Lords of Dalkeith: A History of Dalkeith Palace and its Inhabitants - Hardcover

Kenneth Scott

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 1908931744 ISBN 13: 9781908931740

Publisher: Argyll Publishing, 2014

Synopsis

On the edge of the town of Dalkeith, seven miles south-east of Edinburgh, lies an extensive country park, part of the old Caledonian Forest. It is watered by two rivers, the North and South Esk, which merge near the northern end of the park and then flow north into the Firth of Forth. The park contains an elegant stable block and coach house of 1748 by William Adam, a splendid bridge over the North Esk designed by his son Robert Adam in 1792, an ornate twelve-sided conservatory of 1832 by William Burn, and perhaps now its most popular feature an excellent children s adventure playground, currently being redeveloped with the addition of a Visitor Centre. Dominating the park, on a high ridge above the North Esk, stands Dalkeith House, perhaps the grandest of all early classical mansions in Scotland and known throughout much of its history as Dalkeith Palace. It was built in its present form in the first decade of the eighteenth century by James Smith for Anna, Duchess of Buccleuch, and was until the First World War a ducal seat of great magnificence, filled with fine furniture and works of art. All that has gone, and the house though still owned by the Duke of Buccleuch is now a student residence and study centre for the University of Wisconsin; but the house itself, and the earlier castle and palace which stood on this site, have a long and colourful history dating back to at least the twelfth century.

About this title

About the Author

Sir Kenneth Scott was educated at George Watson s College and University of Edinburgh. He joined the Diplomatic Service and was posted in Moscow, Bonn, Washington and Brussels before being appointed Ambassador in Yugoslavia in 1982. From 1985 to 1996 he was one of the Private Secretaries to The Queen, and during most of that time he lived in an apartment in St. James's Palace. In 1996, after retirement from the Royal Household, he spent nine months in Sarajevo as Chairman of the Provisional Election Commission which organised the first democratic elections in Bosnia after the war. He is the author of St. James's Palace, A History and lives in Edinburgh.

Edition details

• Publisher: Argyll Publishing
• Publication date: 2014
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 1908931744
• ISBN 13: 9781908931740
• Binding: Hardcover
• Number of pages: 176