A very pretty house in the country

A country house, once described by novelist and journalist Daniel Defoe as “the most beautiful piece of architecture in all Scotland, perhaps in all Britain,” has come on the market for the first time in more than 230 years.

Joint agents Strutt & Parker and Knight Frank invite offers over £4,250,000 for Kinross House, on Loch Leven in Kinross-shire.

Designed and built for himself between 1685 and 1693, Kinross is the masterpiece of Sir William Bruce, who introduced classical architecture to Scotland. The house, which sits in 76 acres and boasts magnificent formal gardens, is a classic Palladian mansion and regarded as Sir William’s finest work. His other commissions include rebuilding Holyrood House in Edinburgh and Hopetoun House, South Queensferry.

Andrew Rettie, of Strutt & Parker, comments: “Kinross House is the prettiest house I have been asked to sell in the 30 years of handling estates in Scotland. It will attract interest from British buyers and also from overseas.”

The location of Kinross House was selected so that the central axis of both the new house and the gardens focused towards Loch Leven Castle where Mary Queen of Scots was imprisoned. Internally, Kinross House has accommodation over three floors including five reception rooms, a first floor ball room, eight bedrooms and a self-contained two bedroom flat.

The asking price includes two gate lodge cottages and a stable courtyard consisting of four cottages, a flat and outbuildings. The purchaser will also be given the right to put two boats on Loch Leven to fish its world-renowned trout.

John Coleman of Knight Frank adds: “Kinross House is certainly one of the finest country houses in Scotland we have had the privilege in selling over recent years and we’re very excited about the interest it will undoubtedly bring from both national and international market places.”

The formal gardens at Kinross House are ranked as among the finest in Scotland. Situated on the north, east and south sides of the main house, the gardens include a network of herbaceous plants, flowering shrubs, topiary yew hedging, interspersed by paths with a boundary high stone wall.

In 1777, Kinross and the surrounding estate were bought by George Graham, the great-great-great grandfather of the current owners. It has been continually lived in as a family home by the Montgomery’s since 1902.

For more information on Kinross House, see knightfrank.com.