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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

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Contents

Introduction. Pg.5

Part One.

Sir William Bruce “Introducer of architecture in Scotland” Pg.6

Precedents - Classicism in 17th Century Europe Pg.9

Bruce’s early works - Introducing architecture to Scotland Pg.13

Part Two.

Context - The Shire of Kinross Pg.17

Master plan – The Formal Landscape Pg.19

Façade - Order and Ashlar Pg. 23

Plan - Axis and Route of Procession Pg. 27

Conclusion Pg. 31

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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 (1630-

1710) 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

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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 Nation-

The 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

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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 1568-

1569 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

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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

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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

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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.

Pratt wrote that houses of the time were

29

26

27

28 29

30

“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.

31

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.

30

32

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 sobered-

up 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.

33

Bibliography

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Colvin, H, 1995. A Biographical Dictionary of British Architects: 1600

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Defoe, D, 1724. Tour Through the Whole Island of Great Britain. 3rd

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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.

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Hannan, T, 1928. Famous Scottish Houses: The lowlands. London, A

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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

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34

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-wall-

panelling-62-architectural-periods.html [accessed August

2013]

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http://www.mortondesign.co.uk/gallery/scotland/fife/f16-

72.jpg [accessed August 2013]

9. Balkaskie House Terrace [Photograph] Available online at:

http://www.mortondesign.co.uk/gallery/scotland/fife/f16-

72.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]

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online at:

http://canmore.rcahms.gov.uk/images/l/DP038697/

[accessed August 2013]

35

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 façade, 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.

36

23. South façade.. 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/336-

Kinross_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]