Duff House is a Georgian estate house in Banff,

Aberdeenshire Aberdeenshire (; ) is one of the 32 Subdivisions of Scotland#council areas of Scotland, council areas of Scotland. It takes its name from the Shires of Scotland, historic county of Aberdeenshire (historic), Aberdeenshire, which had substantial ...

, Scotland. Now in the care of

Historic Environment Scotland Historic Environment Scotland (HES) () is an executive non-departmental public body responsible for investigating, caring for and promoting Scotland's historic environment. HES was formed in 2015 from the merger of government agency Historic Sc ...

, it is part of the National Galleries Scotland and is a

Category A listed Category, plural categories, may refer to: General uses *Classification, the general act of allocating things to classes/categories Philosophy * Category of being * ''Categories'' (Aristotle) * Category (Kant) * Categories (Peirce) * Category ( ...

building. The house is built of

ashlar Ashlar () is a cut and dressed rock (geology), stone, worked using a chisel to achieve a specific form, typically rectangular in shape. The term can also refer to a structure built from such stones. Ashlar is the finest stone masonry unit, a ...

in three storeys to a square plan (9-bay x 8-bay) on a raised basement with advanced corner towers. The house and the associated Fife gates, walled garden, Collie lodge, mausoleum, ice house, Bridge Gates House and the Eagles Gate lodge are designated as Category A listed group of buildings.

History

Duff House was designed by William Adam and built between 1735 and 1740 for William Duff of Braco. The design and construction resulted in a legal dispute between the architect and owner which culminated in a legal case in 1743. Construction began on 11 June 1735. The design of the house originally intended to have flanking pavilions linked by colonnaded quadrants but these were never completed as the Earl thought the house would be too large. This, along with further disagreements on the issue of mason work resulted in the legal case between the architect and Earl. David Bryce Jr was later commissioned to provide a three-storey pavilion and corridor block, but this was damaged by a bomb in 1940 and subsequently demolished. The Earls of Fife moved out of Duff House in 1903, gifting the property to Banff Burgh in 1906. Between 1911 and 1913, the House functioned as a hotel and then became a

sanatorium A sanatorium (from Latin '' sānāre'' 'to heal'), also sanitarium or sanitorium, is a historic name for a specialised hospital for the treatment of specific diseases, related ailments, and convalescence. Sanatoriums are often in a health ...

until 1923 when it became a hotel again. The hotel closed in 1928 and Duff House entered a period of limited use. However, during the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

the House became an internment camp and later a prisoner of war camp. In 1940, the House was damaged during a bombing raid resulting in eight dead and serious damage to parts of the building. By 1942, the House was used by the

Free Norwegian forces The Norwegian armed forces in exile () were remnants of the armed forces of Norway that continued to fight the Axis Powers, Axis powers from Allies of World War II, Allied countries, such as United Kingdom, Britain and Canada, after they had escap ...

as their Headquarters, along with use by Polish exile forces. In 1956 it passed into care by the State and a period of refurbishment began across the property. In 1995, the house became part of the

National Galleries of Scotland The National Galleries of Scotland (, sometimes also known as National Galleries Scotland) is the executive non-departmental public body that controls the three national galleries of Scotland and two partner galleries, forming one of the Nation ...

. The house still sits in much of its original designed landscape, albeit with the addition of a golf course.

Art collection

National Galleries Scotland has numerous works of fine art on display at Duff House, including works by

El Greco Doménikos Theotokópoulos (, ; 1 October 1541 7 April 1614), most widely known as El Greco (; "The Greek"), was a Greek painter, sculptor and architect of the Spanish Renaissance, regarded as one of the greatest artists of all time. ...

Thomas Gainsborough Thomas Gainsborough (; 14 May 1727 (baptised) – 2 August 1788) was an English portrait and landscape painter, draughtsman, and printmaker. Along with his rival Sir Joshua Reynolds, he is considered one of the most important British artists o ...

and

Henry Raeburn Sir Henry Raeburn (; 4 March 1756 – 8 July 1823) was a Scottish portrait painter. He served as Portrait Painter to King George IV in Scotland. Biography Raeburn was born the son of a manufacturer in Stockbridge, on the Water of Leith: a f ...

. Duff House is also home to the Dunimarle Library, a collection of rare books, which can be viewed by appointment.

References

External links

Duff House website
{{authority control Buildings and structures in Banff, Aberdeenshire National Galleries Scotland William Adam buildings Inventory of Gardens and Designed Landscapes Museums in Aberdeenshire Art museums and galleries in Aberdeenshire Parks in Aberdeenshire Historic house museums in Aberdeenshire Country houses in Aberdeenshire Art museums and galleries established in 1995 Houses completed in 1740 1995 establishments in Scotland Historic Environment Scotland properties in Aberdeenshire Georgian architecture in Scotland Category A listed buildings in Aberdeenshire Listed houses in Scotland Listed museum buildings in Scotland