From the Edinburgh Evening News, 30th May 2005
Wanna buy a real Scots castle?.. It'll cost ya
Premier properties in the Lothians are being marketed to rich businessmen in the United States and Europe in the hope they will pay over the odds to secure a historic second home. Multi-million-pound castles and mansions are being snapped up abroad for several times the asking price on the Scottish market.
Two Lothian period homes are the latest being offered by an American-based property agent specialising in the sale of castles and luxury houses.
Texas-based estate agent Audree Mevellec is marketing Middleton Hall in Borthwick, Midlothian, to well-heeled clients throughout the United States and Europe via her internet site. The asking price for the mansion was £2.25 million two years ago. Now the owners are selling it with a £13.5m price tag.
Ms. Mevellec also has 18th-century Seton Castle, near Longniddry, on her books and is expecting to sell it in the region of £15m. The Earl of Wemyss was asking for offers over £1.3m when he sold the dilapidated castle two years ago.
Ms. Mevellec also recently sold Lee Castle in Lanark, with its 261 acres of land, to an American buyer after its previous owner failed to sell the property via internet auction site E-bay. The new owner also became the 35th Baron of Lee when handed the keys to the 30,000 square foot castle.
Ms. Mevellec said it was about time the Scots market caught up with prices abroad as she thinks property owners here are being short-changed. She said a historic period home with a great deal of land was a rare commodity and should be given a price tag reflecting that.
"The Americans, the Europeans and even the people in England know the value of the land but in Scotland the prices are low. Why should that be?" she said. "In Scotland, you have something rare but people don't see it and don't think it is realistic to sell property for more. Open your eyes to the world, your country is beautiful."
Jamie Macnab, who handled the sale of Middleton Hall for Savills in Edinburgh two years ago, said he was not surprised people were selling abroad as £3m was the maximum the Scots could sell for here.
He said: "Nothing sells for any more than that. Last year someone in one of our London offices sold a house for £60m - 20 times as much as we could get here. They are dirt-cheap here and that's what marketing in America is all about, because you can quote a much higher price than you could ever quote in Scotland in the hope they will pay a price which is out of context in Scotland. I think our houses are far too cheap when you consider we are selling quality properties for two or three million."
Asked why this was the case, he said: "I guess they always have been cheap and no-one's broken the mould."
Middleton Hall is described by the American estate agent as a private neo-classical estate which exudes prestige and presence. Only 14 miles from Edinburgh, the nine-bedroom mansion boasts 113 acres of gardens and parkland, a helipad and stables.
Full Version: Seton Castle
wish I had the cash to purchase one of these!
The Floorplans
Some external views of the castle.
The East Wing
The West Wing
nice looking structure.....I like the shape of the floor plan. Thanks for the info Andrew!
A Brief History
Robert Adam was commissioned to design Seton Castle in the summer of 1789. By December the design was at the stage of working drawings. The building contract was awarded to the builder Thomas Russell (later to build Airthrie Castle, another Adam design and now part of Stirling University campus). The building was constructed between 12th November 1789 and the summer of 1791. Robert Adam, on his last visit to Scotland before his death, dined with his client in the new house on 11th June 1791.
The site for the castle, in East Lothian a few miles South of Edinburgh, was beside that of the old Seton Palace, a vast old courtyard house, the owners of which, the Earls of Wintoun, had had their estates confiscated after the 1715 rebellion. By the 1790's the Palace was a ruin, and the site in the hands of Lt Col Alexander Mackenzie of the 21st Dragoons, eldest son of Alexander MacKenzie of Portmore, Peebleshire. He was a young man, in his early twenties, when he commissioned the design from Adam. He would not live long to enjoy his new house. According to a local tradition he had evicted an old woman who lived in a cottage on the estate near Seton Palace. She laid a curse on him and prophesied, as her house was demolished, that the new Seton Castle would never become his family home. He died five years later in 1796.
John Patterson, Robert Adam's Clerk of Works in Scotland, (later to become a competent architect in his own right) reported to Adam in a letter of 26th April 1790 that the old building had been demolished and cleared.
For a client one of the advantages of a building designed in the Castle Style was the reduced cost of constructing the stone walls which (as in this case) could be generally of undressed coursed or "drove" stone (with chisel marks on the surface). Dressed (smooth faced) and carved stone were only used for sting courses and the fine detailing, such as the bartizans and machiciolation at the battlements. Of course the demolition of Seton Palace provided a ready supply of stone and extensive use was made of this.
This building is in a fairly exposed location and in many areas the mortar joints badly need re-pointing, but also much of the stone is heavily weathered. One of the reasons for the degree of weathering may be that much of the stone, borrowed from Seton Palace, may have originally been cut centuries before the current house was built.
-----------------------------------------------------
Notes and References
The details of this brief history are taken from Designs for Castles and Country Houses by Ronert and James Adam. Alistair Rowan, Phaidon, Oxford. 1985
Robert Adam was commissioned to design Seton Castle in the summer of 1789. By December the design was at the stage of working drawings. The building contract was awarded to the builder Thomas Russell (later to build Airthrie Castle, another Adam design and now part of Stirling University campus). The building was constructed between 12th November 1789 and the summer of 1791. Robert Adam, on his last visit to Scotland before his death, dined with his client in the new house on 11th June 1791.
The site for the castle, in East Lothian a few miles South of Edinburgh, was beside that of the old Seton Palace, a vast old courtyard house, the owners of which, the Earls of Wintoun, had had their estates confiscated after the 1715 rebellion. By the 1790's the Palace was a ruin, and the site in the hands of Lt Col Alexander Mackenzie of the 21st Dragoons, eldest son of Alexander MacKenzie of Portmore, Peebleshire. He was a young man, in his early twenties, when he commissioned the design from Adam. He would not live long to enjoy his new house. According to a local tradition he had evicted an old woman who lived in a cottage on the estate near Seton Palace. She laid a curse on him and prophesied, as her house was demolished, that the new Seton Castle would never become his family home. He died five years later in 1796.
John Patterson, Robert Adam's Clerk of Works in Scotland, (later to become a competent architect in his own right) reported to Adam in a letter of 26th April 1790 that the old building had been demolished and cleared.
For a client one of the advantages of a building designed in the Castle Style was the reduced cost of constructing the stone walls which (as in this case) could be generally of undressed coursed or "drove" stone (with chisel marks on the surface). Dressed (smooth faced) and carved stone were only used for sting courses and the fine detailing, such as the bartizans and machiciolation at the battlements. Of course the demolition of Seton Palace provided a ready supply of stone and extensive use was made of this.
This building is in a fairly exposed location and in many areas the mortar joints badly need re-pointing, but also much of the stone is heavily weathered. One of the reasons for the degree of weathering may be that much of the stone, borrowed from Seton Palace, may have originally been cut centuries before the current house was built.
-----------------------------------------------------
Notes and References
The details of this brief history are taken from Designs for Castles and Country Houses by Ronert and James Adam. Alistair Rowan, Phaidon, Oxford. 1985
General Notes on the Design
The basic massing of the composition is simple, three blocks around a courtyard, but the use of symmetry, combined with a hierarchy of powerful geometric forms, creates a strong resonance between the parts.
At a practical level the house needed to operate partly as a farm. There was a requirement for a stable-yard, cow and chicken house and a dairy. These are accommodated in the "U" shaped East wing built around three sides and forming the Stable-yard. This block in its massing is treated as a self contained "fortress", and designed with Castle Style detailing. This "fortress" block is mirrored by the almost identical West wing, in which all of the domestic service accommodation, separated out from the main house, has been placed.
The space between the two "service" blocks forms the entrance courtyard, also designed with classical symmetry. This has a curved screen wall on the south side with an arched entrance gate centrally placed, giving access to the courtyard beyond.
Within the courtyard links are made between the East and West wings and between these and the main house, by single storey loggias and corridors. On the south side of the entrance courtyard is a curved loggia with an arcade of arches open to the courtyard. The loggia terminates on either side of the entrance gate with a turret in the castle style. Doors at the ends of these mirrored loggias give access into the side wings. The open curved loggias are mirrored at the North end of the courtyard by enclosed corridors linking the main house to each of the wings. A blind arcade of blank arches mirrors the open arcade of the loggias at the South end.
A short flight of steps leads up to the entrance to the house. The entrance screen is an exquisite arrangement the delicacy of which is enhanced by the contrast with the massive Castle Style detailing of the wings and the South facade of the House.
The side wings which are two stories high and the South wall to the entrance courtyard visually form a "defensive barrier" to the South, the side of the main approach. The bulk of these parts of the building composition give an impression of a very large house. In fact the house is relatively modest in size, with ten bedrooms over the three principal floors. The ground slopes away to the North and advantage was taken of this to create a basement level which is at the same level as the garden on the North side.
East Wing in Detail
The courtyard to the East wing is marked "Stableyard". Working clockwise starting from the South East room, the rooms are:-
Hen House 8 by 16, Calves 7 by 16, Cow House 20 by 16, Stable 16 by 15, Stable 16 by 24, Dairy 16 by 11'6 (This is an oval room), Pales (sic. pails ? the small circular room off this), Scullery (?) 8.6 by 11.6, Wash House & Laundry, Drying Yard.
The upper level of the East Wing seems to have been mainly hayloft, with rooms for farm hands, dairy maids and stable boy etc.
West Wing - in Detail
Starting from the South West room, the rooms are:-
Coachman 10.5 by 16, Slaughter House 18 by 16, Day & Week (?) Larder 15 by 11, Cooks Pantry 9 by 5, Scullery 16 by 8 1/2, Kitchen 16 by 20, Butler 11 1/2 by 8 1/2, Business Room 16 by 11, Sherry (?) room (circular room in corner turret), Dress(?) room 10 by 11, coach-house 10 1/2 by 16.
The upper level of the West Wing seems to have been mainly servants’ quarters, other than the South part, which appears to have been used for loft and storage spaces.
Entrance Courtyard
The entrance courtyard is perhaps one of the most interesting parts of the design for this building.
The house is screened from the South by the fortress-like side wings and the convex wall enclosing the courtyard between them with the arched gate placed centrally on the axis of the house. The South side of the house is only revealed once you are through the courtyard gate. What is most immediately striking is that the house looks like a castle keep, with massive square and circular turrets that form the outer walls. There is a great contrast between the massive scale of these elements and the delicacy of the front door screen and the miniature scale of the stone details in the courtyard.
The front entrance screen is in three parts, with Corinthian pilasters separating the door from casement windows on either side. The pilasters support an entablature, over which is a lunette window within a flattened arch. The window has wonderfully delicate radiating glazing bars and tracery. The shallow arch, flattened as though by the weight of the building over, adds to the impression of the massiveness of the walls of the house.
On the South side of the courtyard, what on the outside formed the convex walls on either side of the gate are revealed to be open loggias embracing the space. These terminate in a miniature turret on either side of the entrance gate. There is an insistent symmetry to the composition which determines the plan form of the courtyard. The curve of the wall of the two parts of the loggia on either side of the gate to the courtyard are mirrored by the curved walls on the North side of the courtyard. While it is not immediately apparent what is behind this walls, they take the form of a blind arcades, the arches of which, while they contain windows, also mirror and correspond to the open arches of the loggia opposite. (These walls are actually the outer walls of the corridors on either side linking the service wings to the house).
The courtyard is contained to the East and West by the walls of the side wings. Centrally positioned in the West wall of the courtyard is a tripartite Venetian window opening to the kitchen. Opposite on the East wall of the courtyard are corresponding blank windows - the stables would not have merited a window.
At the corners of the curved arcaded corridor connecting the wings to the house are miniature bartizans. As well as being sculptural elements, their function is to terminate the arcades and the arcaded loggia opposite with a visual accent.
The bartizan was originally a defensive feature of medieval castles. They allowed defenders a better field of view for firing on an attacking force below, while keeping them protected. Clearly this bartizan, only about 4 feet high, has lost all practical purpose of this sort. It has become an expression of the architectural vocabulary of the Castle Style that Adam is using for this building. Used here it a piece of sculpture, but is not just decorative.
To the 18th Century mind these stone details, derived from the vocabulary of medieval castles, would have "meaning", resonating with 18th Century concepts of the romanic and picturesque. Beyond this there is also a subtle game being played to amuse us. Because the bartizans and machicolations (small arches under the string course) have been scaled down so dramatically from their "normal" proportions, the visitor is suddenly a giant in this Lilliputian courtyard. Miniature archers might be expected to fire at any minute from behind the miniature parapets in defense of the house.
The miniaturisation contrasts with and exaggerates the massive scale of the house itself with its huge turrets ascending above the miniature world.
The House
Starting from the Entrance Hall on the South courtyard side, and working clockwise, the rooms are:-
hall & stairs 20 Sq., Drawing-room 20 by 30, Dining Room 20 by 28, ladies Dressing 8 by 11, Water-closet, Bedroom 16 Sq., Gentleman's Dress 11 by 6, Water-closet.
Connecting the wings to the main house and mirroring the curve of the entrance loggia are single storey corridors on the North side of the Courtyard, between which are the steps leading up to the entrance.
The separation of the domestic service accommodation from the main house seems to have been unusual in Adam's designs for the smaller country Houses. While for the owners there were advantages, this arrangement presumably brought with it some problems, such as the length of time it might have taken to get hot food from the kitchen to the dining room.
The design carefully contrives to deny a full view of the house from the approach on this South side. The side wings and entrance courtyard walls screen and shelter the house. The effect of this is enhanced by the use of the Castle Style, which give the impression of battlements and defenses around the house which is itself designed to look like a castle keep.
The woods to the East and West sides also help to provide a screen to the house.
By continually denying a view of the house the design skilfully sets up an almost theatrical sense of anticipation. The house is only gradually revealed as you approach and enter the entrance courtyard. Even after you enter the front door you are not given any real sense of the scale of the house, nor what the North side might look like.
The Castle Style and Interiors
What is striking about the interior of an Adam house designed in the Castle Style, is that the interior design allows no reference to be made to the architectural language of the exterior of the building at all. The interiors are entirely in Adam's classical style and if any castle style elements are brought through to the interior or might be visible internally, such as cross shaped arrow-slit windows, these are either disguised or hidden in subsidiary room such as cupboards or toilets.
By maintaining this separation of styles Adam prevents the rusticity of the Castle style from sully.
Chimney Pieces
The majority of the chimney pieces in the house are likely to be in marble. Several have been over-painted with white paint, or had tile surrounds added, or been otherwise misused. The chimney piece designs, as with those for Dalquharran Castle, are quite simple compared to many that Adam designed for grander houses. They are none-the-less very elegant. Generally, the more "public" the room the grander the chimney-piece.
2nd Floor
The ceiling over the stairwell is designed as a shallow vault. Positioned centrally over the stairwell is a roof-light. A landing extends around three sides of the stairwell.
On the North side the space is separated and differentiated by a classical screen consisting of two Doric columns supporting an entablaure. A downstand in the ceiling vault over this entablature forms a flattened arched opening over the screen entablature. This architectural "device" is used to provide spatial differentiation between the lesser space (the stairwell and South landing and subordinate rooms, and the North side landing and bedroom suite opening off this. Within the hierarchy set up by this spatial division, the principal room is in the centre, occupying the space over the library on the first floor and dining room on the ground floor. In a sense the progression of spaces through the house can be said to culminate in the rooms beyond the screen, even though they are in classical terms attic rooms and normally of less importance.
The stairwell is open and this provides dramatic views down into the first floor living room.
1st Floor
The plan at this level is basically divided into four areas.
The stair landing is treated as a living room in its own right and designed with its own fireplace. This room is on the South side of the house, overlooking the courtyard, and would have been a very pleasant family area getting a lot of sun.
Centrally on the North side is the library, over the dining room on the floor below. This is within the half cylinder drum on the North elevation. The projection of these rooms into the half cylinder allowed additional windows to be located facing North West and North East, allowing views of the sunrise and sunset and at little sun into these rooms on the North side of the building.
On the East and West sides at this level are the bedroom suites. From the landing, doors open into each of the other spaces and the staircase leads up to further apartments above.
Ground Floor
The plan at this level is basically divided into four areas, the entrance hall, dining room, drawing room and a bedroom with associated dressing rooms for guests. From the entrance hall, doors open into each of the other spaces and a staircase leads up to the apartments above.
The dining room occupies the central space on the North side. The North End of this room is within the half cylinder drum that dominates the design of the facade externally on this side of the house. This cylindrical form extends the room and allows additional windows to be added, oriented NW and NE and therefore picking up sunrise and sunset in summer in Scotland.
The design of the drawing room is perhaps the most interesting feature of the plan at this level. There are two entrances to this room, from the hall and from the dining room. Both take you through a curved tunnel-like arrangement of double door and lobby. The North and South ends of the Drawing Room are apsidal. There are doors to the circular spaces at the base of the circular turrets.
The basic massing of the composition is simple, three blocks around a courtyard, but the use of symmetry, combined with a hierarchy of powerful geometric forms, creates a strong resonance between the parts.
At a practical level the house needed to operate partly as a farm. There was a requirement for a stable-yard, cow and chicken house and a dairy. These are accommodated in the "U" shaped East wing built around three sides and forming the Stable-yard. This block in its massing is treated as a self contained "fortress", and designed with Castle Style detailing. This "fortress" block is mirrored by the almost identical West wing, in which all of the domestic service accommodation, separated out from the main house, has been placed.
The space between the two "service" blocks forms the entrance courtyard, also designed with classical symmetry. This has a curved screen wall on the south side with an arched entrance gate centrally placed, giving access to the courtyard beyond.
Within the courtyard links are made between the East and West wings and between these and the main house, by single storey loggias and corridors. On the south side of the entrance courtyard is a curved loggia with an arcade of arches open to the courtyard. The loggia terminates on either side of the entrance gate with a turret in the castle style. Doors at the ends of these mirrored loggias give access into the side wings. The open curved loggias are mirrored at the North end of the courtyard by enclosed corridors linking the main house to each of the wings. A blind arcade of blank arches mirrors the open arcade of the loggias at the South end.
A short flight of steps leads up to the entrance to the house. The entrance screen is an exquisite arrangement the delicacy of which is enhanced by the contrast with the massive Castle Style detailing of the wings and the South facade of the House.
The side wings which are two stories high and the South wall to the entrance courtyard visually form a "defensive barrier" to the South, the side of the main approach. The bulk of these parts of the building composition give an impression of a very large house. In fact the house is relatively modest in size, with ten bedrooms over the three principal floors. The ground slopes away to the North and advantage was taken of this to create a basement level which is at the same level as the garden on the North side.
East Wing in Detail
The courtyard to the East wing is marked "Stableyard". Working clockwise starting from the South East room, the rooms are:-
Hen House 8 by 16, Calves 7 by 16, Cow House 20 by 16, Stable 16 by 15, Stable 16 by 24, Dairy 16 by 11'6 (This is an oval room), Pales (sic. pails ? the small circular room off this), Scullery (?) 8.6 by 11.6, Wash House & Laundry, Drying Yard.
The upper level of the East Wing seems to have been mainly hayloft, with rooms for farm hands, dairy maids and stable boy etc.
West Wing - in Detail
Starting from the South West room, the rooms are:-
Coachman 10.5 by 16, Slaughter House 18 by 16, Day & Week (?) Larder 15 by 11, Cooks Pantry 9 by 5, Scullery 16 by 8 1/2, Kitchen 16 by 20, Butler 11 1/2 by 8 1/2, Business Room 16 by 11, Sherry (?) room (circular room in corner turret), Dress(?) room 10 by 11, coach-house 10 1/2 by 16.
The upper level of the West Wing seems to have been mainly servants’ quarters, other than the South part, which appears to have been used for loft and storage spaces.
Entrance Courtyard
The entrance courtyard is perhaps one of the most interesting parts of the design for this building.
The house is screened from the South by the fortress-like side wings and the convex wall enclosing the courtyard between them with the arched gate placed centrally on the axis of the house. The South side of the house is only revealed once you are through the courtyard gate. What is most immediately striking is that the house looks like a castle keep, with massive square and circular turrets that form the outer walls. There is a great contrast between the massive scale of these elements and the delicacy of the front door screen and the miniature scale of the stone details in the courtyard.
The front entrance screen is in three parts, with Corinthian pilasters separating the door from casement windows on either side. The pilasters support an entablature, over which is a lunette window within a flattened arch. The window has wonderfully delicate radiating glazing bars and tracery. The shallow arch, flattened as though by the weight of the building over, adds to the impression of the massiveness of the walls of the house.
On the South side of the courtyard, what on the outside formed the convex walls on either side of the gate are revealed to be open loggias embracing the space. These terminate in a miniature turret on either side of the entrance gate. There is an insistent symmetry to the composition which determines the plan form of the courtyard. The curve of the wall of the two parts of the loggia on either side of the gate to the courtyard are mirrored by the curved walls on the North side of the courtyard. While it is not immediately apparent what is behind this walls, they take the form of a blind arcades, the arches of which, while they contain windows, also mirror and correspond to the open arches of the loggia opposite. (These walls are actually the outer walls of the corridors on either side linking the service wings to the house).
The courtyard is contained to the East and West by the walls of the side wings. Centrally positioned in the West wall of the courtyard is a tripartite Venetian window opening to the kitchen. Opposite on the East wall of the courtyard are corresponding blank windows - the stables would not have merited a window.
At the corners of the curved arcaded corridor connecting the wings to the house are miniature bartizans. As well as being sculptural elements, their function is to terminate the arcades and the arcaded loggia opposite with a visual accent.
The bartizan was originally a defensive feature of medieval castles. They allowed defenders a better field of view for firing on an attacking force below, while keeping them protected. Clearly this bartizan, only about 4 feet high, has lost all practical purpose of this sort. It has become an expression of the architectural vocabulary of the Castle Style that Adam is using for this building. Used here it a piece of sculpture, but is not just decorative.
To the 18th Century mind these stone details, derived from the vocabulary of medieval castles, would have "meaning", resonating with 18th Century concepts of the romanic and picturesque. Beyond this there is also a subtle game being played to amuse us. Because the bartizans and machicolations (small arches under the string course) have been scaled down so dramatically from their "normal" proportions, the visitor is suddenly a giant in this Lilliputian courtyard. Miniature archers might be expected to fire at any minute from behind the miniature parapets in defense of the house.
The miniaturisation contrasts with and exaggerates the massive scale of the house itself with its huge turrets ascending above the miniature world.
The House
Starting from the Entrance Hall on the South courtyard side, and working clockwise, the rooms are:-
hall & stairs 20 Sq., Drawing-room 20 by 30, Dining Room 20 by 28, ladies Dressing 8 by 11, Water-closet, Bedroom 16 Sq., Gentleman's Dress 11 by 6, Water-closet.
Connecting the wings to the main house and mirroring the curve of the entrance loggia are single storey corridors on the North side of the Courtyard, between which are the steps leading up to the entrance.
The separation of the domestic service accommodation from the main house seems to have been unusual in Adam's designs for the smaller country Houses. While for the owners there were advantages, this arrangement presumably brought with it some problems, such as the length of time it might have taken to get hot food from the kitchen to the dining room.
The design carefully contrives to deny a full view of the house from the approach on this South side. The side wings and entrance courtyard walls screen and shelter the house. The effect of this is enhanced by the use of the Castle Style, which give the impression of battlements and defenses around the house which is itself designed to look like a castle keep.
The woods to the East and West sides also help to provide a screen to the house.
By continually denying a view of the house the design skilfully sets up an almost theatrical sense of anticipation. The house is only gradually revealed as you approach and enter the entrance courtyard. Even after you enter the front door you are not given any real sense of the scale of the house, nor what the North side might look like.
The Castle Style and Interiors
What is striking about the interior of an Adam house designed in the Castle Style, is that the interior design allows no reference to be made to the architectural language of the exterior of the building at all. The interiors are entirely in Adam's classical style and if any castle style elements are brought through to the interior or might be visible internally, such as cross shaped arrow-slit windows, these are either disguised or hidden in subsidiary room such as cupboards or toilets.
By maintaining this separation of styles Adam prevents the rusticity of the Castle style from sully.
Chimney Pieces
The majority of the chimney pieces in the house are likely to be in marble. Several have been over-painted with white paint, or had tile surrounds added, or been otherwise misused. The chimney piece designs, as with those for Dalquharran Castle, are quite simple compared to many that Adam designed for grander houses. They are none-the-less very elegant. Generally, the more "public" the room the grander the chimney-piece.
2nd Floor
The ceiling over the stairwell is designed as a shallow vault. Positioned centrally over the stairwell is a roof-light. A landing extends around three sides of the stairwell.
On the North side the space is separated and differentiated by a classical screen consisting of two Doric columns supporting an entablaure. A downstand in the ceiling vault over this entablature forms a flattened arched opening over the screen entablature. This architectural "device" is used to provide spatial differentiation between the lesser space (the stairwell and South landing and subordinate rooms, and the North side landing and bedroom suite opening off this. Within the hierarchy set up by this spatial division, the principal room is in the centre, occupying the space over the library on the first floor and dining room on the ground floor. In a sense the progression of spaces through the house can be said to culminate in the rooms beyond the screen, even though they are in classical terms attic rooms and normally of less importance.
The stairwell is open and this provides dramatic views down into the first floor living room.
1st Floor
The plan at this level is basically divided into four areas.
The stair landing is treated as a living room in its own right and designed with its own fireplace. This room is on the South side of the house, overlooking the courtyard, and would have been a very pleasant family area getting a lot of sun.
Centrally on the North side is the library, over the dining room on the floor below. This is within the half cylinder drum on the North elevation. The projection of these rooms into the half cylinder allowed additional windows to be located facing North West and North East, allowing views of the sunrise and sunset and at little sun into these rooms on the North side of the building.
On the East and West sides at this level are the bedroom suites. From the landing, doors open into each of the other spaces and the staircase leads up to further apartments above.
Ground Floor
The plan at this level is basically divided into four areas, the entrance hall, dining room, drawing room and a bedroom with associated dressing rooms for guests. From the entrance hall, doors open into each of the other spaces and a staircase leads up to the apartments above.
The dining room occupies the central space on the North side. The North End of this room is within the half cylinder drum that dominates the design of the facade externally on this side of the house. This cylindrical form extends the room and allows additional windows to be added, oriented NW and NE and therefore picking up sunrise and sunset in summer in Scotland.
The design of the drawing room is perhaps the most interesting feature of the plan at this level. There are two entrances to this room, from the hall and from the dining room. Both take you through a curved tunnel-like arrangement of double door and lobby. The North and South ends of the Drawing Room are apsidal. There are doors to the circular spaces at the base of the circular turrets.
Andrew can we get a larger image of the floor plans Please? This is the Very Best non/Castle Castle styling I've seen.
It is quite remarkable in the way things fit together and if I were going to build a new project of today I would seriously start with some of the details that Mr Robert Adam used here.
Not only does it resemble in several ways how some true castles have evolved through the centuries his details would actually allow a person to add the components to make it a functional castle.
Check out http://sites.scran.ac.uk/ada/documents/cas...eton_design.htm
and look under the separate sections for east wing, etc. This is where I got the plans, pics and info from.
and look under the separate sections for east wing, etc. This is where I got the plans, pics and info from.
Thanks, I pinched the image and I'll ask Meg if she can clean it up and enlarge it, shes much better then I am.
Not sure if it was just the images or perhaps my awkward vision, but for that much money, I wouldn't expect the stone to be needing mortar repairs, nor yardwork. Very beautiful castle, great floorplan, but needing a bit of attention I would think...and then again, perhaps I am just cheap. 
Meg is working on the image but frankly not sure how much she can do with it.
It was a poor scan to begin with.
I like the fact that so many castle related bits of architecture has been added into the building.
Ok hows this guys, not sure this is any better......
Click to view attachment
It was a poor scan to begin with.
I like the fact that so many castle related bits of architecture has been added into the building.
Ok hows this guys, not sure this is any better......
Click to view attachment
Round Tower in Seton Palace Wall
Click to view attachment
After being allowed to decay for 75 years Seton Palace was eventually demolished in 1790 to make way for the more modern Seton Castle. There is little evidence of the old Palace except for remnants of the Mill, the Church and the original garden walls. The South-Western Turret still stands as a reminder of the previous occupants of Seton Palace, the Earls of Winton. From the early fourteenth century until 1715 the Seton family owned the estate. After 1600, the Setons became the Earls of Winton and the parish of Seton was annexed to the parish of Tranent.
The Turret stands as a reminder of one of the Palace's most famous visitors. On 4th April 1603, King James VI of Scotland was on his way south to take the throne as King James I of England. As his entourage approached Seton Palace it met with the funeral procession of the First Earl of Winton. Winton was one of the most faithful adherents to James' mother Mary Queen of Scots and in acknowledgement of this the King halted his retinue to sit down on the South-Western Turret until the funeral of his old supporter moved past.
Seton Palace
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Often regarded as the most desirable Scottish residence of the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries Seton Palace was erected by George, 4th Lord Seton. The palace is similar in style to his house at Winton showing the influence of Elizabethan architecture in Scottish building. The palace was indeed an imposing building. Set around a large triangular court stood three large fronts of freestone. The front to the south east consisted of an apartment with hallway, drawing-room, parlour, bedchamber, dressing-room and closet. This apartment was built in the reign of Mary Queen of Scots, indicated by the ceiling which featured the Coats-of-Arms of Scotland, France, Queen Mary, the Dauphin and Hamilton etc., all of which were surrounded by the French Order of St. Michael. The earlier front to the north housed the apartments of state, necessary because Seton Palace was frequently visited by royalty including Mary Queen of Scots, James VI and Charles I. The earlier front to the north housed three great rooms with 40 feet high ceilings. Rooms were finely furnished after Mary Queen of Scots kept Court there on her return from France. To accommodate staff the third front was full of good lodging rooms and the outer Courts included numerous offices and a Church or Chapel. To defend this impressive building towers stood at every angle and on each side of the gate.
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After being allowed to decay for 75 years Seton Palace was eventually demolished in 1790 to make way for the more modern Seton Castle. There is little evidence of the old Palace except for remnants of the Mill, the Church and the original garden walls. The South-Western Turret still stands as a reminder of the previous occupants of Seton Palace, the Earls of Winton. From the early fourteenth century until 1715 the Seton family owned the estate. After 1600, the Setons became the Earls of Winton and the parish of Seton was annexed to the parish of Tranent.
The Turret stands as a reminder of one of the Palace's most famous visitors. On 4th April 1603, King James VI of Scotland was on his way south to take the throne as King James I of England. As his entourage approached Seton Palace it met with the funeral procession of the First Earl of Winton. Winton was one of the most faithful adherents to James' mother Mary Queen of Scots and in acknowledgement of this the King halted his retinue to sit down on the South-Western Turret until the funeral of his old supporter moved past.
Seton Palace
Click to view attachment
Often regarded as the most desirable Scottish residence of the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries Seton Palace was erected by George, 4th Lord Seton. The palace is similar in style to his house at Winton showing the influence of Elizabethan architecture in Scottish building. The palace was indeed an imposing building. Set around a large triangular court stood three large fronts of freestone. The front to the south east consisted of an apartment with hallway, drawing-room, parlour, bedchamber, dressing-room and closet. This apartment was built in the reign of Mary Queen of Scots, indicated by the ceiling which featured the Coats-of-Arms of Scotland, France, Queen Mary, the Dauphin and Hamilton etc., all of which were surrounded by the French Order of St. Michael. The earlier front to the north housed the apartments of state, necessary because Seton Palace was frequently visited by royalty including Mary Queen of Scots, James VI and Charles I. The earlier front to the north housed three great rooms with 40 feet high ceilings. Rooms were finely furnished after Mary Queen of Scots kept Court there on her return from France. To accommodate staff the third front was full of good lodging rooms and the outer Courts included numerous offices and a Church or Chapel. To defend this impressive building towers stood at every angle and on each side of the gate.
Thanks for those pictures Duncan. You've obviously been researching the place. I had another go at the plans. On the website they split them into three sections, the East Wing, West Wing and Main House. These have been scanned in a larger format, so I will add them here.
First, the East Wing.
First, the East Wing.
Than the West Wing.
Then the Main House, to the North.
Wow much better thanks! I'll have Meg go look and see if she can enhance those or maybe put them together to make one good large image. 
Actually Meg took off on this one her self last night and since I normally don't sign out she uses my name some times.
Actually Meg took off on this one her self last night and since I normally don't sign out she uses my name some times.
Great work on the scans....I can actually read quite a bit of the script and dimensions. What a place that must be!
She says that the only thing she can do to the separate parts is put them together when she can find the time.
Just an update, Seton is still on the market at a much reduced price of £5m.
http://www.rettie.co.uk/buy_property/view_...omepage_views=1
..and a wee link to some data on the Adam family, there's a lot of well known houses in there, including Culzean.
Robert Adam Chronology
http://www.rettie.co.uk/buy_property/view_...omepage_views=1
..and a wee link to some data on the Adam family, there's a lot of well known houses in there, including Culzean.
Robert Adam Chronology
Much more detailed floor plans. Thanks Gordon.
I don't think it's so much the price which determines wether someone can afford a place like this, it would be the huge maintenance costs.
From the Edinburgh Evening News, 12th April 2007
Online tycoons net the castle with a record £5m price tag
Two internet entrepreneurs from Edinburgh have paid £5 million for a Lothian stately home after selling their company for £50m. Stephen Leach and his wife Heather Luscombe are making 18th century Seton Castle by the East Lothian coast their home after shelling out a record price for a Scottish country house.
The couple made their fortune by helping some of the high street's biggest names make the leap to the internet. Tesco, eBay, Starbucks, British Airways, MTV and Sony Eriksson are among the companies who have turned to Leith-based bigmouthmedia. The pair cashed in last December, ten years after launching their firm, which was named the fastest growing in Scotland last year.
Their four-storey new home, just outside Longniddry, boasts six reception rooms, six bedrooms and an extensive dining-kitchen on the lower ground floor. The living space in the main building and two adjoining wings together cover more ground than six tennis courts. The property includes stables, a stables cottage and a coachman's flat, and extensive grounds, including the ruins of a possibly medieval mill.
The country house was one of the last designed by the famous architect Robert Adam in a castle style. It originally went on the market for £15m two years ago, before selling for the reduced asking price of £5m.
Bigmouthmedia has made its name as one of the most successful and ethical firms in its field. It specialises in ensuring its clients websites appear at, or near, the top of the list when people use internet search engines. The company has seen its turnover increase more than fourteen-fold over the past five years to £15m last year.
A company spokesman said: "Many people still see search engine optimisation as a black art but with ten years' experience, we know there is a science to it. It is quite complex, but among the things we do is focus on ways of using the correct keywords and phrases across the site in the navigation, links and main content."
The firm now employs 20 people in Edinburgh and has offices in London and Madrid. Following the sale to Global Media, a German search marketing company, Mr Leach and Ms Luscombe, who until recently lived in Duddingston, reinvested most of their money to become major shareholders in Global Media. However, they also cashed in some of their equity. In 2005, Bigmouthmedia, which has carried out work for the Scottish Executive, won the Evening News Business Excellence Awards for the best performing business with under 25 employees.
Sales agents Rettie and Co confirmed the Castle had been sold for the asking price of £5m.
Seton Castle was built by Robert Adam in 1790 for William Mackenzie, an Edinburgh writer who was able never to fully enjoy the fruits of Adam's labours. He died in 1796 having already been forced to surrender his home following questions over the circumstances surrounding the deal he struck to buy the land. Local legend said an elderly woman whom Mackenzie had evicted from her cottage on the estate had placed a curse on him, prophesying that the new castle would never be his family home.
The property was bought by the Wemyss family, who remained owners until the castle was bought in 2003 by developer Mary McMillan for £1.3m. She carried out extensive renovation and refurbishment work before putting the castle on the market for £15m, a price which would have made it Scotland's most expensive home.
Mr. Leach and Ms. Luscombe were unavailable for comment.
Online tycoons net the castle with a record £5m price tag
Two internet entrepreneurs from Edinburgh have paid £5 million for a Lothian stately home after selling their company for £50m. Stephen Leach and his wife Heather Luscombe are making 18th century Seton Castle by the East Lothian coast their home after shelling out a record price for a Scottish country house.
The couple made their fortune by helping some of the high street's biggest names make the leap to the internet. Tesco, eBay, Starbucks, British Airways, MTV and Sony Eriksson are among the companies who have turned to Leith-based bigmouthmedia. The pair cashed in last December, ten years after launching their firm, which was named the fastest growing in Scotland last year.
Their four-storey new home, just outside Longniddry, boasts six reception rooms, six bedrooms and an extensive dining-kitchen on the lower ground floor. The living space in the main building and two adjoining wings together cover more ground than six tennis courts. The property includes stables, a stables cottage and a coachman's flat, and extensive grounds, including the ruins of a possibly medieval mill.
The country house was one of the last designed by the famous architect Robert Adam in a castle style. It originally went on the market for £15m two years ago, before selling for the reduced asking price of £5m.
Bigmouthmedia has made its name as one of the most successful and ethical firms in its field. It specialises in ensuring its clients websites appear at, or near, the top of the list when people use internet search engines. The company has seen its turnover increase more than fourteen-fold over the past five years to £15m last year.
A company spokesman said: "Many people still see search engine optimisation as a black art but with ten years' experience, we know there is a science to it. It is quite complex, but among the things we do is focus on ways of using the correct keywords and phrases across the site in the navigation, links and main content."
The firm now employs 20 people in Edinburgh and has offices in London and Madrid. Following the sale to Global Media, a German search marketing company, Mr Leach and Ms Luscombe, who until recently lived in Duddingston, reinvested most of their money to become major shareholders in Global Media. However, they also cashed in some of their equity. In 2005, Bigmouthmedia, which has carried out work for the Scottish Executive, won the Evening News Business Excellence Awards for the best performing business with under 25 employees.
Sales agents Rettie and Co confirmed the Castle had been sold for the asking price of £5m.
Seton Castle was built by Robert Adam in 1790 for William Mackenzie, an Edinburgh writer who was able never to fully enjoy the fruits of Adam's labours. He died in 1796 having already been forced to surrender his home following questions over the circumstances surrounding the deal he struck to buy the land. Local legend said an elderly woman whom Mackenzie had evicted from her cottage on the estate had placed a curse on him, prophesying that the new castle would never be his family home.
The property was bought by the Wemyss family, who remained owners until the castle was bought in 2003 by developer Mary McMillan for £1.3m. She carried out extensive renovation and refurbishment work before putting the castle on the market for £15m, a price which would have made it Scotland's most expensive home.
Mr. Leach and Ms. Luscombe were unavailable for comment.
An old postcard image of Seton Castle.
Another old postcard of Seton Castle.
Two old postcards of Seton Castle, recently purchased.
The first is postmarked in 1914, while the second is postmarked in 1907.
The first is postmarked in 1914, while the second is postmarked in 1907.
The 1797 prints of Seton Castle.
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