Craigdarroch
Encyclopedia
- "Craigdarroch, An Accessory to Murder" is an expansion set for the board gameBoard gameA board game is a game which involves counters or pieces being moved on a pre-marked surface or "board", according to a set of rules. Games may be based on pure strategy, chance or a mixture of the two, and usually have a goal which a player aims to achieve...
Kill Doctor LuckyKill Doctor LuckyKill Doctor Lucky is a humorous board game designed by James Ernest and released in 1996 by Cheapass Games. In 1998, Kill Doctor Lucky won the Origins Award for Best Abstract Board Game of 1997....
Moniaive
Moniaive is a village in the south of Scotland in Dumfries and Galloway, near Thornhill, on the A702 road and B729 road. Population 520 . The name is from Gaelic monadh-abh and means "Hill of Streams". It is situated at the northern end of the very scenic and tranquil Cairn Valley...
, Dumfries and Galloway
Dumfries and Galloway
Dumfries and Galloway is one of 32 unitary council areas of Scotland. It was one of the nine administrative 'regions' of mainland Scotland created in 1975 by the Local Government etc. Act 1973...
, Scotland
Scotland
Scotland is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Occupying the northern third of the island of Great Britain, it shares a border with England to the south and is bounded by the North Sea to the east, the Atlantic Ocean to the north and west, and the North Channel and Irish Sea to the...
. It was the seat of the Chief of the Dumfriesshire Fergussons
Clan Fergusson
Clan Fergusson is a Scottish clan which has multiple geographic origins across Scotland. Consequently the Fergussons may be viewed as both a Highland and a Lowland clan....
for 600 years.
Built by William Adam in 1729 over the old house dating from the earliest records (14th century).
The Marriage Home of Annie Laurie
Annie Laurie
Annie Laurie is an old Scottish song based on poem by William Douglas of Dumfries and Galloway. The words were modified and the tune was added by Alicia Scott in 1834/5. The song is also known as Maxwelton Braes.-William Douglas:...
(the heroine of 'the world's greatest love-song') who married Alexander Fergusson, 14th Laird
Laird
A Laird is a member of the gentry and is a heritable title in Scotland. In the non-peerage table of precedence, a Laird ranks below a Baron and above an Esquire.-Etymology:...
of Craigdarroch, on 29 August 1709, and lived there for 33 years.
The first Fergusson of Craigdarroch on record was Jonkyne, who flourished in the 14th century. Robert, his descendant in the 6th generation, married Lady Janet Cunningham, daughter of the 4th Earl of Glencairn
Earl of Glencairn
The title of Earl of Glencairn was created in the Peerage of Scotland in 1488 for the first Lord Kilmaurs .On the death of the fifteenth earl in 1796, there existing no original Letters Patent of the creation nor a given remainder in the various confirmations in title of previous earls the title...
of Maxwelton
Maxwelton
Maxwelton, currently a private residence, is a single story Victorian Piano Box House located on Southern Avenue near Buntyn's Station along what was the Memphis and Charleston Railroad....
, in 1537 and their marriage stone
Marriage stone
A marriage stone is usually a stone lintel carved with the initials, coat of arms, etc. of a newly married couple with the date of the marriage. They were very popular until Victorian times, but fell out of general use in the 20th century...
, with the shakefork of the Cunninghams, is to be seen with the other carved stones on the base of the old tower of Craigdarroch. The upper part of the tower was demolished when the present early 18th century house was built.
Their eldest grandson, Thomas, married in 1609 (marriage stone), but died soon after, without inheriting. His younger brother, Robert, married Katherine , daughter of the 6th Earl of Cunningham, and their son, William Fergusson had a marriage contract with Sara Grierson, which was signed on 9 May 1621, daughter of Sir William Grierson
William Grierson
William Wylie Grierson was a British civil engineer.William was born to James Grierson and Margaret Emily Grierson and was educated at Rugby School. William married Aleen Isabel Bell on 14 September 1927 at St. Paul's Church, Knightsbridge...
of Lag, 9th Lord of Lag and their marriage stone, with the three cushions and star of the Griersons, is also to be seen. Robert was M.P. for Dumfriesshire, as were also his son, his grandson, and his great-grandson.
His grandson, John, Colonel of a Regiment of Foot, rode from Craigdarroch to Killiecrankie
Killiecrankie
Killiecrankie is a village in Perth and Kinross, Scotland on the River Garry. It lies at the Pass of Killiecrankie, by the A9 road. The village is home to a power station forming part of the Tummel Hydro-Electric Power Scheme...
in 1689, where he was killed in battle. His servant returned with his master's horse and saddle and the saddle was kept at the top of the stairs until 1918 when it went to Caprington Castle where it still is. The story goes that his wife, Elizabeth, refused to believe her husband was dead and pined her days away waiting for his return, and subsequently haunted the saddle right up until 1920 when the ghost was laid by a Jesuit with Bell, Book and Candle. There is no doubt about the ghost, and no doubt about the laying of it, but history records that Elizabeth married twice afterwards, and the ghost was more probably Elizabeth Maxwell, John's mother.
His son, Alexander, born in 1685, actively supported King William
William III of England
William III & II was a sovereign Prince of Orange of the House of Orange-Nassau by birth. From 1672 he governed as Stadtholder William III of Orange over Holland, Zeeland, Utrecht, Guelders, and Overijssel of the Dutch Republic. From 1689 he reigned as William III over England and Ireland...
against the Stuarts. In 1710 he married Anna Laurie or Annie Laurie
Annie Laurie
Annie Laurie is an old Scottish song based on poem by William Douglas of Dumfries and Galloway. The words were modified and the tune was added by Alicia Scott in 1834/5. The song is also known as Maxwelton Braes.-William Douglas:...
, daughter of Sir Robert Laurie
Robert Laurie
Robert Laurie may refer to:* Robert Laurie , Scottish prelate, Bishop of Brechin* Robert Laurie , Australian sportsman* Robert Peter Laurie , Member of Parliament for Canterbury and Bath...
, Bt., of Maxwelton House,near Moniaive
Moniaive
Moniaive is a village in the south of Scotland in Dumfries and Galloway, near Thornhill, on the A702 road and B729 road. Population 520 . The name is from Gaelic monadh-abh and means "Hill of Streams". It is situated at the northern end of the very scenic and tranquil Cairn Valley...
, the Annie Laurie of the song. In 1726 they commissioned William Adam, father of Robert Adam
Robert Adam
Robert Adam was a Scottish neoclassical architect, interior designer and furniture designer. He was the son of William Adam , Scotland's foremost architect of the time, and trained under him...
, Scotland's most famous architect
Architect
An architect is a person trained in the planning, design and oversight of the construction of buildings. To practice architecture means to offer or render services in connection with the design and construction of a building, or group of buildings and the space within the site surrounding the...
, to build the new house. The estimate for the work in William Adam's handwriting (copy in the house) came to the then princely sum of £526 2s 9d. It was completed, much as it is today, in 1729, the date above the present front door. Robert Adam, then under his father's tuition, designed and made the fireplace in the hall. "Annie Laurie
Annie Laurie
Annie Laurie is an old Scottish song based on poem by William Douglas of Dumfries and Galloway. The words were modified and the tune was added by Alicia Scott in 1834/5. The song is also known as Maxwelton Braes.-William Douglas:...
" lived at Craigdarroch for over 50 years and died at Friars' Carse
Friar's Carse
Friars' Carse is a mansion house and estate situated southeast of Auldgirth on the main road to Dumfries, Parish of Dunscore, Scotland. The property is located on the west bank of the River Nith and is known for its strong associations with Robert Burns who lived for a while at the nearby...
, near Auldgirth
Auldgirth
Auldgirth is a village on the A76 road in Dumfries and Galloway, Scotland. Auldgirth village features 'The Auldgirth Inn', 'Auldgirth Stores' and the former Auldgirth Primary School. Originally inhabitants of Auldgirth located to the scheme, situated next to the A76, but in recent years this has...
, in 1763. Some sources suggest she may have been buried at Craigdarroch,but as she was a lifelong worshipper at Kirkland Church,her grave may be there,but it has not been located.
Their son James, Chamberlain
Chamberlain (office)
A chamberlain is an officer in charge of managing a household. In many countries there are ceremonial posts associated with the household of the sovereign....
to the 3rd Duke of Queensberry
Duke of Queensberry
The title Duke of Queensberry was created in the Peerage of Scotland in 1684 along with the subsidiary title Marquess of Dumfriesshire for the 1st Marquess of Queensberry...
, lived all his life at Drumlanrig Castle
Drumlanrig Castle
Drumlanrig Castle sits on the Queensberry Estate in Scotland's Dumfries and Galloway.The Castle is the Dumfriesshire family home to the Duke and Duchess of Buccleuch and Queensberry...
and was there when 'Bonnie Prince Charlie' came with his Highland Army in December 1745. The Highland Army was not popular in the district and did considerable damage as it passed through. At Craigdarroch, the Fergussons and staff wisely decided to flee the house when they were requested to provide hospitality to the pretender. When the coast was clear they returned, only to find the house ransacked and much of the furniture burnt as fuel.
His son Alexander was the victor in the contest for the Whistle, celebrated in Robert Burns
Robert Burns
Robert Burns was a Scottish poet and a lyricist. He is widely regarded as the national poet of Scotland, and is celebrated worldwide...
' poem. The actual whistle is an heirloom, also at Caprington Castle
Alexander's son, Robert
Robert Cutlar Fergusson
Robert Cutlar Fergusson was a Scottish lawyer and politician. He was 17th Laird of the Dumfriesshire Fergussons, seated at Craigdarroch ....
, 17th Laird, was perhaps the most distinguished member of the family. He was a lawyer, Attorney-General of Bengal
Bengal
Bengal is a historical and geographical region in the northeast region of the Indian Subcontinent at the apex of the Bay of Bengal. Today, it is mainly divided between the sovereign land of People's Republic of Bangladesh and the Indian state of West Bengal, although some regions of the previous...
, later, M.P. for the Stewartry of Kirkcudbright
Kirkcudbright
Kirkcudbright, is a town in Dumfries and Galloway, Scotland.The town lies south of Castle Douglas and Dalbeattie, in the part of Dumfries and Galloway known as the Stewartry, at the mouth of the River Dee, some six miles from the sea...
, Judge Advocate General and a Privy Councillor. He built the 'pond', turned the course of Craigdarroch Water, laid out the policies much as they are now, and built the west wing.
His grandson, Robert, died in 1904, leaving no heir - for the first time in 600 years - but twin daughters, the elder of whom, Ella, married William Cunninghame, 14th Laird of Caprington, descendant of the Earls of Glencairn, in 1918, and their two sons, Robert and John Fergusson-Cuninghame, now live at Caprington, Robert, the elder, inheriting the castle and property.
After 1904 the house was occasionally rented by Clare Dubs who bought it in 1923, living there until he died in 1943 when it passed to his nephew (by marriage), Robert Sinclair Scott, who sold it in 1957 to Adam Dalzell who died in 1961.
In 1962 it was acquired by the present occupant's now deceased father-in-law whose wife's uncle was a Fergusson, kinsman to the Fergussons of Craigdarroch. It is owned by a family trust.
During the 19th century various alterations and additions were made - the Oriel window
Oriel window
Oriel windows are a form of bay window commonly found in Gothic architecture, which project from the main wall of the building but do not reach to the ground. Corbels or brackets are often used to support this kind of window. They are seen in combination with the Tudor arch. This type of window was...
in the drawing-room; the Chapel, built in 1889 of oak and stone from the estate; and later the billiard room wing, replacing former conservatories, and rebuilt in 1932 as the present study. In the chapel there are photographs of the 50 or so estate workers and their families all together in their Sunday finery at the turn of the 20th century. Some of them would have worked in the extensive walled garden and greenhouses, now derelict, to provide produce for the house. Others would have worked on the local tenanted farms and in forestry on the estate.
During the late war (1939–1945) the house was allocated to a special unit of the Norwegian Army
Norwegian Army
Norway achieved full independence in 1905, and in the first century of its short life has contributed to two major conflicts, the Cold War and the War on Terror. The Norwegian Army currently operates in the north of Norway and in Afghanistan as well as in Eastern Europe. The Army is the oldest of...
since when it has been lived in for short periods only until the present occupation. Modern conditions do not encourage developments and improvements, but they continue slowly. In recent years the house has been used for events and meetings and plans are in progress to use it as a wedding and function venue.
Craigdarroch House is open to the public throughout July each year from 2pm to 4pm. It is situated 2 miles west of Moniaive on the B729.