'As the express train hurtles north from Berwick-upon-Tweed towards Edinburgh, many passengers must have glimpsed the imposing sulhouette of Ayton Castle on its wooded ridge above the River Eye and sighed "Scotland at last"'. So wrote the architecture critic Michael Hall in Country Life in 1993 when telling the tale of Ayton Castle. Three decades on, its visual impact is just as great; this time, though, it appears in Country Life not as a 'masterpiece of the baronial revival' (as Hall called it), but as a place you can call home. It's for sale with GSC Grays and Knight Frank at £3.25 million.
The house, six miles north of Berwick, was designed by James Gillespie Graham in 1845, and represents what can happen when a great architect, an ideal location and a patron with — to be blunt — deep pockets come together. It was the dream of a man named William Mitchell-Innes, who served as the First Cashier of the Royal Bank of Scotland, and later as a director.
The death of a cousin saw him inherit land to go with his wealth, and he wasn't shy about spending it: 'His means were ample, and his liberality in distributing them commensurature therewith,' ran his obituary in the Berwickshire Journal on his death in 1860. 'He maintained a princely establishment, and his generous hospitality was his most striking characteristic.' Everyone needs a friend like that. And every architect needs a client like that, giving Gillespie Graham 'the advantage of an empty site' and 'an enthusiastic patron', as Hall put it.
The castle that was created is a symphony in sandstone, with turrets, parapets, gables and a grand hall, the very picture of the baronial revival of the 19th century, and its visual impact today is essentially the same as it was when first complete, as noted in its Category A listing with Historic Scotland.
That's not to say it hasn't been improved and updated over the years: it was enlarged in the 1860s by David Bryce and James Maitland Wardrop, and in 1873 the main corridor and hall were decorated by Scotland's leading interior designers of the day, Bonnar and Carfrae, who were so pleased with their work that they proudly signed it.
The house has not been changed since then but it has been preserved, not least over the past decade by the present owners. They have upgraded the house, undertaking some building work, carried out significant re-plumbing and re-wiring, created a new formal garden, and installed a miniature railway.
That's right: a miniature railway — complete with platforms, sheds and ticket office — that runs on a 10 1/4-inch gauge, snaking a 600m-long path through the grounds.
It's a shame that the railway doesn't also run through the house, because the place is so enormous it might be good to have some help getting around: there are 17 bedrooms and over 33,000 sq ft are on offer in the main house alone, with a dizzying array of spaces. From chapels to offices, billiard rooms to ball rooms, libraries to laundries, the floorplan feels almost endless, with every room beautifully finished and full of original character features that have clearly been cherished and restored for many generations.
There is one original feature which is long-gone, however: the original mantelpiece in the dining room, which is now in a museum in Connecticut. The reason? 150 years ago Mark Twain came to visit Ayton Castle, and loved the mantel so much that he apparently 'insisted' on buying it and shipping it back home to the USA. It's there to this day in pride of place in the Mark Twain House & Museum in the city of Hartford.
The sale might not include that mantel, but it does also include 160 acres, plus a series of cottages, lodges, stables and more, some of which are let out and produce an income for the estate — as does the livery business run from the stables.
Like the main house, some of this is listed: the garden and parklands have a Category B designation, while the Dovecot — which was also thought to be designed by Gillespie Graham — is Category A listed. Whoever takes Ayton Castle on walks in to a place that has been handsomely looked after, and deserves to be treated just as well in the future. After all, as the official listing says, it is 'not only is this the most significant building in the parish, but also, one of the most significant within the country as a whole.'
Ayton Castle is for sale at £3.25 million — see more pictures and details.
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