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| The House - Location & Construction |
Kinross House lies between Loch Leven and the
town of Kinross in the middle of a double square of land measuring
some 1,300 feet long and 650 feet wide, and it divides the forecourt
from the formal gardens overlooking Loch Leven. Bruce ingeniously
planned the entire axis of the house, the gardens and the front
drive to focus directly on Lochleven Castle. Until the loch
was lowered by about 4 feet in 1836, the waters of the loch
came up almost to the garden walls.
Although the estate was purchased by Sir William
Bruce in 1675, work on the house itself did not begin until
1685 during which period the formal gardens had been planned,
laid out and planted with the help of Bruce's son, John.
In the actual building of the house, square facing stone which
in colour was a delicate shade of grey was used. It is patterned
here and there with iron streaks and it came from a quarry in
the Cleish Hills, a few miles south west of Kinross. It is particularly
strong and fine and can scarcely look any different today from
when it was first used on the house in the last decades of the
17th century. The facades at Kinross are quite clear and smooth
and still look almost new. Only where softer red sandstone from
Bruce's own quarry at Clayhill was employed in the building
is there any appreciable sign of wear. The Clayhill Quarry has
not been in use for quite some time and, in the restoration
of 1902 and afterwards, another source of stone had to be found;
but the general effect is still homogenous and authentic looking.
The chief mason at Kinross was Thomas Bachop of Alloa, whom
Sir William Bruce employed a great deal at the princely rate
of eighteen pennies per day.
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Also employed were James Anderson,
John Norrie and James Mercer of St Andrews who are thought to
have carved the stonework above the main entrance. Two Dutch
masons, Peter Paul Boyse and Cornelius van Nerven were also
involved and were probably responsible for the ornate carved
detail of the famous Fish Gate at the bottom of the garden.By 1691, the
house had been roofed and slated. Plastering appears to have been
thirsty business for almost the first item on the plasterer's schedule
is a penny a day for drink money! Bruce employed George Dunsterfield,
the King's plasterer, who was brought over especially to make the
elaborate fretwork ceiling above the main staircase.
Around this time, Bruce found himself in the political wilderness
following the advent of William of Orange and the supply of cash needed
to decorate the interior of the house effectively dried up. Whereas
the entrance floor rooms were decorated largely as Bruce had originally
planned, the first floor and above remained largely undecorated. According
to Bruce, the construction of Kinross House had cost him about £10,000. |
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