Stobo Castle is located at Stobo in the

Scottish Borders The Scottish Borders ( sco, the Mairches, 'the Marches'; gd, Crìochan na h-Alba) is one of 32 council areas of Scotland. It borders the City of Edinburgh, Dumfries and Galloway, East Lothian, Midlothian, South Lanarkshire, West Lot ...

, in the former county of

Peeblesshire Peeblesshire ( gd, Siorrachd nam Pùballan), the County of Peebles or Tweeddale is a historic county of Scotland. Its county town is Peebles, and it borders Midlothian to the north, Selkirkshire to the east, Dumfriesshire to the south, and ...

. The Manor of Stobo was originally owned by the

Balfour Balfour may refer to: People Earls of Balfour * Arthur James Balfour, 1st Earl of Balfour (1848–1930), British Conservative politician, Prime Minister of the UK (1902-1905), made the public statement of Balfour Declaration * Gerald Balfour, 2n ...

family. It became the family seat of the Graham-Montgomery Baronets from 1767. The building of the present castle began in 1805 and was completed in 1811 under the supervision of architects

Archibald Archibald is a masculine given name, composed of the Germanic elements '' erchan'' (with an original meaning of "genuine" or "precious") and ''bald'' meaning "bold". Medieval forms include Old High German and Anglo-Saxon . Erkanbald, bishop o ...

and James Elliot. It is currently operated as a health spa. The house is protected as a category A

listed building In the United Kingdom, a listed building or listed structure is one that has been placed on one of the four statutory lists maintained by Historic England in England, Historic Environment Scotland in Scotland, in Wales, and the Northern I ...

, while the grounds are included in the

Inventory of Gardens and Designed Landscapes in Scotland The ''Inventory of Gardens and Designed Landscapes in Scotland'' is a listing of gardens and designed landscapes of national artistic and/or historical significance, in Scotland. The Inventory was originally compiled in 1987, although it is a cont ...

, the national listing of significant parks and gardens.

History

Stobo Castle is the seat of the

barony of Stobo The Barony of Stobo is a Scottish feudal barony which takes its name from Stobo in the Scottish Borders. The barony has played an important role in Scottish history for almost five centuries. It was closely associated with the rise and fall of ...

, a feudal lordship that was created in 1577 with origins dating back to the twelfth century. In 1650 (together with Dawyck House) Stobo estate was the first in Scotland to introduce the non-native species of

horse chestnut The genus ''Aesculus'' ( or ), with species called buckeye and horse chestnut, comprises 13–19 species of flowering plants in the family Sapindaceae. They are trees and shrubs native to the temperate Northern Hemisphere, with six species ...

. A tower house, known as Hill House, formerly stood on the site of Stobo Castle. The Stobo estate was owned by the Murrays of Tweedsmuir around 1750. In 1767, the Stobo estate and its barony were bought by James Montgomery, a judge who served as

Lord Advocate His Majesty's Advocate, known as the Lord Advocate ( gd, Morair Tagraidh, sco, Laird Advocat), is the chief legal officer of the Scottish Government and the Crown in Scotland for both civil and criminal matters that fall within the devolved po ...

and Lord Chief Baron of the Scottish Exchequer from 1775. He was created a

Baronet A baronet ( or ; abbreviated Bart or Bt) or the female equivalent, a baronetess (, , or ; abbreviation Btss), is the holder of a baronetcy, a hereditary title awarded by the British Crown. The title of baronet is mentioned as early as the 14th ...

in 1801. On his death in 1803, his son James inherited the estate, and commissioned a new house from the architect James Elliot (brother and partner of

Archibald Elliot Archibald Elliot (August 1761 – 16 June 1823) was a Scottish architect based in Edinburgh. He had a very distinctive style, typified by square plans, concealed roofs, crenellated walls and square corner towers. All may be said to derive from ...

). Stobo Castle was constructed between 1805 and 1811 in a castellated style. In 1849, the

porte-cochère A porte-cochère (; , late 17th century, literally 'coach gateway'; plural: porte-cochères, portes-cochères) is a doorway to a building or courtyard, "often very grand," through which vehicles can enter from the street or a covered porch-like ...

was added by

Sir Graham Graham-Montgomery, 3rd Baronet Sir Graham Graham-Montgomery, 3rd Baronet, (9 July 1823 – 2 June 1901) was a Scottish baronet and member of the British House of Commons. Life Graham-Montgomery entered the House of Commons in 1852 as a member for Peeblesshire, and held ...

, to a design by John Lessels. Sir Graham also had the grounds redesigned by John Hay in 1872. In 1905, Stobo was sold to the English cricketer Hylton Philipson. A keen gardener, Philipson laid out the

Japanese Japanese may refer to: * Something from or related to Japan, an island country in East Asia * Japanese language, spoken mainly in Japan * Japanese people, the ethnic group that identifies with Japan through ancestry or culture ** Japanese diaspor ...

-influenced water gardens and terraces, and formed three large lakes on the estate. In 1939, after Philipson's death, the estate was sold again to

Wenefryde Scott, 10th Countess of Dysart Wenefryde Agatha Scott, 10th Countess of Dysart (13 November 1889 – 2 June 1975) was a Scottish noblewoman. Family Wenefryde was the daughter of Charles Norman Scott (1853–1938) and Agnes Mary Tollemache (1855–1912). Scott was a JP for th ...

. In the post-war years, the estate was subdivided, and the contents of the house were auctioned by Sotheby's in April 1972. Stobo Castle was purchased in 1975 by the Winyard family, who established a

health resort A destination spa or health resort is a resort centered on a spa, such as a mineral spa. Historically, many such spas were developed at the location of natural hot springs or mineral springs; in the era before modern biochemical knowledge and ...

. A large extension, incorporating new hotel rooms and a swimming pool, was opened in 2003. As a result of these property disposals, the

is now held independently of ownership of either the castle or its surrounding lands (the Stobo Estate). In late 2020, the 3,884-acre Stobo Estate was put up for sale with an asking price of £12 million. It was subsequently sold in seven lots and broken up.

References

External links

Stobo Castle website
{{coord, 55.616506, N, 3.314601, W, region:GB_type:landmark, display=title Castles in the Scottish Borders Category A listed buildings in the Scottish Borders Destination spas Hotel spas Hotels in the Scottish Borders Houses completed in 1811 Houses in the Scottish Borders Inventory of Gardens and Designed Landscapes Listed castles in Scotland 1811 establishments in Scotland Hotels established in 2003 2003 establishments in Scotland

History

See also

References

External links