The arrival of Tillyfour to the market offers the chance for buyers to acquire a prime rural 'residential and livestock' farm in a beautiful corner of Scotland. Penny Churchill takes a look.
Evelyn Channing, Savills’s first lady of Scottish country property, is overseeing the sale, due to the retirement of the present incumbent, of the 1,086-acre Tillyfour residential and livestock farm in rural Aberdeenshire, 5½ miles from Alford and 25 miles west of Aberdeen.
Tillyfour has a longstanding history with Aberdeen Angus cattle dating back to 1820, when William McCombie took on the lease from his father and set out to build up his own herd. He crossed Angus ‘Doddies’ with Aberdeen ‘Hummlies’ to produce the sturdy, hornless, amenable breed we know today. From 1832 onwards, McCombie won more than 500 major awards for his cattle at agricultural shows throughout the UK and Europe.
In 1867, Queen Victoria visited Tillyfour to officially recognise the Aberdeen Angus breed. To mark the occasion, a new wing was added to Tillyfour House.
Not being very tall, Her Majesty would have been unable to see over the hedge to the field in front of the house from a ground-floor room and she is recorded as having sat in the new first-floor drawing room (now the principal bedroom) to watch the parade of cattle in what is still known as the Bull Field.
Tillyfour is currently on the market via Savills for £7 million as a whole or in two lots for £4.8 million and £2.2 million — see more pictures or enquire with the agent for further details.
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