House of Falkland

When the Bruce family bought Falkland estate in 1820 the big house was called Nuthill. However when Onesipherous Tyndall-Bruce married wealthy heiress Margaret, he celebrated by building  a new house at a cost of £30 000. They employed architect William Burn (1789-1870) who demolished Nuthill and used the stone to build the new house, the House of Falkland between 1838 and 1844.

In 1890 the House of Falkland was bought by one of the richest men of his age, John Patrick Crichton-Stuart, third Marquess of Bute (1847-1900). He engaged Robert Weir Schultz to redesign the interior in the Art and Crafts style, with the result that the House of Falkland was what he considered to be his most luxurious house. With a fortune constantly replenished derived by Welsh coal  and his docks at Cardiff,  he was able to indulge his passion for owning and building houses (Cardiff Castle, Castel Coch, Mount Stuart, Dumfries House among them)

 The owner of the Falkland estate, the former royal hunting ground of the Stewart monarchs, was also Hereditary Keeper of the Royal Palace of Falkland. Left a partial ruin after the visit of Oliver Cromwell, Lord Bute set about restoring the Palace with his customary enthusiasm and eye for meticulous detail. Lord Bute had bought the 5,500 acre Falkland estate for his second son Lord Ninian Critchon- Stuart, who was killed in the First World War. He was succeeded by his baby son Michael, who made Falkland Palace the family home and in 1984 let the House of Falkland as a school. The present Hereditary Keeper is his son Ninian Crichton-Stuart who lives with his family in the Palace.

House of Falkland, Stables

The first thing that John Bruce did after he bought the Falkland estate in 1820 was to build himself  new stables. In the traditional courtyard plan, with a clock tower over the entrance  they are the work of architect John Swinton and were completed in 1823. The stalls are the last word in equine luxury,  finest wrought iron fittings, beautifully cobbled floors, finished with  porcelain tiles. No longer used for keeping horses the quality of the equine accommodation is acknowledged and conserved by the current occupants of the building, the Falkland Heritage Trust.

House of Falkland, East Lodge

The East Lodge is the gate lodge  to the House of Falkland, Fife. The lodge is believed to have been built by architect William Burn c.1844. It is a good example of the  Tudor style, with a steep pitched roof and tall chimneys. Ornate barge-boards decorate the porches and the gable ends. A small burn has been dammed to create a  picturesque pond behind the lodge. The House of Falkland can be glimpsed in the distance, through the trees in the policy park, the old royal hunting ground. The gate piers are decorated with stone acorn finials, symbols both of wisdom and good fortune.