of this building was demolished in the 1750s and converted into today's St Bothan's Chapel, a chapel and mausoleum . The sandstone structure combines elements of Gothic and Rococo . Robert and John Adam are responsible for the design.

bridge

The bridge leads to an access road to Yester House over Gifford Water . It is located around 200 m west of the manor house. It is a single arched arch bridge with cantilevered cornices with curved sides. There it closes with mounted obelisks . The classicist design is similar to William Adam's design for General Wade's Bridge in Aberfeldy .

Gardener's house

The gardener's house, located 400 m west of the manor, was possibly built by William Adam around 1725 and later redesigned. The two-story sandstone building is directly adjacent to the gardens. The three axes wide front is designed with a central projection. The entrance door closes with a fighter window . The hipped roof is covered with gray slate. There are farm buildings on both sides.

stables

The classical stables with Tudor Gothic details are close to the gardener's house. They were built around 1825, with fragments of a previous building being integrated. Pink sandstone was used at the front, while the rest of the building is made of red. The rectangular building encloses an inner courtyard. Today, the stables are only in ruins, which is why the building was included in the register of endangered listed buildings in Scotland in 2008. His condition is classified as critical.

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ a b c Listed Building - Entry . In: Historic Scotland .
  2. ↑ a b Listed Building - Entry . In: Historic Scotland .
  3. ↑ a b Listed Building - Entry . In: Historic Scotland .
  4. ↑ a b Listed Building - Entry . In: Historic Scotland .
  5. ↑ a b Listed Building - Entry . In: Historic Scotland .
  6. ↑ a b Listed Building - Entry . In: Historic Scotland .
  7. ↑ a b Listed Building - Entry . In: Historic Scotland .
  8. ↑ a b c Garden and Designed Landscape - entry . In: Historic Scotland .
  9. ↑ Auslan Cramb: Scotland's Yester House on market for £ 15 million , The Telegraph, 12. August 2008.
  10. ^ Brian Donnelly: Going, going ... asking price for nation's dearest house is halved , Herald Scotland, September 28, 2010 ( Memento of June 18, 2015 in the Internet Archive )
  11. ^ Information from the Hay clan
  12. ↑ Entry on St Bothan's Chapel  in Canmore, Historic Environment Scotland's database
  13. ↑ Entry on buildingsatrisk.org.uk

Web links

Coordinates: 55 ° 53 '43.4 "  N , 2 ° 43' 53.6"  W.