Manderston House is a British stately home in Duns,

Berwickshire Berwickshire (; ) is a historic county, registration county and lieutenancy area in south-eastern Scotland, on the English border. The county takes its name from Berwick-upon-Tweed, its original county town, which was part of Scotland at the ...

. It is the seat of the

Palmer family Palmer may refer to: People and fictional characters * Palmer (pilgrim), a medieval European pilgrim to the Holy Land * Palmer (given name), including a list of people and fictional characters * Palmer (surname), including a list of people and f ...

. It was completely rebuilt between 1901 and 1903 and has sumptuous interiors with a silver-plated staircase. The proprietor,

Sir James Miller, 2nd Baronet Sir James Percy Miller, 2nd Baronet, (22 October 1864 – 22 January 1906) was a British soldier, known as a racehorse owner. Over the 17 years when he had horses in training, Miller won 161 races, worth £114,005. Life Miller was the eldest su ...

(1864–1906), told the architect, John Kinross, that there was no budget: "It doesn't matter". The house is a Category A

listed building In the United Kingdom, a listed building is a structure of particular architectural or historic interest deserving of special protection. Such buildings are placed on one of the four statutory lists maintained by Historic England in England, Hi ...

and the surrounding area, which includes the farm complex at Buxley, is listed 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 ...

Origins

Manderston was an estate of the powerful Hume family, and their

tower house A tower house is a particular type of stone structure, built for defensive purposes as well as habitation. Tower houses began to appear in the Middle Ages, especially in mountainous or limited access areas, to command and defend strategic points ...

appears on General Roy's map of 1750. Alexander Hume, of Manderston, ''

de jure In law and government, ''de jure'' (; ; ) describes practices that are officially recognized by laws or other formal norms, regardless of whether the practice exists in reality. The phrase is often used in contrast with '' de facto'' ('from fa ...

'' 5th

Earl of Dunbar The title Earl of Dunbar, also called Earl of Lothian or Earl of March, applied to the head of a comital lordship in south-eastern Scotland between the early 12th century and the early 15th century. The first man to use the title of Earl in this ...

(1651–1720), seems to be the last member of this family who owned the estate. On 14 October 1689, King William III & II confirmed the Earldom of Dunbar to him, exemplifying the previous confirmation thereof by King Charles II. The estate was later owned for a short time by the head of the

Swinton family Clan Swinton is a Scottish Border clan.Way, George and Squire, Romily. (1994). ''Collins Scottish Clan & Family Encyclopedia''. (Foreword by The Rt Hon. The Earl of Elgin KT, Convenor, The Standing Council of Scottish Chiefs). pp. 334–335. ...

, who now resides at Kimmerghame House nearby, and from whom the actress

Tilda Swinton Katherine Matilda Swinton (born 5 November 1960) is a British actress. She is known for playing eccentric and enigmatic characters, often working with auteurs. Her accolades include an Academy Award, two BAFTA Awards, and a Volpi Cup, in addit ...

is descended. The present big house at Manderston incorporates the earlier Georgian house built about 1790 for Dalhousie Watherston (1752–1803).

Buildings

The original house underwent alterations in 1870 and was then extensively remodelled by John Kinross at the start of the 20th century. It is one of several Category A listed buildings in the estate along with the stables, a boat house and a gamekeeper's cottage; all of which were built by Kinross. Kinross was also responsible for the group of buildings at Buxley at the north of the estate. Near to the house is a Category C listed cricket pavilion. Manderston cricket club was founded in 1899 and is one of the oldest in Scotland. The pavilion, built c.1900, was renovated in 1999 as part of the club's centenary celebrations following a successful Heritage Lottery Funding bid.

Family

Sir James Miller's father,

Sir William Miller, 1st Baronet Sir William Miller, 1st Baronet, of Manderston, Berwickshire (25 March 1809 – 10 October 1887) was a British Vice-Consul at Saint Petersburg in 1842–54, and a Member of Parliament for Leith Burghs in 1859–1868, for Berwickshire 1873/7 ...

(1809–1887), had, with his father James, made a fortune trading in Russia, mainly in

herring Herring are various species of forage fish, belonging to the Order (biology), order Clupeiformes. Herring often move in large Shoaling and schooling, schools around fishing banks and near the coast, found particularly in shallow, temperate wate ...

and

hemp Hemp, or industrial hemp, is a plant in the botanical class of ''Cannabis sativa'' cultivars grown specifically for industrial and consumable use. It can be used to make a wide range of products. Along with bamboo, hemp is among the fastest ...

BBC The British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) is a British public service broadcaster headquartered at Broadcasting House in London, England. Originally established in 1922 as the British Broadcasting Company, it evolved into its current sta ...

, Antiques Roadshow, Series 28, Edition 9, from Manderston He was British Vice-Consul at

St. Petersburg Saint Petersburg, formerly known as Petrograd and later Leningrad, is the second-largest city in Russia after Moscow. It is situated on the River Neva, at the head of the Gulf of Finland on the Baltic Sea. The city had a population of 5,601, ...

(1842–1854), Member of Parliament for Leith (1859–1868), and Berwickshire (1873–1874).

, had married Eveline, daughter of Alfred, 4th Baron Scarsdale, and his grand house remodelling scheme was said to be to remind his wife of the splendour of her family home,

Kedleston Hall Kedleston Hall is a neo-classical manor house owned by the National Trust, and seat of the :Curzon family, Curzon family, located near Kedleston in Derbyshire, England, approximately 4 miles (6 km) north-west of Derby. The medieval village ...

. They had no children and the estate passed to his brother John Alexander Miller, 3rd Baronet, (1867–1918). He also had no children by either of his two wives, and the estate passed to his sister Amy Elizabeth Miller, the 4th Lord Palmer's great-grandmother. The house contains the world's largest collection of

Huntley & Palmers Huntley & Palmers is a British company of biscuit makers originally based in Reading, Berkshire. Formed by Joseph Huntley in 1822, the company became one of the world's first global brands (chiefly led by George Palmer (businessman), George Palme ...

biscuit tins, dating back to 1868. It is open to the public on selected days only.

Films

The house has been used in several film and television productions: * ''

The House of Mirth (2000 film) ''The House of Mirth'' is a 2000 drama film written and directed by Terence Davies. An adaptation of Edith Wharton's 1905 novel ''The House of Mirth'', the film stars Gillian Anderson. It is an international co-production between the United King ...

'' * ''

The Edwardian Country House ''The Edwardian Country House'' is a British historical reenactment reality television miniseries produced by Channel 4. First aired weekly in the UK beginning in April 2002, it was later broadcast in the United States on PBS stations as ''Man ...

'' (

Channel 4 Channel 4 is a British free-to-air public broadcast television channel owned and operated by Channel Four Television Corporation. It is state-owned enterprise, publicly owned but, unlike the BBC, it receives no public funding and is funded en ...

, 2002; shown as ''Manor House'' on

PBS The Public Broadcasting Service (PBS) is an American public broadcaster and non-commercial, free-to-air television network based in Arlington, Virginia. PBS is a publicly funded nonprofit organization and the most prominent provider of educat ...

in the U.S., 2003) * '' Man to Man'' * ''First Night'' (2010, Scorpio Films) * ''

The Awakening The Awakening may refer to: Religion * Awakening (Finnish religious movement), a Lutheran movement in Finland * Great Awakening, several periods of Anglo-American Christian revival Film and television Film * ''The Awakening'', a 1913 film starring ...

'' (2011, BBC Films) * ''Secrets of the Manor House'' (2012,

)

References

* ''Burke's Peerage & Baronetage'', 61st edition, 1899. * ''An Ordinary of Scottish Arms'', by Sir James Balfour Paul, Edinburgh, 1903 * ''Borders and Berwick'', by Charles A Strang, Rutland Press, 1994, pps:41-2.

External links