Welcome to Marchmont
Marchmont House is an imposing ‘Grade A’ listed Palladian mansion built in 1750 by Hugh Hume-Campbell, 3rd Earl of Marchmont. Long thought to have been designed by William Adam, it is possibly the work of the celebrated architect James Gibbs, and enacted by Thomas Gibson.
Major changes were made between 1914 and 1917 when the then owner, Robert Finnie McEwen commissioned the eminent Scottish architect Sir Robert Lorimer to enlarge the house and it stands today as perhaps the finest example of his ‘grand’ house refurbishments.
Situated at the heart of the Marchmont Estate, it lies to the east of the village of Greenlaw in the Scottish Borders, 19 miles west of Berwick-upon-Tweed and just 40 miles from Edinburgh.
Next Event
A prelude to ‘Inspiring Women Artists’
Saturday 24th April 2021
5:00pm to 6:30pm
Sponsored by Arts & Crafts Tours and Lyon & Turnbull
Ahead of next year’s rescheduled “Inspiring Women Artists @ Marchmont” event ‘Prelude’ is an interim online event (delivered via Zoom) and chaired by Alice Strang – Senior Curator at the National Galleries of Scotland which offers an introduction to the inspiring women mural painters and artists of the late 19th Century, focusing on Phoebe Anna Traquair, Mary Seton Watts and the women artists of the Pre-Raphaelite ‘Sisterhood’ – as well as offering an early glimpse of some highlights of the collection at Marchmont House.
For full details, and to book please visit our Eventbrite page.
Events in 2022
‘Inspiring Women Artists’ @ Marchmont
Saturday 9th April 2022
10:00am to 7:00pm – Registration from 9:30am
Sponsored by Arts & Crafts Tours and Lyon & Turnbull
In partnership with Royal Scottish Academy, Mansfield Traquair Trust and Women’s Fund Scotland
Please note that this event was originally scheduled for 2021 but postponed due to the Coronavirus pandemic.
A celebration of inspiring women mural painters and artists of the late 19th Century, focusing on Phoebe Anna Traquair, Mary Seton Watts, Louisa Waterford and the women artists of the Pre-Raphaelite ‘Sisterhood’.
This all-day event considers the important influence these artists had on their contemporaries and future generations, by retelling their stories, re-establishing their reputations and considering their artistic legacies.
Speakers include: Dr Elizabeth Cumming (Honorary Professor in History of Art at the University of Edinburgh, Curator and Independent Scholar), Dr Sally-Anne Huxtable (Head Curator of The National Trust and formerly Principal Curator of Modern and Contemporary Design, Post 1850, National Museums of Scotland), Dr Jan Marsh (Curator, ‘Pre-Raphaelite Sisters’, National Portrait Gallery, London), Kirsty Stonell Walker (Pre-Raphaelite Art Historian), Sandy Wood (Collections Curator, Royal Scottish Academy of Art and Architecture, Dr Louise Boreham (Independent Researcher), Sandra Pollard (Lecturer in History of Art) and Dott.ssa Julia Alexandra Mee (Artist and Art Historian).
For more information, and to book please visit our Eventbrite page.
Tours
An update
In light of the ongoing Coronavirus pandemic we have, with regret, decided to cancel all our forthcoming tours.
The health and wellbeing of our visitors and staff is paramount, and as Marchmont is also a family home we feet it appropriate to take this step, and to review our forthcoming public tours and events on a rolling, two-monthly basis, and are currently planning the diary for 2021.
Marchmont is normally only open to the public for a limited number of days each year for guided tours and special events.
We hope to be able to welcome you back soon, but in the meantime please subscribe to our e-mailing list and you’ll be the first to hear about the dates.
All tickets must be booked in advance and are only available from our ticketing page: marchmont.eventbrite.co.uk
About
The interior at Marchmont is arguably one of the finest in Scotland, and the house retains many of its original features, including the magnificent George II period plasterwork by Thomas Clayton, the pre-eminent plasterer of the time.
Over a hundred years had passed since Lorimer’s ‘aggrandisement’ took place, and and having spent 20 years as a care home it is something of an understatement to say the house was both institutionalised and unmodernised.
The goal of the current owners was to make Marchmont usable in a practical way – ‘stately yet homely’, and to bring it to life in a way that was true to its outstanding architectural history.
A comprehensive, yet sensitive six-year restoration was carried out that has been the catalyst for an inspiring and passionate appreciation for craft and design tradition, quite literally observed through the layers of history of the house.
Marchmont was awarded the prestigious 2018 Historic Houses/Sotheby’s Restoration Award as a result.
Venue
Only 40 miles from Edinburgh, Marchmont is a spectacular venue for gatherings of a family, friends or corporate nature. It stands just 19 miles from Berwick-upon-Tweed’s excellent train connections to London (3h 36m), Newcastle (45m), and York (1h 44m).
Its splendid reception rooms offer a wide variety of options; perfect for a small group staying overnight who want privacy and intimacy but at the other end of the scale just as special for hosting a conference for up to 200 people.
The house is equipped with a professional kitchen, fibre broadband and video-conferencing. There are multiple bars, a film room and ‘old-school’ indoor entertainment; snooker, ping-pong and bar billiards, not to mention the surrounding countryside for those who prefer outdoor pursuits.
Please contact us with your requirements.
Stay
Outstanding accommodation is available for up to 20 people in ten guest bedrooms, each with an en-suite bathroom. Eight of which are located on a self-contained guest floor which includes a kitchen, dining room and living room, and can be reached by lift from a private entrance.
There are also five ‘staff’ bedrooms that can be let additionally.
Set at the heart of the estate, the house offers privacy and seclusion, but has all the modern conveniences required, including the latest in central heating and hot water systems, and fibre broadband.
The house is available, in-part or as a whole, for private or corporate lettings on a daily or weekly basis.
Please contact us for further information.
Arts & Crafts
Whilst the old core parts of the house are Georgian, we wanted to embrace the changes made at the turn of the 20th century by Sir Robert Lorimer – a key Scottish protagonist of the arts & crafts movement. As this is a period, style and way of thinking we have an interest in, we have dedicated large parts of the house to being furnished in the spirit of the movement.
There is a diverse collection of furniture, pictures, textiles and ceramics from this period including pieces by Gimson, Barnsley, Lorimer, Clissett, Lutyens, Thompson, E A Taylor and Whytock & Reid.
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Contact us:
Marchmont Farms Limited
Marchmont
Greenlaw
Berwickshire
TD10 6YL
Tel: +44 (0)1361 866080