A beautiful location, a fascinating history, and some of the finest hedges in Britain – Earlshall Castle, close to St Andrews in the Fife village of Leuchars, is a truly amazing place.
The agents, Savills, describe it as ‘one of the best-kept 16th century houses in Scotland’, and it’s hard to disagree. Considering the age of the place – it was begun in 1546 by Sir William Bruce, a descendant of Robert The Bruce – the state that it is in today is remarkable.
A lot of the credit for the condition of Earlshall goes to Robert Mackenzie, who bough the castle in 1890, and the architect he hired to renovate. That architect was the newly-qualified Robert Long, a family friend of Mackenzie.
Long went on to have a long, hugely-successful career, becoming one of Scotland’s most distinguished architects and earning a knighthood. Yet he continued to regard his work at Earlshall to be among his finest.
The castle, as it stands today, is a 10-bedroom building with a great hall, dining room, gun room, library, study and 10 bedrooms, among other things. Without doubt the most eye-catching of the interior spaces is the Long Gallery, whose painted ceiling is justly famous for its intricacy. It dates back to the 17th century, and is a phenomenal and unusal work.
Painted the full length of the 50-foot long roof in grey and black tempera, it depicts the coats of arms of the principal noble families of Scotland as well as those of European royalty. There are also marvellously-imagined coats of arms for all manner of other great figure from history and even myth: King David of Jerusalem, Hector of Troy and King Arthur all have ‘their’ arms included.
When it was painted, such flourishes must have seemed more than justified: not only did the residents trace their line directly to The Bruce, Earlshall had also hosted the likes of Mary, Queen of Scots and James VI (later James I of Britain) in its then-fairly-short history.
As famous and extraordinary as the Long Gallery’s ceiling is, the gardens are perhaps even more so thanks to the topiary lawn. The 36 yews were already mature plants when brought in from Edinburgh in the late 19th century – they’re now over 125 years old, and are clipped into exotic shapes which come together to form the shape of four Saltires. At one end of the lawn there is a gateway with an inscription from As You Like It: ‘Here shall ye see no enemy but winter and rough weather’.
As well as the topiary lawn there is plenty more land, and several more buildings included in the sale – among them a Gate House and a ‘Cottage’, both of which are around 2,000sq ft. There is also a building known as ‘Dummy Daws’, the oldest building on the estate, which has a billiard room on the ground floor.
Earlshall is located in 34 acres of its own parkland close to the middle of Leuchars, a village well-known for its RAF base, and which boasts a mainline station that connects direct to Edinburgh and Aberdeen.
That station is also famous for its connection to St Andrews: the world-famous golf courses and university are just a few minutes down the road.
Earlshall Castle is on the market via Savills – read more about the wonderful history and see more pictures and details here.
Spectacular Scottish castles and estates for sale
A look at the finest castles, country houses and estates for sale in Scotland today.
Credit: Strutt and Parker
Best country houses for sale this week
An irresistible West Country cottage and a magnificent Cumbrian country house make our pick of the finest country houses for
-
If there's no fish, there's no fishing, with Robin PhilpottThe CEO of Farlows joins the Country Life Podcast.
-
Inside the aristocratic holiday rentals where you can (temporarily) play lord of the manorIt’s now possible to dine or even stay overnight in some of our best-loved country houses or in splendour on their estates.
-
A micro estate for sale in west Wales shows that the best things come in small packages. In this case, three of themBrithdir is a remarkable collection of properties centred around a lake and just five miles from the sea.
-
This blissful converted mill has sweeping views, a breathtaking library and gardens by a Chelsea gold medallistPenny Churchill takes a look at Stanbridge Mill, one of the finest properties for sale today in the west country.
-
Portmore has it all: A 3,459-acre Scottish estate for sale, with a signature Baronial sandstone mansion at its heartFor sale for the first time in 40 years, Portmore Estate is everything you could ever want in Scotland.
-
Location, community and charm: the enduring desirability of London's mews housesFrom birds, to horses, to beautiful family homes, the mews of London are some of the nation's most sought-after homes. But why?
-
The distinctive and historic home that might just be 'one of Dorset’s most picturesque'Grade II*-listed Manor House, set in just under eight acres, dates from the 16th century.
-
A 17th century farmhouse in Surrey with one of Britain's oldest squash courtsFords Farm is on the market for the first time in over half a century.
-
The 15 best-value commuter towns for people working in London, according to new research from one of Britain's top estate agentsSavills have released their list of the best-value commuter towns in Britain. But do the sums add up? Toby Keel takes a look.
-
What everyone is talking about this week: Where are the new Cotswolds?The appearance of American Vice President J. D. Vance in the Cotswolds is a sure sign that they're saturated, but where else can you escape to that has the same charm?
