Wedderburn Castle, near 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 ...

, in the Scottish Borders, is an 18th-century country house that is now used as a wedding and events venue. 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 grounds are included in the Inventory of Gardens and Designed Landscapes in Scotland.

History

Wedderburn Castle is the historic family seat of the Home of Wedderburn family, cadets of the

Home family A home, or domicile, is a space used as a permanent or semi-permanent residence for one or more human occupants, and sometimes various companion animals. Homes provide sheltered spaces, for instance rooms, where domestic activity can be p ...

(today Earls of Home). It was designed and constructed 1771–1775 by the famous architect brothers

Robert Adam Robert Adam (3 July 17283 March 1792) was a British neoclassical architect, interior designer and furniture designer. He was the son of William Adam (architect), William Adam (1689–1748), Scotland's foremost architect of the time, and train ...

and James Adam, with the work superintendent being architect James Nisbet of Kelso, for Patrick Home of Billie, who had already completed Paxton House (using James Adam and Nisbet from 1758, with Robert Adam doing the interiors ). With battlemented three-storey elevations in the typical Adam Castle style, the apparent symmetry of Wedderburn Castle conceals a rectangular courtyard, originally filled by the 17th-century (or earlier)

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 ...

, also known as Wedderburn Castle, of which only a heraldic panel remains. It was demolished in the early 19th century, leaving the courtyard accessed through an archway at the back.

The approach

The castle is approached by way of the north or Lion Gate of 1794 designed by John Plaw and the long drive (leading from the West gate), which passes the 18th-century stables (a square court entered through a pedimented archway) and the stables cottages, before continuing to the castle. The former stables building is now used as a barn wedding and events venue. The West Gate is another archway, but defined by screen walls and gabled lodges.

The castle interior

Entering the front of the castle through a large porch (above which is the Home of Wedderburn coat of arms), there is a double staircase with an iron balustrade leading up to a balcony, behind which is a long gallery connecting the drawing room and the dining room. Across the hall and above the front door is a long minstrel gallery, again connecting the drawing room and the dining room. On the right of the staircase are the drawing room, and the morning room (previously the smoking room), beyond which is the ballroom. There are several fine chimneypieces, the best being in the drawing room of white

Carrara Carrara ( ; ; , ) is a town and ''comune'' in Tuscany, in central Italy, of the province of Massa and Carrara, and notable for the white or blue-grey Carrara marble, marble quarried there. It is on the Carrione River, some Boxing the compass, ...

marble and various other materials by Piranesi from 1774. To the left are the dining room, and a further staircase leading up to the bedrooms. The ground floor has a large kitchen and further bedrooms. Home of Wedderburn COA

The owners

Around 1413, the Earls of Douglas held the feudal superiority of the barony of Wedderburn, when

Archibald Douglas, 4th Earl of Douglas Archibald Douglas, 4th Earl of Douglas, Duke of Touraine (c. 1369 – 17 August 1424), was a Scotland, Scottish nobleman and warlord. He is sometimes given the epithet "Tyneman" (Old Scots: Loser), but this may be a reference to his great- ...

granted it as a feu to his esquire, Sir David of

Home A home, or domicile, is a space used as a permanent or semi-permanent residence for one or more human occupants, and sometimes various companion animals. Homes provide sheltered spaces, for instance rooms, where domestic activity can be p ...

. In a charter dated at

Dunbar Castle Dunbar Castle was one of the strongest fortresses in Scotland, situated in a prominent position overlooking the Dunbar Harbour, harbour of the town of Dunbar, in East Lothian. Several fortifications were built successively on the site, near th ...

on 29 February 1413, George of Dunbar, Earl of March, confirmed the previous charter granted by his brother, Archibald, Earl of Douglas, the superiority having passed by forfeiture from the Dunbar family to Douglas. By 1550, the Homes had acquired the superiority of Wedderburn, as indicated by a

sasine Sasine in Scots law is the delivery of Feudalism, feudal property, typically land. Feudal property means immovable property, and includes everything that naturally goes with the property. For land, that would include such things as buildings, tre ...

in favour of David Home, brother-german (full brother) and heir of George Home of Wedderburn (killed at the

Battle of Pinkie The Battle of Pinkie, also known as the Battle of Pinkie Cleugh (), took place on 10 September 1547 on the banks of the River Esk near Musselburgh, Scotland. The last pitched battle between Scotland and England before the Union of the Crowns, ...

), stating that the heir and his brother held it of the Crown in chief. Daughters of this lineage retained "Home", appending it to their married surnames, resulting in variations such as Forman Home, Milne Home, Home Robertson, and Home Miller. From 1898 to 1973, Wedderburn Castle was leased to the Arbuthnots. From 1973 to 2010, it was owned by Georgina Home Robertson. The current owners are David Home Miller and Catherine Macdonald-Home.

Citations

References

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External links

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GEOGRAPH image: Looking over Cairnhill lands through the haze to Wedderburn Castle
{{Castles in the Scottish Borders Country houses in the Scottish Borders Castles in the Scottish Borders Category A listed buildings in the Scottish Borders Listed houses in Scotland Berwickshire Inventory of Gardens and Designed Landscapes Robert Adam buildings