The Begginings of the Classical Style in Scotland Exemplified by Kinross House by Sir William Bruce.

The Beginnings of the Classical Style in Scotland.

Exemplified by Kinross House (1686) by Sir William Bruce (1630-1710)

Cameron Brown Dundee School of Architecture 100008588 HT30006

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Contents

Introduction.

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Part One.

Sir William Bruce “Introducer of architecture in Scotland”

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Precedents - Classicism in 17th Century Europe

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Bruce’s early works - Introducing architecture to Scotland

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Part Two. Context - The Shire of Kinross

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Master plan – The Formal Landscape

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Façade - Order and Ashlar

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Plan - Axis and Route of Procession

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Conclusion

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Introduction Following centuries of war and financial strain seventeenth century Scotland was architecturally dominated by defensive keeps and tower houses. However with a reformed monarchy was quickly becoming place of great social and political change, rising within the context of Europe as a nation equal to any other.

Here, the ‘gentleman architect’ Sir William Bruce (16301710) would use political opportunism and self-experience of the wider European community to bring Scotland in line architecturally with its contemporaries, forging classicism as ‘the regulator of architectural activity within Scotland’ (Macaulay, 1987, p.7).

The antithesis of this was reached in the form of Kinross House (1686), the 17th century plan of which this essay will explain, for much is confused and unknown about this mysterious building which is truly unique within its country.

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Sir William Bruce “Introducer of architecture in Scotland.”

“To William Bruce belongs all the honour of the complete change from the Scottish Baronial to the Scottish Classical.”

(Hannan, 1928, p.109)

Prior to 1660, wealthy Scottish landowners lived in fortified tower houses or keeps. However, built in 1660, Leslie House in Aberdeenshire was, according to James Macaulay the last fortified house built in the country. The vision of a comfortable, prestigious residence more suited to the ordered lifestyle of the nobility was emerging. This change began through the alteration of existing tower houses. Often buried within a classical enfilade plan.

Examples of which are Methven Castle, Thirlestane Castle, Craigiehall and more significantly Balkaskie in Fife.

The key to understanding Kinross House is understanding it’s creator. The house is not only a product of its time but the outcome of one individual’s life of knowledge aspirations and experience. Knighted following the restoration of Charles II, Sir William Bruce confirming his political associations was enabled to amass wealth and status through Royal patronage, specifically through the Duke of Lauderdale. He quickly became one of the wealthiest men in the country and was able to generate the substantial income needed to construct a house such as Kinross.

Well travelled throughout Western Europe as a successful merchant ships captain, Bruce experienced at first hand the contemporary homes and life style of the aristocracy within France and the Low Countries. His growing architectural knowledge was accompanied by a keen interest in horticulture, music and art.

Detailed accounts of which are held within the national archive.

There are records of the architectural treatise within his library such as: Serlio; Le Muet-Maniere de Bien Bastir I (1647 translated 1670); Du Cerceau, Freart (1664) and Palladio as well as books published in French, Italian, Latin and Greek (he is also known to have spoken German and Dutch).

Due to such a range of interest and experience one can understand why the Pevsner guide would describe Bruce as an Arbiter of taste in his time. However, he would have regarded himself as a ‘gentlemen architect’ with most of his works achieved through the patronage of friends, relatives or associates known 6

through marriage and social position. An example being Bruce’s contribution at Ham House, owned by the duke of Lauderdale’s second wife, Elizabeth Murray. She was a distant cousin of Bruce and he was commissioned to design a Gateway at Ham in 1701.

In 1675 Bruce purchased Kinross from the Earl of Morton.

This came with the Castle at Loch Leven where Mary Queen of Scots was held captive in the 1500’s and with Bruce having such an obsession with the Stewart Monarchy he saw this as a hugely symbolic gesture. With the estate also came the Sherrifdom of Kinross and the potential elevation to Viscount. However with the death of Charles’s II and with the accession of James VII or II, in 1685 Bruce was reaching troubled times. He was distrusted as a Jacobite sympathiser and with his wife placed in confinement on more than one occasion. After 1686 with no role within the government he devoted his energies to the management of his estates and bringing Kinross to completion. However, with the lack of financial rewards, he was forced into debt. He moved in to the 16c tower house known as ‘new house’ sited within the grounds while his son John moved in to the main house but he also unable to bring the structure to completion.

Thought to have died at the age of 81, Bruce was buried in the mortuary on the Kinross estate but there is no marked grave known. Despite Bruce’s political views being open question, his architectural predilection for restrained classicism, as J. Gifford stated, was eventually widely accepted and developed up to the late 18th century. Sir John Clerk of Penicuik remarked shortly after Bruce’s death that he was “introducer of architecture in the country” due to his works in the 17th century. It is difficult to pin down such a statement but every aspect of William Bruce’s life was ingrained within the design and layout of Kinross which is regarded as his masterpiece. Ronald MacInnes in his book, Building a NationThe Story of Scotland’s Architecture describes Kinross as,

“An elegantly simple but brilliant synthesis of planning, architecture and landscape.”

(RM, 1999, p.46) Exemplifying Bruce as a person and his creation of a palatial building fit to accommodate a king and also his own ideal abode.

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Precedents - Classicism in 17th Century Europe

We know that Bruce travelled extensively within Europe.

Being an untrained architect, Bruce relied heavily on his own reading, consultation with masons and the opportunity to visit contemporary structures as precedents to inform his designs.

However as David Cruickshank suggests it was with the continent that Bruce formed his architectural allegiances. He was part of the new generation of landowners with the finances to maintain the ‘architectural pace’ of the nation. This brought Scotland into the polite society and manners made fashionable by the French King Louis XIV. Chateau de Vaux-le-Vicomte (1658-1661) (p.8 img.3) by Lois Le Vau and Landscape Architect Andre le Notre epitomises the type of layout which Kinross strived to achieve, holding both a state and private apartment straddling a central circulation core with the main public rooms. As quoted in A History of Scottish Architecture it provided a symbol which was embraced by Scotland, that of the ‘post 1600 emphasis on resurgent royalism and landed power both before and after the overthrow of the Stewarts. Through landscaping, it was also influential, successfully connecting internal layout and external landscape with the use of parterres and terraces leading directly from the house with vast avenues and a central axis leading in to the distance. Bruce would almost certainly have visited Vaux-Le-Vicomte as we are aware the Duke of Lauderdale invited him to visit Maincy and several other northern towns in the mid 1660’s, but what may have been a more prominent influence on Bruce, as Cruickshank also comments, was the Chateau de Balleroy (1631) (p.8 img.4) in Normandy by Francoise Mozart. The formal landscape at Balleroy was also designed by Le Notre and features the parterres and gardens you would expect of any Baroque mansion but it also featured a grand vista and axis on which the property was centrally aligned. It gave a direct view through the centre of house and gardens, something Bruce would incorporate in his plan for Kinross with great success. Other such buildings in France with which Bruce would have been familiar were Chateau Blois in Loir-et-Cher; Blerancourt by Solomon de Brosse at Aisne; Chateau de Maisons (now Chateau de Maisons-Laffitte) 1630-1651, also by Mansart and possibly Chateau de Issy, 1681 by Pierre Bullet.

Its tripartite plan was clear predecessor to the likes of the more compact houses Bruce designed at the end of the century such as Dunkeld and Moncrieffe. Bruce also travelled across much of the Low Countries and was known to have lived in Rotterdam for a period of time. The restrained classicism of Bruce’s later work owes 9

much to these areas and architects such as Jacob van Campen, particularly his design of the Royal Palace 1646 in Amsterdam and Mauritshuis 1635 (p.8 img.5) in The Hague.

The structures Bruce saw in France featured a strong verticality and air of movement, as commented on by David Cruickshank. This contrasted with the British buildings he may have seen which adopted a far more restrained type of classicism with a ‘horizontal simplicity’ which is certainly what we see at Kinross.

Daniel Defoe described Bruce as the ‘Kit Wren of Scotland’ however as Howard Colvin describes, it is really more appropriate to compare Bruce to English counterparts such as Hugh May or Sir Roger Pratt, both gentleman architects featured in the first phase of British Palladianism. It is here that Kinross parts ways with the continent which mainly used the enfilade plan and formal landscape to take on the feel of the English country house derived from the ‘bold and simple’ Dutch Palladian style. As many would be aware the first Palladian building in Britain was Queen’s House 1614-1635 by Ingo Jones with strict rules of proportion, derived from Palladian ideals, which was to influence many future architects within Britain. But a more likely direct influence on Kinross would be Clarendon House 1664, sited in Piccadilly, London by Sir Roger Pratt, a central block between two cross wings at either end, a form rather widely used within England. However, at Kinross, Bruce reduces these to mere projections setting the ends up as more pavilion type forms adjoining the central façade. Perhaps the closest example to Kinross would be Coleshill House 1662 (p.10 img.6), Berkshire also by Pratt.

The double pile plan (p.10 img.7) informed here is directly relatable to Kinross - two rows of rooms aligned with a central circulation route as well as the use of a vaulted service floor to raise the main storeys. Despite Bruce not being an official Architect, with his understanding of such buildings and through the refinement of such ideas in his own designs, he was well equipped to take on a project with the scale of Kinross.

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Introducing Architecture to Scotland - Bruce’s Early Works One of the first examples of Bruce’s work, which led to the eventual development of Kinross was Balkaskie House in Fife (p.12 img.8) (arguably the first Palladian scheme in Scotland and third in Britain following Queen’s House by Ingo Jones 1629 and Berkley House in Piccadilly 1665 according to James Macaulay’s Classical Country House in Scotland.) Here he set out a series of parterres in the French Baroque style (p.12 img.9) set in a wider designed landscape sited on the Scottish east coast. This was aligned with the Bass Rock enforcing a strong axial geometry on which the existing tower house was made symmetrical. On a summers day the parterres at Balkaskie certainly emote a quality and atmosphere which one would be more likely to expect in France or Italy, an experience which many, such as David Cruickshank, have strongly related to the later Kinross.

Typically best rooms conformed to the basic proportions set

by Palladio, the cube, double cube, cube and a half and so on, fitting in to a compact symmetrical plan, no longer with suites in long linear arrangements, but now using the double pile formula with houses being two or three rooms deep. As most of Bruce’s clients were wealthy land owners the state apartment was a key feature, primarily for show, as can be seen at Balkaskie (plan-p.12 img.10), Thirlestane and Kinross. Such apartments would consist of dining room, drawing or withdrawing room leading to bed chamber, dressing room and closet or occasionally an anti-chamber – the sanctum sanctorum. Hierarchy was the basis on which these houses were formed. Prioritised rooms became grander as one progressed through the house to reach the most privileged of spaces, the state bed chamber or ante chamber.

There was often little relationship between the expressions of detail on the façades of such buildings and the lavish decoration within them. These were applied finishes such as gold gilt leather hangings or chimney pieces. However the architectonic language on the house itself had to be of lasting quality, often very austere, Kinross was purely Ashlar with only stringcourse and pilasters adorning it, or Moncrieff, again with a string course and cornice for decoration, pediment and quoins – the main mass of the building being, according to H Fenwick’s description in his book, Architect Royal, the life and works of Sir William Bruce, giving a rather

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vernacular feel to the building set within the Perthshire highlands. Their austere harled facades the origins of the monumentality we would see at Kinross. In Howard Colvin’s brief but accurate account of Bruce’s career, he remarks that,

“At Dunkeld, Moncrieffe and Kinross he adapted the compact formula developed in England by Architects like Webb and Pratt and gave it a dignity and presence that it rarely attained in English hands.”

(H Colvin, 1995, p.153) By 1670 Bruce was beginning to establish himself as a highly regarded Gentleman Architect, mainly working amongst the social circle of the Duke of Lauderdale. In 1672 he designed a gateway at Ham House. In 1676 Dunkeld House was built to replace a structure burned by English troops, then in 1679, Moncrieffe House (p.15 img.11) was built on a green-field site. Dunkeld house, now demolished, was a sizeable mansion, featuring an alignment with Dunkeld Cathedral. It would have been a fine example of the relationship of architecture, history and landscape. Its plans remind us of Bullet’s D’issy, happening around the same time in France. The plans of these structures were where the innovation was to be found, three storeys with basement block, a deep square plan divided into three parts with a full length saloon in the centre. As Ronald Macinnes states, both plan and façade topped with piened roof echo that of recent English and Dutch houses by Jones and Van Campen as mentioned in the previous chapter. Thanks to the freedom of a new site Bruce could be released from the constraints bound by retaining the ancestral home. He could eventually, as J Macaulay states, adopt both in plan and elevation, up to date English models and that at Kinross would ‘introduce an entirely new type of house into Scotland whilst displaying a facility in massing and detail which can be seen as the culmination of his early endeavours’.

From this point all Bruce would need is the finances and appropriate site, free of historical trappings to create his ideal Palladian Villa. This would be found at Kinross and as Cruickshank also suggested, fulfil the aspirations of mid-17th century Scotland of becoming a modern and cultured nation with an architecture that could perhaps one day contend with the rest of Europe.

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Part Two Context - The Shire of Kinross

“A stately building which for situation, contrivance, prospects, avenues, courts, gardens, gravel walks and terraces and all horticulane ornaments, parks and planting, is surpassed by few in this country.”

(Sibbald, 1710 cited in Fenwick, 1970, p.86)

The site of Kinross House was originally occupied by a 16th century tower house. Bruce purchased the estate of Kinross and historic residence of Loch Leven castle, a tower house developed from 13th to 15th centuries was a key stronghold, famous for having held Mary Queen of Scots, or Mary Stewart prisoner from 15681569 following her forced abdication. Using such historical context Bruce appropriated the history of the site to the Stuart dynasty as means of pleasing his royal patrons. T Hannan’s concise description,

“a primitive dwelling on piles on the spit of land; a stone fort on the island added; the stone fort strengthened by Comgall, King of the Picts; Comgall’s fort replaced by the feudal Castle; the feudal castle for the more convenient and less isolated old Kinross house (new Kinross house); and last of all the present beautiful residence.”

(Hannan, 1928, p.112) Illustrates clearly the human relationship with the landscape.

The interrelationship between the rural landscape, fortified houses and town itself had developed over centuries. However, Kinross house is somewhat detached from the town (town plan 1823 adjacent), by its avenue, set off grid from Avenue road, surrounding plantations of pines, oaks and chestnuts (sent from Paris 1681) acting as a foil, and grand gates, typical of many houses of its kind. However activities that naturally developed within the area such as Masons, Joiners, Smiths and other craftsmen to agriculture, quarrying and forestry would eventually manifest the link with the House itself.

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Master Plan – The Formal Landscape

“Kinross would be neither so interesting nor so sophisticated if Bruce had not married to his Serlian Block an extended layout derived from Palladio (copy of treatise purchased 1676)” (Macaulay, 1987, p.15) Bruce’s vision of great gateways, stable blocks, lodges, courtyards, terraces and parterres would have all made up the further ‘formal landscape’ of Kinross which has since had entities altered, removed and reused by contemporary counterparts in the unfortunately destructive process of modernisation (img 13 – original 17thc plan). By 1680 the majority of the garden parterres and walling was set out, and by 1686 most of the outbuildings constructed. The gardens at Kinross were set out in renaissance style parterres with the main feature being a key axis running through the property from town in the west, to Loch Leven castle in the east. Taking advantage of sunrise and sunset, alignment of the Ochil hills with the Lomond’s, and town with loch. the idea central to renaissance gardens, introduced by Bramante (1444-1544) in his design for the Belvedere, Rome, a long axis perpendicular to the palace intruded the idea of perspective and was aided by the layout of parterres and fountains.

Stretching 450 metres a tree lined avenue sets the axis of geometry on which Kinross House is set. Bisecting through the centre of the house to the point of Loch Leven castle (p.21 img.14) set as a grotto type fixture in the landscape much like the Bass rock and Balkaskie House. A pair of ogee roofed lodges set the origin of the avenue, interacting at an angle off grid to that of avenue road leaving the town. The entire gateway at present was the result of remodelling by Dr Thomas Ross (1839-1930) in 1905. Designed in a late 17th century manner, yet as J Gifford described, without the ‘swagger’ of the original gateway by Bruce. They were demolished in 1801 by Thomas Graham of Kinross influenced by a local preacher of the evils of decorative art. They featured corniced ball finial piers with fronts panelled with banded and fluted pilasters at outer ends of screen walls linking to gate piers in the same style all carved from the same stone as the house itself. The original 1680’s gate piers are now known as ‘the gap in the wall’ set within the south garden boundary, placed to hold the likes of a fete champetre. The original wrought iron gates have also been removed and judging from the surviving 17th century ironwork, would have been far superior to

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those today. The period saw the antithesis of Scottish mortise and tenon based wrought iron. Examples such as the gates of Sauchieburn House, Stirling give an idea of what we may have lost at Kinross.

At 1434 feet from the town entrance a second gateway with symmetrical concave screen walls existed. Again connecting on either side to ogial roofed lodges, In pairs, separated by piened roof stable block continuing with the datum of the outer court wall - a layout similar to what we see in the 17thc French precedents described previously. This is the probable location of the 17th century great gateway and first set of lodges, with Avenue Road and the avenue itself almost merging as one. The stable blocks today (p.21 img.15) have been altered at several points in time, originally in 1780 when they were constructed off set asymmetrically from the house and again by Thomas Ross who formed the courtyard. The present stable is held by two ogial roofed pavilions at either end, with piened roof between. Taking into account the masonry of the two ogee pavilions of the stables and two of the entrance existing today, that could be made up of the four that would have made up the entrance depicted in Bruce’s original plan, again re-using features in the process of modernisation. This allows us to envisage what would have truly been a renaissance French scheme, in central 17th century Scotland. Since the time of Bruce a further North Lodge and Home Farm were constructed, mostly through the 19th century and kept in a particularly vernacular style.

In the gravelled outer service court, stable blocks opened to the west, flanked by orchards on north and south with bowling green in SW corner. Progressing to the inner court, was a true square divided in to quarters forming a parterre, with terrace beyond lifting the main house itself on to a plinth. The inner court reduces in size, the extra space on north and south sides used to accommodate a kitchen garden of the Kitchen wing and court garden for the women’s quarters. Demolished in the 19th century these piened roof structures were connected to the house by the concave porticos (p.21 img.16) which we see today (although may have possibly been altered since 1710), decorated with sundials and a balustrade made by mason John Hamilton, leading from terrace to garden, with ogial roofed pavilions taking up the junction between.

All rubble walling probably intended to be harled with just quoins and details expressed. Ogee roofed pavilions on west face (p.21 img.17) hold round arched key stone window, horizontal in proportion to those windows of the basement and attic, above door heraldic stone from Loch Leven Castle is inset. Most inner court buildings remained until 19th century alterations by Ross along with the outer court wall when smaller compartmentalised gardens became united into more vast open spaces.

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Façade - Order and Ashlar

“Kinross established a new type of stone monumentality which even Palladio’s buildings-to which Kinross refers-had not possessed.”

(MacInnes, 1999, p.46) Kinross as a compact monumental box, the façade and general appearance of the House bringing a monumentality of which had not been seen in Scotland prior to it’s construction (see p.4 img.1).

Set within the centre of its peninsula, has been described as a lonely masterpiece, with Cruickshank commenting that it holds a rather stoic presence. Stone was sourced in the Cleish Hills, the craftsmanship suffering little decay over the centuries. Being a subtle grey in colour with iron permutations running through, described by Daniel Defoe on his grand tour of the British Isles as, ‘white and fine, the order regular, the contrivance elegant, the workmanship, exquisite.’ The existing pedimented entrance and large swept steps of the house today were later additions by Ross (p.22 img.18). The portico to the south of the House (p.25 img.22), featuring coupled ionic pilasters and flat roofed balcony with original wrought iron work (by James Horne), slightly flared steps and squashed stone balustrades being what would have existed on the West also leading from front terrace. Above both entrances triangular enrichments carved in bass relief of incredible workmanship, again by Van Nervan and Boyse, surmount the porticos and central upper storey window. The West side depicting war trophies and crest with the initials of Bruce and his first wife, the Eastern side depicting native plants and flowers with a crest of bearing the initials of Bruce’s son John and wife.

Channelled masonry of the basement level roots the mass of the structure to the ground, the bottom one to two feet of which being left undressed to the level at which garden terrace would have reached. Particularly visible on the eastern façade’s steps where the bottom 4 appear are of a different style as a possible later addition. The top is finished with a sill course running beneath ground floor windows. Horizontal basement windows are defined with Voussoir lintels, their proportions allowing them to recede amongst the overall horizontal massing of the House. The main mass of the building or piano noble and upper floors are divided in to eleven bays, three at each end, the further five taking up the centre with windows widely but evenly spaced. Unlike Coleshill where the central volume is outlined by altering the spacing of windows. Floor levels delineated by a simple pair of stringcourses.

Kinross was not simply a mere copy of the likes of Coleshill and Clarendon. The well-known model of centre block between two 23

cross wings was widely used throughout England, examples being the likes of Tyttenhanger Manor in Hertfordshire. However as David Cruickshank points out the ‘reduction’ of these cross wings to being a series of four subtle projections framed by a single giant fluted pilaster with Corinthian capital (p.25 img.20), rather than expressed quoins (such as Moncrieffe) is quite unique, being an ‘inventive permutation of the type’. This was perhaps inspired by Lorenzo Bernini’s, Palais du Louvre in Paris, 1665. J Macaulay also comments,

“The two main floors are tied together at the angles, not by quoins, but by a giant order of Corinthian pilasters. Set over a rusticated basement, these support an entablature spanning the full elevation, which is, therefore, divided into three framed rectangles, all of which is certainly Serlian.”

(Macaulay, 1987, p.15) The projections also bring a degree of movement to the overall composition of the elevation but within the house brought about issues with the alignment of doors for the enfilade plan. However between relief of column and where wall returns small windows are fitted (p.25 img.21) lighting rooms within the depth of the wall. The function of these rooms unknown, but the windows are of similar form to that of a gun loop and as Cruickshank also describes, like subtle bastions viewing across the facades and main entrances.

Perhaps not as far removed from the defensive and historical references which R Macinnes described.

North and West facades are divided in to five bays (p.25 img.23), the windows being reduced in height from those at front.

This is to accommodate a mezzanine level buried within the section of the end pavilions or projections, between the two main storeys.

Lit by five horizontally proportioned windows, the central had a key stoned basket arch. Toward the top storey of the house a continual line of entablature and corbel course provides the third frame of what J Macaulay described as a truly ‘Serlian’ composition. A parapet holds yet another set of horizontally proportioned attic windows beneath roof eaves. The central five windows on the west side lighting the double height salon from above. This was possibly derived from Palladio’s design for a Villa to accommodate the Mocenigo family illustrated in I Quattri Libri. Topped with a piened roof of Perthshire blue slate or scalies (which during construction was temporarily covered with turf, like cottages of the time) there is certainly a North West European sobriety to the structure. On top chimney pieces complete the overall design by 1690, as Fenwick described, ‘placed to make the house warm and look well’. They also 24

raise the overall height of the composition, emphasised by a glass central cupola, now lead, which would have lit the salon below.

Overall the external façade of the building is incredibly simple, giving little indication of the complexity of mezzanines and servicing within. J Macaulay, also goes on to say in his book, The Classical Country House in Scotland,

“There are no hurried judgments at Kinross, no aesthetic doubts, but instead sober judgements with every line, stone and detail breaking from inner contemplation and a calculating eye.”

(Macaulay, 1987, p.17) The house being for Bruce, ‘an enterprise not only of his sere years, but of studied care and protracted consideration’ (Macaulay, 1987, p.17)

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Plan - Axis and Route of Procession

Kinross House, being such a product of its time has clearly changed and adapted over the years to suit the needs of contemporary generations. However the general plan and layout within the house itself has been subject to very little alteration, after all it did hold a reputation as the coldest house in Britain, having only one radiator. What has changed is merely the function of rooms. Overall the plan holds three interesting architectural permutations which at its time were almost revolutionary: the use of a mezzanine level for servicing; the double plan and the French enfilade integrated within it. (see p.4 img.2 contemporary plan – p.26 img.24 17th c plan detailing mezzanines, vaulting and original rm functions.) `The 17th century Kinross House, according to Cruickshank, was planned around the concept of a royal court, with Bruce himself being conceived as a petty prince within his own home. Like most houses of similar stature at the time the processional route was the form on which the plan was based, which at Kinross integrated both house, landscape and history in one union. How far along the processional route a gest would progress resembled the importance of that person and their connection with whoever was in residence at the house.

Kinross featured two processional routes, both would of course begin from entrance gates at the town of Kinross. Guests would have travelled along the tree lined avenue by carriage to a second gateway and lodgings at the outer court, the view of the house partly denied by the courtyard walls. Progressing to the outer court of the house, large enough for a carriage to turn guests would have disembarked and progressed by foot to the inner court with parterre, smaller in scale, and enclosed, the garden terrace raising the house above the viewer to be seen for the first time in full glory, with concave pavilion walls as Fenwick describes, adding to feeling of enclosure within the space. Progressing from a set of steps to terrace and then ascending those we see today to enter the house arriving at the entrance hall, at the time enclosed with waiting rooms at north and south, now opened into one 70 foot long space divided in to three by pairs of ionic columns. At this point the two different routes are defined. The first would lead you along the main line of axis through a doorway directly in front of you, framed with fluted ionic columns presenting first view through the gardens to the castle set as a grotto type feature on Loch Leven. From entrance 27

hall one would move to the garden hall (p.2 img.27), which Bruce titled, parlour, positioned off axis. From here guests would progress outside from garden terrace with full view to Castle Island and the Lomond Hills beyond, moving along a central gravel path through the great parterre and then orchards to the elaborately carved fish gate (p.31 img.30). At this point you would reach the shore of Loch Leven (then much higher) where a barge would ferry guests to the keep of Loch Leven castle, making the journey which Mary Queen of Scots had made in the previous century. The final room or cabinet of the procession being the castle itself. This route was mostly used in fine weather or on occasions of importance. The second route (like that seen at Balkaskie) either approached directly or as a second leg of the one just described would take you to the main floor of the house. From entrance hall one would ascend the great staircase (p.29 img.28), set within a double height volume, to the ballroom, originally the great dining room (p.29 img.26), occupying the five central bays of the house, double height, with attic windows acting as a clerestory above. At the centre a doorway opened to the withdrawing room, or state drawing room, first room of the state apartment, overlooking the gardens and loch to the east. Like the parlour below, set off centre. The next room in procession was to the south, being the antechamber which would be the extent of the visit for most guests. Only the most privileged of guests would progress further to the royal bedchamber and then, if particularly privileged, the closet beyond.

Like houses such as Dalkeith, Drumlanrig and Hamilton, Kinross was a statement of a rich and powerful family. However, as R Macinnes clarifies, unlike such houses Kinross was beginning to point in the direction of a smaller and more sophisticated country house or villa. This was due to the use of the double pile plan, similar to that of Dunkeld or Moncrieffe however of complexity far beyond the basic tripartite form they held. J Macaulay refers that the plan ‘was the restoration ideal for an English country gentleman’s house as developed by Sir Roger Pratt and Hugh May.” in fact Englishness of Kinross was recognised, indirectly, by John Macky who rated it ‘the finest seat I have yet seen in Scotland.’ After all when Queen’s House was built by Jones, in Scotland tower houses were still being developed and constructed. The double pile plan, most certainly inspired by Pratt’s Coleshill consisted of a central circulation space straddled by a suite of rooms on either side allowing the enfilade to be left untouched, yet the rooms could be serviced by a central core. At Kinross the is kept entirely to the north and south “pavilions” with the central core of public rooms having a more free route of circulation aligned with that of the pavilions.

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“Generally too big for their purpose so that in the end they are either forced to leave them imperfect, or whilst they strive to finish them they ruin themselves.”

(Pratt, cited by Macaulay, 1987, p.18) Pratt believed the double pile plan was ‘most useful’ due to its compact form, being warmer, easily serviceable and more economical to build. However, referring to the above quote Bruce still fell victim to the trappings of building a house of such a scale with only the basement and ground floor levels being completed internally.

As a whole the house functioned on three levels (17th c plan – p.26 img.24). The basement level running as a continual service space throughout, being vaulted, holds the stories above described

by Cruickshank with, ‘uniform and boldly detailed voussoi arches to doors and fire surrounds’ this held an inner kitchen, adjoined to the kitchen wing beyond, a nursery, larders and quarters for staff. The model of Coleshill is reflected on both ground and first floor rooms.

However with an added four volumes. Rooms are grouped into apartments of Bedchamber and closets, some with adjoining small bedchamber. These are kept to the end pavilions. The central volume holds the main public and state rooms. The North West corner holds the Great Stair, its lobby adjoining Bruce’s apartment to the North East and the secure and fire proof charter room with vaulted ceiling. The stair is positioned separate from the entrance hall, unlike Coleshill which occupies the central double height entrance. The attic space of the second story in original plan is left to a total of 13 bedchambers and stairwell and great dining room rising to full height. Here there is also a balcony for musicians to play, which has since been removed and a spiral stair to the copula and roof above.

Each room of the house relates directly to the proportions outlined by Palladio in his Quattro Libri. He outlined seven proportions to produce the most beautiful rooms, the circle, square and a third, the diagonal of a square, a square and a half, 2:3 in proportion, square and two thirds and a double square. All of which would relate to the square or cubical form. Bruce mostly adopted the square and cubical form, with garden and withdrawing room being square and a half.

Overall the plan is grouped into three general zones, the outer most of the pavilions holding the smaller cellular closets.

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Cubical in form this allowed an extra mezzanine level, again of barrel vaulted construction (p.29 img.29) to be positioned above between ground and first floors. However the repercussion of this is that corner rooms have a shorter window on north and south sides which as pointed out by Cruickshank, appears slightly odd from within. There is then the bedchambers which they serve, a further scale up in size, square in plan. These were connected to the mezzanine floor by small turnpike staircases carved within the mass of the inner walls, a feature quite unique to Kinross. The third zone was that of the central mass of the house, divided in two with the garden façade holding withdrawing rooms and such likes, the and the entrance façade holding the key public space of the great dining hall, double square in geometry.

It is unfortunate the first floor of the house was left uncompleted, being a remodelling by Thomas Ross it does not hold the originality of the lower story which it is a rough copy of.

Craftsmen such as George Dunsterfield, the King’s plasterer worked on the house, the lime for the work obtained in the Lomond Hills.

Chief Joiner Alexander Eizat measured up sizes for doors and windows, bringing the timber for them from Holland. Softwoods from the continent such as Memel pine was shipped from Holland to Kirkcaldy. Throughout the house it is thought Scots hardwood was generally used also brought from Kirkcaldy, an example of the effort taking 71 horses to carry 400 floor boards according to accounts in the national archives, carrying roughly 6 boards per journey, a scenario which one could not really comprehend today.

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Conclusion Through the design of Kinross House Bruce confirmed his ability as not just an architect but as that of an innovator of inspirational quality. Although we may never experience Bruce’s vision for Kinross I would hope this essay provides some insight to his original 17th century layout. Dr Mark Girouard, architectural writer, historian and a particular authority on country houses describing Kinross as,

“A lonely masterpiece, not quite like anything that came before or after… essentially an individual Scottish creation, a kind of soberedup baroque palace.”

The legacy Kinross left was that of the acceptance of the classical style in Scotland through the 18th and 19th centuries, A History of Scottish Architecture, from Renaissence to Present Day stating,

“later in an urban sense Kinross set an example for the idea of monumental ashlar facing, with rubble at rear and uniform fenestration. Compressing the idea of the great apartment even further.”

Examples of which being seen in Edinburgh New Town (1765-1850).

As the future of the house is concerned it has recently been refurbished, saved from further deterioration to function as a rentable residence and private function facility proving such a plan can still function today.

Unfortunately the result being the gates which have remained open to the public for the last century now being firmly closed. The house, once part of a community, now reverting to the same stigma and detachment which has shrouded many other houses of its kind, with the general public being left unaware and unable to appreciate a building which is not just of incredible architectural significance, but is engrained within the very history of our nation.

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Bibliography

Cruickshank, D, 2011. The Country House Revealed, 1st ed. London: BBC Books. 52 - 100 Colvin, H, 1995. A Biographical Dictionary of British Architects: 1600 – 1840. London, Yale University Press. 151-155 Defoe, D, 1724. Tour Through the Whole Island of Great Britain. 3rd ed. London: G Strachan.

Fenwick, H, 1970. Architect Royal: The Life and Works of Sir William Bruce. 1st ed. County of Warwick: The Roundwood Press. 3, 9, 10, 14, 15, 22, 23, 72, 73, 80-95, 110, 111 Gifford, J, 2007. The Buildings of Scotland: Perth and Kinross.

London, Yale University Press.74-75, 87, 89, 90, 483-94, 69-72 Glendinning, MacInnes & MacKechnie, 1996. A History of Scottish Architecture: From the Renaissance to the Present Day. 1st ed.

Edinburgh: Edinburgh University Press. 74, 94, 96-7, 99, 118, 122-3, 125, 135 Hannan, T, 1928. Famous Scottish Houses: The lowlands. London, A & C Black ltd. 109-112 Land Use Consultants Great Britain, 1987. An Inventory of Gardens and Designed Landscapes in Scotland Vol 3 + 4. Edinburgh, Countryside Commission for Scotland. Vol3 303-307 vol4 198-204 Macaulay, J, 1987. The Classical Country House in Scotland 1660 – 1800, 1st ed. London: Faber and Faber. 15-19, 31, 36, 41, 49, 50 MacInnes, R, 1999. Building a Nation: The Story of Scotland’s Architecture, 1st ed. Edinburgh, Cannongate Books. 42, 44, 46

Palladio, A, 1965. Andrea Palladio: The Four Books of Architecture (Dover edition). New York, Dover Publications.

Worsley, G, 1995. Classical Architecture in Britain: The Heroic Age, 1st ed. London, Yale University Press.

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Image References

1.

Vitruvius Scoticus, 18thc. Kinross House. Plan of first, second and third floors and vaults [scanned image] (RCAHMS inv)

2.

R. Cooper, 18thc. Engraving showing Kinross House west [scanned image] (Vitruvius Scoticus)

3.

Chateau Le Vaux Le Victome [photograph] available at: www.everycastle.com [accessed August 2013]

4.

Chateau Bellaroy, [photograph] available at: http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Ch%C3%A2teau_d e_Balleroy_2008_PD_05.JPG [accessed August 2013]

5.

Mauritshuis, [photograph] available at: http://www.pds.ewi.tudelft.nl/~iosup/pics/2k4_11_07_Den _Haag/tn/116_mauritshuis%20at%20dawn.med.jpg [accessed August 2013]

6.

Coleshill House [Engraving, scanned] Available online at: http://www.berkshirehistory.com/articles/coleshill.html [accessed August 2013]

7.

Coleshill House [Plan, scanned] Available online at: http://wallpanelling.co.uk/history/history-oak-wallpanelling-62-architectural-periods.html [accessed August 2013]

8.

Balkaskie House Elevation [Photograph] Available online at: http://www.mortondesign.co.uk/gallery/scotland/fife/f1672.jpg [accessed August 2013]

9.

Balkaskie House Terrace [Photograph] Available online at: http://www.mortondesign.co.uk/gallery/scotland/fife/f1672.jpg [accessed August 2013]

10.

Balkaskie House [plan scanned] Available at: http://www.scotlandsplaces.gov.uk/record/rcahms/34206/ balcaskie-house/rcahms?item=991238#carousel [accessed August 2013]

11.

Moncreiffe House [Plan and elevation scanned] Available online at: http://canmore.rcahms.gov.uk/images/l/DP038697/ [accessed August 2013]

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12.

Plan of the town of Kinross 1823 [Scanned image] Available online at http://www.genuki.org.uk/big/sct/KRS/Kinross/Pics/Kinross map.jpg [accessed August 2013]

13.

Site Plan Kinross House and Gardens, 17th c. Scanned from: Fenwick, H, 1970. Architect Royal: The Life and Works of Sir William Bruce. 1st ed. County of Warwick: The Roundwood Press.

14.

View from Terrace [photograph] Available online at: http://www.flickr.com/photos/tourscotland/5011489534 [accessed August 2013]

15.

Kinross House stables and offices [Photograph] Available online at: http://www.flickr.com/photos/smbtravels/5194085466/ligh tbox/ [Accessed August 2013]

16.

Pavvilion curtain wall west faรงade, c. 1929 [photograph] Available online at: http://www.scotlandsplaces.gov.uk/record/rcahms/27882/k inross-house/rcahms?item=710770#carousel [accessed august 2013]

17.

Garden Pavillion, c.1929 [photograph] Available at: http://www.scotlandsplaces.gov.uk/record/rcahms/27882/k inross-house/rcahms?item=1244037#carousel [accessed august 2013]

18.

West elevation oblique view, c. 1929 [photograph] available online at: http://www.scotlandsplaces.gov.uk/record/rcahms/27882/k inross-house/rcahms?item=702624#carousel [accessed august 2013]

19.

East elevation, c.1929 [photograph] available online at: http://www.scotlandsplaces.gov.uk/record/rcahms/27882/k inross-house/rcahms?item=693030#carousel [accessed august 2013]

20.

Detail of capital. Scanned from: Cruickshank, D, 2011. The Country House Revealed, 1st ed. London: BBC Books.

21.

Detail of window. Scanned from: Cruickshank, D, 2011. The Country House Revealed, 1st ed. London: BBC Books.

22.

Detail of south portico. Scanned from: Cruickshank, D, 2011.

The Country House Revealed, 1st ed. London: BBC Books.

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23.

South faรงade.. Scanned from: Cruickshank, D, 2011. The Country House Revealed, 1st ed. London: BBC Books.

24.

Plan and elevation, 17thc. Scanned from: Fenwick, H, 1970. Architect Royal: The Life and Works of Sir William Bruce. 1st ed. County of Warwick: The Roundwood Press.

25.

Ballroom/great dining room.. Scanned from: Cruickshank, D, 2011. The Country House Revealed, 1st ed. London: BBC Books.

26.

Ballroom/great dining room.. Scanned from: Cruickshank, D, 2011. The Country House Revealed, 1st ed. London: BBC Books.

27.

Garden Room [photograph] available online at: http://www.scottishfield.co.uk/article/336Kinross_A_Bruce_masterpiece.html [accessed august 2013]

28.

Great stair. Scanned from: Cruickshank, D, 2011. The Country House Revealed, 1st ed. London: BBC Books.

29.

Interior, circulation.. Scanned from: Cruickshank, D, 2011.

The Country House Revealed, 1st ed. London: BBC Books.

30.

The Fish Gate, [photograph] available online at: http://www.flickr.com/photos/tourscotland/5011489534 [accessed august 2013]

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