Penicuik House
Penicuik House (alternative spellings: Penycuik, Pennycuik) survives as the shell of a formerly grand estate house in Penicuik, Midlothian, Scotland. The 18th-century palladian mansion (at NT2172659208) was built on the site of an earlier house by Sir James Clerk, 3rd Baronet. It was burned out in 1899 and is currently undergoing a major restoration.
Old Penicuik House and New Penicuik House (the former stables block into which the Clerk family moved after the fire) are both designated Category A listed buildings by Historic Scotland.[1]
History
It was John Clerk of Pennycuik who, returning to Scotland from France in 1646, purchased the estate and barony of Penicuik, the Penicuik Policies. The estate became the residence and title of his descendants.[2][3]
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, it has a central hexastyle portico with two-way stair, piano nobile, basement and Palladian windows. The interior was gutted by fire in 1899, but formerly had many fine rooms. The house was a great meeting point for figures of Enlightenment Edinburgh, who came to see the collection of paintings, including a noted ceiling painting of Ossian's Hall, by Alexander Runciman.
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.[4]
See also
- Clerk baronets
- Alexander Gordon (antiquary)
- List of Category A listed buildings in Midlothian
- List of country and estate houses in Scotland
- List of listed buildings in Penicuik, Midlothian
References
External links
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- Articles with OS grid coordinates
- Houses completed in 1761
- Category A listed buildings in Midlothian
- Listed houses in Scotland
- 1761 establishments in Scotland
- Palladian architecture
- 1899 disasters
- 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
