Penicuik House (alternative spellings in use until mid 19th century: ''Penycuik'', ''Pennycuik'') survives as the shell of a formerly grand estate house in Penicuik,

Midlothian Midlothian (; ) is registration county, lieutenancy areas of Scotland, lieutenancy area and one of 32 council areas of Scotland used for local government. Midlothian lies in the east-central Lowlands, bordering the City of Edinburgh council ar ...

, Scotland. The 18th-century

palladian Palladian architecture is a European architectural style derived from the work of the Venetian architect Andrea Palladio (1508–1580). What is today recognised as Palladian architecture evolved from his concepts of symmetry, perspective and ...

mansion (at ) was built on the site of an earlier house by Sir James Clerk, 3rd Baronet. It was destroyed by fire in 1899 and a major restoration, stabilising the ruin, was completed in 2014 by G Brown Stonemasons. Old Penicuik House and New Penicuik House (the former stables block in which the Clerk family were living even before the fire) are both designated 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 ...

s by

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 ...

History

The merchant John Clerk returned to Scotland from France in 1646 and purchased the estate and

barony Barony may refer to: * Barony, the peerage, office of, or territory held by a baron * Barony, the title and land held in fealty by a feudal baron * Barony (county division), a type of administrative or geographical division in parts of the British ...

of Penicuik, the "Penicuik Policies", including the older Newbiggin House, which he extended and improved. The estate became the residence and title of his descendants. From 1700 to 1730, the laird Sir John Clerk of Penicuik planted 300,000 trees on the estate. The current Penicuik House was built in 1761 by Sir James Clerk, the 4th Laird of Penicuik and 3rd Baronet. Clerk had travelled widely, especially in Italy, and had studied Italian architecture. Now a roofless shell, it is constructed 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 ...

, it has a central hexastyle

portico A portico is a porch leading to the entrance of a building, or extended as a colonnade, with a roof structure over a walkway, supported by columns or enclosed by walls. This idea was widely used in ancient Greece and has influenced many cu ...

with two-way stair,

piano nobile ( Italian for "noble floor" or "noble level", also sometimes referred to by the corresponding French term, ) is the architectural term for the principal floor of a '' palazzo''. This floor contains the main reception and bedrooms of the house ...

, basement and

Palladian Palladian architecture is a European architectural style derived from the work of the Venetian architect Andrea Palladio (1508–1580). What is today recognised as Palladian architecture evolved from his concepts of symmetry, perspective and ...

windows. The interior was gutted by fire in 1899, but formerly had many fine rooms. The house was a great meeting place for figures of the Scottish Enlightenment, who came to view its collection of paintings, including a noted ceiling painting of Ossian's Hall and four scenes from the life of Saint Margaret by Alexander Runciman.Macmillan, Duncan (2023), ''Scotland and the Origins of Modern Art'', Lund Humphries, London, pp. 71 - 76,

Replica of Arthur's O'on

The deliberate destruction of Arthur's O'on so appalled Sir James Clerk, that in 1760 he decided to have a dovecote built, as an exact replica of the temple, on his stable block at Penicuik House.

References

External links

Official website
{{coord, 55.8197, -3.2508, type:landmark_region:GB, display=title Houses completed in 1761 Category A listed buildings in Midlothian Listed houses in Scotland 1761 establishments in Scotland Palladian architecture in the United Kingdom 1890s disasters in the United Kingdom 1899 disasters Building and structure fires in Scotland Ruins in Midlothian Scottish Enlightenment Inventory of Gardens and Designed Landscapes Ruined houses Listed ruins in Scotland 18th-century architecture in the United Kingdom

History

Replica of Arthur's O'on

See also

References

External links