In 1961, Country Life published two architecture articles by Mark Girouard on a striking Scottish property called Abercairny Abbey, in the same number of weeks.
The first article described the house as: 'Perhaps the finest example in Scotland of a Gothic abbey of the early 19th century.'
However, these were no ordinary architecture articles. They were the building’s obituary because in 1960, on the orders of its owner, Abercairny was paid a short and terminal visit by the demolition men.
Abercairny was situated deep in the bucolic Perthshire countryside, a few miles from the spa town of Crieff. It, like so many others, stood on the site of another building, demolished to make way for a newer model.
Colonel Charles Moray inherited the Abercairney estate from his brother, in 1784, initially employing Thomas White — Capability Brown’s former foreman — to tame the Scottish landscape. It is presumed that White was responsible for the picturesque lake and main planting schemes.
Satisfied with the land, Moray turned to the house. He tinkered around with plans to extended and enhance the existing property, but finding no solution that pleased him, was determined to begin again. He would settle on a grand and very fashionable Gothic-Revival abbey.
It took a few years for Moray to find the right architect. He eventually plumped for Richard Crichton, who had trained under the exacting eyes of Robert and John Adam. His accolades include the Bank of Scotland building on The Mound in Edinburgh, Balbirnie in neighbouring Fife, and Dunglass in East Lothian.
The building work began in 1804, but its progress was slow — hampered by supposed tensions between architect and client. The latter had one too many opinions. It was still a shell when, on October 18, 1810, Moray died.
Work began again, a few years later, on the instruction of a descendant, Colonel James Moray. According to contemporary newspaper reports, he introduced curling to his lake, to entertain local farmers during the frosty winter of 1812.
Crichton died, aged 46, in 1817, and the Abercairny project was handed to Richard and Robert Dickinson of Edinburgh. The house and stables were finally finished five years into Queen Victoria's reign. If it had survived, it would've have been a contender for the set of The Traitors.
Inside, stucco was moulded and painted to imitate more conventional, but expensive wood and stone carvings. They were executed by David Roberts — who started his career designing theatrical sets.
So intriguing was the castellated mock abbey that on September 12, 1842, Queen Victoria, passing through, alighted from her carriage to inspect it. She was said to have only got out 'for a moment', so it's hard to gauge what her reaction was.
Subsequent heirs made changes to the striking building, including the 1869 addition of a tower by Charles Stirling Home Drummond Moray.
This Charles, who also owned Blair Atholl, died in 1891. After this date, the building, which was, by now, no longer fashionable, fell from family favour. In 1904, adverts to rent Abercairney appeared in Country Life. By the mid 20th century, it was suffering from neglect.
It was requisitioned as a hospital for the majority of the Second World War, but managed to hang on to its original, Victorian gilded wallpapers, heavy damask curtains and stucco ceilings. Following the war, and with little protection in place for Victorian piles, the family decided to move to a smaller house on the grounds and do away with the expensive-to-maintain property.
Country Life’s photographs are considered to be the most complete visual record of this remarkable building.
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