Year Three Dissertation
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Transcript of Year Three Dissertation
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The Beginnings of the Classical Style in Scotland.
Exemplified by Kinross House (1686) by Sir William
Bruce (1630-1710)
Cameron Brown
Dundee School of Architecture
100008588
HT30006
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Contents
Introduction. Pg.5
Part One.
Sir William Bruce “Introducer of architecture in Scotland” Pg.6
Precedents - Classicism in 17th Century Europe Pg.9
Bruce’s early works - Introducing architecture to Scotland Pg.13
Part Two.
Context - The Shire of Kinross Pg.17
Master plan – The Formal Landscape Pg.19
Façade - Order and Ashlar Pg. 23
Plan - Axis and Route of Procession Pg. 27
Conclusion Pg. 31
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Introduction
Following centuries of war and financial strain seventeenth
century Scotland was architecturally dominated by defensive keeps
and tower houses. However with a reformed monarchy was quickly
becoming place of great social and political change, rising within the
context of Europe as a nation equal to any other.
Here, the ‘gentleman architect’ Sir William Bruce (1630-
1710) would use political opportunism and self-experience of the
wider European community to bring Scotland in line architecturally
with its contemporaries, forging classicism as ‘the regulator of
architectural activity within Scotland’ (Macaulay, 1987, p.7).
The antithesis of this was reached in the form of Kinross
House (1686), the 17th century plan of which this essay will explain,
for much is confused and unknown about this mysterious building
which is truly unique within its country.
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Sir William Bruce “Introducer of architecture in
Scotland.”
“To William Bruce belongs all the honour of the complete change
from the Scottish Baronial to the Scottish Classical.”
(Hannan, 1928, p.109)
Prior to 1660, wealthy Scottish landowners lived in fortified
tower houses or keeps. However, built in 1660, Leslie House in
Aberdeenshire was, according to James Macaulay the last fortified
house built in the country. The vision of a comfortable, prestigious
residence more suited to the ordered lifestyle of the nobility was
emerging. This change began through the alteration of existing
tower houses. Often buried within a classical enfilade plan.
Examples of which are Methven Castle, Thirlestane Castle,
Craigiehall and more significantly Balkaskie in Fife.
The key to understanding Kinross House is understanding
it’s creator. The house is not only a product of its time but the
outcome of one individual’s life of knowledge aspirations and
experience. Knighted following the restoration of Charles II, Sir
William Bruce confirming his political associations was enabled to
amass wealth and status through Royal patronage, specifically
through the Duke of Lauderdale. He quickly became one of the
wealthiest men in the country and was able to generate the
substantial income needed to construct a house such as Kinross.
Well travelled throughout Western Europe as a successful
merchant ships captain, Bruce experienced at first hand the
contemporary homes and life style of the aristocracy within France
and the Low Countries. His growing architectural knowledge was
accompanied by a keen interest in horticulture, music and art.
Detailed accounts of which are held within the national archive.
There are records of the architectural treatise within his library such
as: Serlio; Le Muet-Maniere de Bien Bastir I (1647 translated 1670);
Du Cerceau, Freart (1664) and Palladio as well as books published in
French, Italian, Latin and Greek (he is also known to have spoken
German and Dutch).
Due to such a range of interest and experience one can
understand why the Pevsner guide would describe Bruce as an
Arbiter of taste in his time. However, he would have regarded
himself as a ‘gentlemen architect’ with most of his works achieved
through the patronage of friends, relatives or associates known
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through marriage and social position. An example being Bruce’s
contribution at Ham House, owned by the duke of Lauderdale’s
second wife, Elizabeth Murray. She was a distant cousin of Bruce
and he was commissioned to design a Gateway at Ham in 1701.
In 1675 Bruce purchased Kinross from the Earl of Morton.
This came with the Castle at Loch Leven where Mary Queen of Scots
was held captive in the 1500’s and with Bruce having such an
obsession with the Stewart Monarchy he saw this as a hugely
symbolic gesture. With the estate also came the Sherrifdom of
Kinross and the potential elevation to Viscount. However with the
death of Charles’s II and with the accession of James VII or II, in 1685
Bruce was reaching troubled times. He was distrusted as a Jacobite
sympathiser and with his wife placed in confinement on more than
one occasion. After 1686 with no role within the government he
devoted his energies to the management of his estates and bringing
Kinross to completion. However, with the lack of financial rewards,
he was forced into debt. He moved in to the 16c tower house known
as ‘new house’ sited within the grounds while his son John moved in
to the main house but he also unable to bring the structure to
completion.
Thought to have died at the age of 81, Bruce was buried in
the mortuary on the Kinross estate but there is no marked grave
known. Despite Bruce’s political views being open question, his
architectural predilection for restrained classicism, as J. Gifford
stated, was eventually widely accepted and developed up to the late
18th century. Sir John Clerk of Penicuik remarked shortly after
Bruce’s death that he was “introducer of architecture in the
country” due to his works in the 17th century. It is difficult to pin
down such a statement but every aspect of William Bruce’s life was
ingrained within the design and layout of Kinross which is regarded
as his masterpiece. Ronald MacInnes in his book, Building a Nation-
The Story of Scotland’s Architecture describes Kinross as,
“An elegantly simple but brilliant synthesis of planning, architecture
and landscape.”
(RM, 1999, p.46)
Exemplifying Bruce as a person and his creation of a palatial building
fit to accommodate a king and also his own ideal abode.
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Precedents - Classicism in 17th Century Europe
We know that Bruce travelled extensively within Europe.
Being an untrained architect, Bruce relied heavily on his own
reading, consultation with masons and the opportunity to visit
contemporary structures as precedents to inform his designs.
However as David Cruickshank suggests it was with the continent
that Bruce formed his architectural allegiances. He was part of the
new generation of landowners with the finances to maintain the
‘architectural pace’ of the nation. This brought Scotland into the
polite society and manners made fashionable by the French King
Louis XIV.
Chateau de Vaux-le-Vicomte (1658-1661) (p.8 img.3) by Lois Le Vau
and Landscape Architect Andre le Notre epitomises the type of
layout which Kinross strived to achieve, holding both a state and
private apartment straddling a central circulation core with the main
public rooms. As quoted in A History of Scottish Architecture it
provided a symbol which was embraced by Scotland, that of the
‘post 1600 emphasis on resurgent royalism and landed power both
before and after the overthrow of the Stewarts. Through
landscaping, it was also influential, successfully connecting internal
layout and external landscape with the use of parterres and terraces
leading directly from the house with vast avenues and a central axis
leading in to the distance. Bruce would almost certainly have
visited Vaux-Le-Vicomte as we are aware the Duke of Lauderdale
invited him to visit Maincy and several other northern towns in the
mid 1660’s, but what may have been a more prominent influence on
Bruce, as Cruickshank also comments, was the Chateau de Balleroy
(1631) (p.8 img.4) in Normandy by Francoise Mozart. The formal
landscape at Balleroy was also designed by Le Notre and features
the parterres and gardens you would expect of any Baroque
mansion but it also featured a grand vista and axis on which the
property was centrally aligned. It gave a direct view through the
centre of house and gardens, something Bruce would incorporate in
his plan for Kinross with great success. Other such buildings in
France with which Bruce would have been familiar were Chateau
Blois in Loir-et-Cher; Blerancourt by Solomon de Brosse at Aisne;
Chateau de Maisons (now Chateau de Maisons-Laffitte) 1630-1651,
also by Mansart and possibly Chateau de Issy, 1681 by Pierre Bullet.
Its tripartite plan was clear predecessor to the likes of the more
compact houses Bruce designed at the end of the century such as
Dunkeld and Moncrieffe. Bruce also travelled across much of the
Low Countries and was known to have lived in Rotterdam for a
period of time. The restrained classicism of Bruce’s later work owes
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much to these areas and architects such as Jacob van Campen,
particularly his design of the Royal Palace 1646 in Amsterdam and
Mauritshuis 1635 (p.8 img.5) in The Hague.
The structures Bruce saw in France featured a strong
verticality and air of movement, as commented on by David
Cruickshank. This contrasted with the British buildings he may have
seen which adopted a far more restrained type of classicism with a
‘horizontal simplicity’ which is certainly what we see at Kinross.
Daniel Defoe described Bruce as the ‘Kit Wren of Scotland’ however
as Howard Colvin describes, it is really more appropriate to compare
Bruce to English counterparts such as Hugh May or Sir Roger Pratt,
both gentleman architects featured in the first phase of British
Palladianism. It is here that Kinross parts ways with the continent
which mainly used the enfilade plan and formal landscape to take
on the feel of the English country house derived from the ‘bold and
simple’ Dutch Palladian style. As many would be aware the first
Palladian building in Britain was Queen’s House 1614-1635 by Ingo
Jones with strict rules of proportion, derived from Palladian ideals,
which was to influence many future architects within Britain. But a
more likely direct influence on Kinross would be Clarendon House
1664, sited in Piccadilly, London by Sir Roger Pratt, a central block
between two cross wings at either end, a form rather widely used
within England. However, at Kinross, Bruce reduces these to mere
projections setting the ends up as more pavilion type forms
adjoining the central façade. Perhaps the closest example to Kinross
would be Coleshill House 1662 (p.10 img.6), Berkshire also by Pratt.
The double pile plan (p.10 img.7) informed here is directly relatable
to Kinross - two rows of rooms aligned with a central circulation
route as well as the use of a vaulted service floor to raise the main
storeys. Despite Bruce not being an official Architect, with his
understanding of such buildings and through the refinement of such
ideas in his own designs, he was well equipped to take on a project
with the scale of Kinross.
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Introducing Architecture to Scotland - Bruce’s Early
Works
One of the first examples of Bruce’s work, which led to the
eventual development of Kinross was Balkaskie House in Fife (p.12
img.8) (arguably the first Palladian scheme in Scotland and third in
Britain following Queen’s House by Ingo Jones 1629 and Berkley
House in Piccadilly 1665 according to James Macaulay’s Classical
Country House in Scotland.) Here he set out a series of parterres in
the French Baroque style (p.12 img.9) set in a wider designed
landscape sited on the Scottish east coast. This was aligned with the
Bass Rock enforcing a strong axial geometry on which the existing
tower house was made symmetrical. On a summers day the
parterres at Balkaskie certainly emote a quality and atmosphere
which one would be more likely to expect in France or Italy, an
experience which many, such as David Cruickshank, have strongly
related to the later Kinross.
Typically best rooms conformed to the basic proportions set
by Palladio, the cube, double cube, cube and a half and so on, fitting
in to a compact symmetrical plan, no longer with suites in long
linear arrangements, but now using the double pile formula with
houses being two or three rooms deep. As most of Bruce’s clients
were wealthy land owners the state apartment was a key feature,
primarily for show, as can be seen at Balkaskie (plan-p.12 img.10),
Thirlestane and Kinross. Such apartments would consist of dining
room, drawing or withdrawing room leading to bed chamber,
dressing room and closet or occasionally an anti-chamber – the
sanctum sanctorum. Hierarchy was the basis on which these houses
were formed. Prioritised rooms became grander as one progressed
through the house to reach the most privileged of spaces, the state
bed chamber or ante chamber.
There was often little relationship between the expressions
of detail on the façades of such buildings and the lavish decoration
within them. These were applied finishes such as gold gilt leather
hangings or chimney pieces. However the architectonic language on
the house itself had to be of lasting quality, often very austere,
Kinross was purely Ashlar with only stringcourse and pilasters
adorning it, or Moncrieff, again with a string course and cornice for
decoration, pediment and quoins – the main mass of the building
being, according to H Fenwick’s description in his book, Architect
Royal, the life and works of Sir William Bruce, giving a rather
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vernacular feel to the building set within the Perthshire
highlands. Their austere harled facades the origins of the
monumentality we would see at Kinross. In Howard Colvin’s brief
but accurate account of Bruce’s career, he remarks that,
“At Dunkeld, Moncrieffe and Kinross he adapted the compact
formula developed in England by Architects like Webb and Pratt and
gave it a dignity and presence that it rarely attained in English
hands.”
(H Colvin, 1995, p.153)
By 1670 Bruce was beginning to establish himself as a highly
regarded Gentleman Architect, mainly working amongst the social
circle of the Duke of Lauderdale. In 1672 he designed a gateway at
Ham House. In 1676 Dunkeld House was built to replace a structure
burned by English troops, then in 1679, Moncrieffe House (p.15
img.11) was built on a green-field site. Dunkeld house, now
demolished, was a sizeable mansion, featuring an alignment with
Dunkeld Cathedral. It would have been a fine example of the
relationship of architecture, history and landscape. Its plans remind
us of Bullet’s D’issy, happening around the same time in France. The
plans of these structures were where the innovation was to be
found, three storeys with basement block, a deep square plan
divided into three parts with a full length saloon in the centre. As
Ronald Macinnes states, both plan and façade topped with piened
roof echo that of recent English and Dutch houses by Jones and Van
Campen as mentioned in the previous chapter. Thanks to the
freedom of a new site Bruce could be released from the constraints
bound by retaining the ancestral home. He could eventually, as J
Macaulay states, adopt both in plan and elevation, up to date
English models and that at Kinross would ‘introduce an entirely new
type of house into Scotland whilst displaying a facility in massing and
detail which can be seen as the culmination of his early endeavours’.
From this point all Bruce would need is the finances and
appropriate site, free of historical trappings to create his ideal
Palladian Villa. This would be found at Kinross and as Cruickshank
also suggested, fulfil the aspirations of mid-17th century Scotland of
becoming a modern and cultured nation with an architecture that
could perhaps one day contend with the rest of Europe.
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Part Two
Context - The Shire of Kinross
“A stately building which for situation, contrivance, prospects,
avenues, courts, gardens, gravel walks and terraces and all
horticulane ornaments, parks and planting, is surpassed by few in
this country.”
(Sibbald, 1710 cited in Fenwick, 1970, p.86)
The site of Kinross House was originally occupied by a 16th
century tower house. Bruce purchased the estate of Kinross and
historic residence of Loch Leven castle, a tower house developed
from 13th to 15th centuries was a key stronghold, famous for having
held Mary Queen of Scots, or Mary Stewart prisoner from 1568-
1569 following her forced abdication. Using such historical context
Bruce appropriated the history of the site to the Stuart dynasty as
means of pleasing his royal patrons. T Hannan’s concise description,
“a primitive dwelling on piles on the spit of land; a stone fort on the
island added; the stone fort strengthened by Comgall, King of the
Picts; Comgall’s fort replaced by the feudal Castle; the feudal castle
for the more convenient and less isolated old Kinross house (new
Kinross house); and last of all the present beautiful residence.”
(Hannan, 1928, p.112)
Illustrates clearly the human relationship with the landscape.
The interrelationship between the rural landscape, fortified
houses and town itself had developed over centuries. However,
Kinross house is somewhat detached from the town (town plan
1823 adjacent), by its avenue, set off grid from Avenue road,
surrounding plantations of pines, oaks and chestnuts (sent from
Paris 1681) acting as a foil, and grand gates, typical of many houses
of its kind. However activities that naturally developed within the
area such as Masons, Joiners, Smiths and other craftsmen to
agriculture, quarrying and forestry would eventually manifest the
link with the House itself.
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Master Plan – The Formal Landscape
“Kinross would be neither so interesting nor so sophisticated
if Bruce had not married to his Serlian Block an extended layout
derived from Palladio (copy of treatise purchased 1676)”
(Macaulay, 1987, p.15)
Bruce’s vision of great gateways, stable blocks, lodges,
courtyards, terraces and parterres would have all made up the
further ‘formal landscape’ of Kinross which has since had entities
altered, removed and reused by contemporary counterparts in the
unfortunately destructive process of modernisation (img 13 –
original 17thc plan). By 1680 the majority of the garden parterres
and walling was set out, and by 1686 most of the outbuildings
constructed. The gardens at Kinross were set out in renaissance
style parterres with the main feature being a key axis running
through the property from town in the west, to Loch Leven castle in
the east. Taking advantage of sunrise and sunset, alignment of the
Ochil hills with the Lomond’s, and town with loch. the idea central
to renaissance gardens, introduced by Bramante (1444-1544) in his
design for the Belvedere, Rome, a long axis perpendicular to the
palace intruded the idea of perspective and was aided by the layout
of parterres and fountains.
Stretching 450 metres a tree lined avenue sets the axis of
geometry on which Kinross House is set. Bisecting through the
centre of the house to the point of Loch Leven castle (p.21 img.14)
set as a grotto type fixture in the landscape much like the Bass rock
and Balkaskie House. A pair of ogee roofed lodges set the origin of
the avenue, interacting at an angle off grid to that of avenue road
leaving the town. The entire gateway at present was the result of
remodelling by Dr Thomas Ross (1839-1930) in 1905. Designed in a
late 17th century manner, yet as J Gifford described, without the
‘swagger’ of the original gateway by Bruce. They were demolished in
1801 by Thomas Graham of Kinross influenced by a local preacher of
the evils of decorative art. They featured corniced ball finial piers
with fronts panelled with banded and fluted pilasters at outer ends
of screen walls linking to gate piers in the same style all carved from
the same stone as the house itself. The original 1680’s gate piers are
now known as ‘the gap in the wall’ set within the south garden
boundary, placed to hold the likes of a fete champetre. The original
wrought iron gates have also been removed and judging from the
surviving 17th century ironwork, would have been far superior to
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those today. The period saw the antithesis of Scottish
mortise and tenon based wrought iron. Examples such as the gates
of Sauchieburn House, Stirling give an idea of what we may have lost
at Kinross.
At 1434 feet from the town entrance a second gateway with
symmetrical concave screen walls existed. Again connecting on
either side to ogial roofed lodges, In pairs, separated by piened roof
stable block continuing with the datum of the outer court wall - a
layout similar to what we see in the 17thc French precedents
described previously. This is the probable location of the 17th
century great gateway and first set of lodges, with Avenue Road and
the avenue itself almost merging as one. The stable blocks today
(p.21 img.15) have been altered at several points in time, originally
in 1780 when they were constructed off set asymmetrically from the
house and again by Thomas Ross who formed the courtyard. The
present stable is held by two ogial roofed pavilions at either end,
with piened roof between. Taking into account the masonry of the
two ogee pavilions of the stables and two of the entrance existing
today, that could be made up of the four that would have made up
the entrance depicted in Bruce’s original plan, again re-using
features in the process of modernisation. This allows us to envisage
what would have truly been a renaissance French scheme, in central
17th century Scotland. Since the time of Bruce a further North Lodge
and Home Farm were constructed, mostly through the 19th century
and kept in a particularly vernacular style.
In the gravelled outer service court, stable blocks opened to
the west, flanked by orchards on north and south with bowling
green in SW corner. Progressing to the inner court, was a true
square divided in to quarters forming a parterre, with terrace
beyond lifting the main house itself on to a plinth. The inner court
reduces in size, the extra space on north and south sides used to
accommodate a kitchen garden of the Kitchen wing and court
garden for the women’s quarters. Demolished in the 19th century
these piened roof structures were connected to the house by the
concave porticos (p.21 img.16) which we see today (although may
have possibly been altered since 1710), decorated with sundials and
a balustrade made by mason John Hamilton, leading from terrace to
garden, with ogial roofed pavilions taking up the junction between.
All rubble walling probably intended to be harled with just quoins
and details expressed. Ogee roofed pavilions on west face (p.21
img.17) hold round arched key stone window, horizontal in
proportion to those windows of the basement and attic, above door
heraldic stone from Loch Leven Castle is inset. Most inner court
buildings remained until 19th century alterations by Ross along with
the outer court wall when smaller compartmentalised gardens
became united into more vast open spaces.
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Façade - Order and Ashlar
“Kinross established a new type of stone monumentality which even
Palladio’s buildings-to which Kinross refers-had not possessed.”
(MacInnes, 1999, p.46)
Kinross as a compact monumental box, the façade and general
appearance of the House bringing a monumentality of which had
not been seen in Scotland prior to it’s construction (see p.4 img.1).
Set within the centre of its peninsula, has been described as a lonely
masterpiece, with Cruickshank commenting that it holds a rather
stoic presence. Stone was sourced in the Cleish Hills, the
craftsmanship suffering little decay over the centuries. Being a
subtle grey in colour with iron permutations running through,
described by Daniel Defoe on his grand tour of the British Isles as,
‘white and fine, the order regular, the contrivance elegant, the
workmanship, exquisite.’ The existing pedimented entrance and
large swept steps of the house today were later additions by Ross
(p.22 img.18). The portico to the south of the House (p.25 img.22),
featuring coupled ionic pilasters and flat roofed balcony with
original wrought iron work (by James Horne), slightly flared steps
and squashed stone balustrades being what would have existed on
the West also leading from front terrace. Above both entrances
triangular enrichments carved in bass relief of incredible
workmanship, again by Van Nervan and Boyse, surmount the
porticos and central upper storey window. The West side depicting
war trophies and crest with the initials of Bruce and his first wife,
the Eastern side depicting native plants and flowers with a crest of
bearing the initials of Bruce’s son John and wife.
Channelled masonry of the basement level roots the mass of
the structure to the ground, the bottom one to two feet of which
being left undressed to the level at which garden terrace would
have reached. Particularly visible on the eastern façade’s steps
where the bottom 4 appear are of a different style as a possible
later addition. The top is finished with a sill course running beneath
ground floor windows. Horizontal basement windows are defined
with Voussoir lintels, their proportions allowing them to recede
amongst the overall horizontal massing of the House. The main mass
of the building or piano noble and upper floors are divided in to
eleven bays, three at each end, the further five taking up the centre
with windows widely but evenly spaced. Unlike Coleshill where the
central volume is outlined by altering the spacing of windows. Floor
levels delineated by a simple pair of stringcourses.
Kinross was not simply a mere copy of the likes of Coleshill
and Clarendon. The well-known model of centre block between two
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cross wings was widely used throughout England, examples being
the likes of Tyttenhanger Manor in Hertfordshire. However as David
Cruickshank points out the ‘reduction’ of these cross wings to being
a series of four subtle projections framed by a single giant fluted
pilaster with Corinthian capital (p.25 img.20), rather than expressed
quoins (such as Moncrieffe) is quite unique, being an ‘inventive
permutation of the type’. This was perhaps inspired by Lorenzo
Bernini’s, Palais du Louvre in Paris, 1665. J Macaulay also comments,
“The two main floors are tied together at the angles, not by quoins,
but by a giant order of Corinthian pilasters. Set over a rusticated
basement, these support an entablature spanning the full elevation,
which is, therefore, divided into three framed rectangles, all of which
is certainly Serlian.”
(Macaulay, 1987, p.15)
The projections also bring a degree of movement to the overall
composition of the elevation but within the house brought about
issues with the alignment of doors for the enfilade plan. However
between relief of column and where wall returns small windows are
fitted (p.25 img.21) lighting rooms within the depth of the wall. The
function of these rooms unknown, but the windows are of similar
form to that of a gun loop and as Cruickshank also describes, like
subtle bastions viewing across the facades and main entrances.
Perhaps not as far removed from the defensive and historical
references which R Macinnes described.
North and West facades are divided in to five bays (p.25
img.23), the windows being reduced in height from those at front.
This is to accommodate a mezzanine level buried within the section
of the end pavilions or projections, between the two main storeys.
Lit by five horizontally proportioned windows, the central had a key
stoned basket arch. Toward the top storey of the house a continual
line of entablature and corbel course provides the third frame of
what J Macaulay described as a truly ‘Serlian’ composition. A
parapet holds yet another set of horizontally proportioned attic
windows beneath roof eaves. The central five windows on the west
side lighting the double height salon from above. This was possibly
derived from Palladio’s design for a Villa to accommodate the
Mocenigo family illustrated in I Quattri Libri. Topped with a piened
roof of Perthshire blue slate or scalies (which during construction
was temporarily covered with turf, like cottages of the time) there is
certainly a North West European sobriety to the structure. On top
chimney pieces complete the overall design by 1690, as Fenwick
described, ‘placed to make the house warm and look well’. They also
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raise the overall height of the composition, emphasised by a glass
central cupola, now lead, which would have lit the salon below.
Overall the external façade of the building is incredibly simple, giving
little indication of the complexity of mezzanines and servicing
within. J Macaulay, also goes on to say in his book, The Classical
Country House in Scotland,
“There are no hurried judgments at Kinross, no aesthetic doubts, but
instead sober judgements with every line, stone and detail breaking
from inner contemplation and a calculating eye.”
(Macaulay, 1987, p.17)
The house being for Bruce, ‘an enterprise not only of his sere years,
but of studied care and protracted consideration’ (Macaulay, 1987,
p.17)
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Plan - Axis and Route of Procession
Kinross House, being such a product of its time has clearly
changed and adapted over the years to suit the needs of
contemporary generations. However the general plan and layout
within the house itself has been subject to very little alteration, after
all it did hold a reputation as the coldest house in Britain, having
only one radiator. What has changed is merely the function of
rooms. Overall the plan holds three interesting architectural
permutations which at its time were almost revolutionary: the use
of a mezzanine level for servicing; the double plan and the French
enfilade integrated within it. (see p.4 img.2 contemporary plan –
p.26 img.24 17th c plan detailing mezzanines, vaulting and original
rm functions.)
`The 17th century Kinross House, according to Cruickshank,
was planned around the concept of a royal court, with Bruce himself
being conceived as a petty prince within his own home. Like most
houses of similar stature at the time the processional route was the
form on which the plan was based, which at Kinross integrated both
house, landscape and history in one union. How far along the
processional route a gest would progress resembled the importance
of that person and their connection with whoever was in residence
at the house.
Kinross featured two processional routes, both would of
course begin from entrance gates at the town of Kinross. Guests
would have travelled along the tree lined avenue by carriage to a
second gateway and lodgings at the outer court, the view of the
house partly denied by the courtyard walls. Progressing to the outer
court of the house, large enough for a carriage to turn guests would
have disembarked and progressed by foot to the inner court with
parterre, smaller in scale, and enclosed, the garden terrace raising
the house above the viewer to be seen for the first time in full glory,
with concave pavilion walls as Fenwick describes, adding to feeling
of enclosure within the space. Progressing from a set of steps to
terrace and then ascending those we see today to enter the house
arriving at the entrance hall, at the time enclosed with waiting
rooms at north and south, now opened into one 70 foot long space
divided in to three by pairs of ionic columns. At this point the two
different routes are defined. The first would lead you along the main
line of axis through a doorway directly in front of you, framed with
fluted ionic columns presenting first view through the gardens to
the castle set as a grotto type feature on Loch Leven. From entrance
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hall one would move to the garden hall (p.2 img.27), which Bruce
titled, parlour, positioned off axis. From here guests would progress
outside from garden terrace with full view to Castle Island and the
Lomond Hills beyond, moving along a central gravel path through
the great parterre and then orchards to the elaborately carved fish
gate (p.31 img.30). At this point you would reach the shore of Loch
Leven (then much higher) where a barge would ferry guests to the
keep of Loch Leven castle, making the journey which Mary Queen of
Scots had made in the previous century. The final room or cabinet of
the procession being the castle itself. This route was mostly used in
fine weather or on occasions of importance. The second route (like
that seen at Balkaskie) either approached directly or as a second leg
of the one just described would take you to the main floor of the
house. From entrance hall one would ascend the great staircase
(p.29 img.28), set within a double height volume, to the ballroom,
originally the great dining room (p.29 img.26), occupying the five
central bays of the house, double height, with attic windows acting
as a clerestory above. At the centre a doorway opened to the
withdrawing room, or state drawing room, first room of the state
apartment, overlooking the gardens and loch to the east. Like the
parlour below, set off centre. The next room in procession was to
the south, being the antechamber which would be the extent of the
visit for most guests. Only the most privileged of guests would
progress further to the royal bedchamber and then, if particularly
privileged, the closet beyond.
Like houses such as Dalkeith, Drumlanrig and Hamilton,
Kinross was a statement of a rich and powerful family. However, as
R Macinnes clarifies, unlike such houses Kinross was beginning to
point in the direction of a smaller and more sophisticated country
house or villa. This was due to the use of the double pile plan,
similar to that of Dunkeld or Moncrieffe however of complexity far
beyond the basic tripartite form they held. J Macaulay refers that
the plan ‘was the restoration ideal for an English country
gentleman’s house as developed by Sir Roger Pratt and Hugh May.”
in fact Englishness of Kinross was recognised, indirectly, by John
Macky who rated it ‘the finest seat I have yet seen in Scotland.’ After
all when Queen’s House was built by Jones, in Scotland tower
houses were still being developed and constructed. The double pile
plan, most certainly inspired by Pratt’s Coleshill consisted of a
central circulation space straddled by a suite of rooms on either side
allowing the enfilade to be left untouched, yet the rooms could be
serviced by a central core. At Kinross the is kept entirely to the north
and south “pavilions” with the central core of public rooms having a
more free route of circulation aligned with that of the pavilions.
Pratt wrote that houses of the time were
29
26
27
28 29
30
“Generally too big for their purpose so that in the end they are either
forced to leave them imperfect, or whilst they strive to finish them
they ruin themselves.”
(Pratt, cited by Macaulay, 1987, p.18)
Pratt believed the double pile plan was ‘most useful’ due to its
compact form, being warmer, easily serviceable and more
economical to build. However, referring to the above quote Bruce
still fell victim to the trappings of building a house of such a scale
with only the basement and ground floor levels being completed
internally.
As a whole the house functioned on three levels (17th c plan
– p.26 img.24). The basement level running as a continual service
space throughout, being vaulted, holds the stories above described
by Cruickshank with, ‘uniform and boldly detailed voussoi arches to
doors and fire surrounds’ this held an inner kitchen, adjoined to the
kitchen wing beyond, a nursery, larders and quarters for staff. The
model of Coleshill is reflected on both ground and first floor rooms.
However with an added four volumes. Rooms are grouped into
apartments of Bedchamber and closets, some with adjoining small
bedchamber. These are kept to the end pavilions. The central
volume holds the main public and state rooms. The North West
corner holds the Great Stair, its lobby adjoining Bruce’s apartment
to the North East and the secure and fire proof charter room with
vaulted ceiling. The stair is positioned separate from the entrance
hall, unlike Coleshill which occupies the central double height
entrance. The attic space of the second story in original plan is left
to a total of 13 bedchambers and stairwell and great dining room
rising to full height. Here there is also a balcony for musicians to
play, which has since been removed and a spiral stair to the copula
and roof above.
Each room of the house relates directly to the proportions
outlined by Palladio in his Quattro Libri. He outlined seven
proportions to produce the most beautiful rooms, the circle, square
and a third, the diagonal of a square, a square and a half, 2:3 in
proportion, square and two thirds and a double square. All of which
would relate to the square or cubical form. Bruce mostly adopted
the square and cubical form, with garden and withdrawing room
being square and a half.
Overall the plan is grouped into three general zones, the
outer most of the pavilions holding the smaller cellular closets.
31
Cubical in form this allowed an extra mezzanine level, again of barrel
vaulted construction (p.29 img.29) to be positioned above between
ground and first floors. However the repercussion of this is that
corner rooms have a shorter window on north and south sides
which as pointed out by Cruickshank, appears slightly odd from
within. There is then the bedchambers which they serve, a further
scale up in size, square in plan. These were connected to the
mezzanine floor by small turnpike staircases carved within the mass
of the inner walls, a feature quite unique to Kinross. The third zone
was that of the central mass of the house, divided in two with the
garden façade holding withdrawing rooms and such likes, the and
the entrance façade holding the key public space of the great dining
hall, double square in geometry.
It is unfortunate the first floor of the house was left
uncompleted, being a remodelling by Thomas Ross it does not hold
the originality of the lower story which it is a rough copy of.
Craftsmen such as George Dunsterfield, the King’s plasterer worked
on the house, the lime for the work obtained in the Lomond Hills.
Chief Joiner Alexander Eizat measured up sizes for doors and
windows, bringing the timber for them from Holland. Softwoods
from the continent such as Memel pine was shipped from Holland to
Kirkcaldy. Throughout the house it is thought Scots hardwood was
generally used also brought from Kirkcaldy, an example of the effort
taking 71 horses to carry 400 floor boards according to accounts in
the national archives, carrying roughly 6 boards per journey, a
scenario which one could not really comprehend today.
30
32
Conclusion
Through the design of Kinross House Bruce confirmed his
ability as not just an architect but as that of an innovator of
inspirational quality. Although we may never experience Bruce’s
vision for Kinross I would hope this essay provides some insight to
his original 17th century layout. Dr Mark Girouard, architectural
writer, historian and a particular authority on country houses
describing Kinross as,
“A lonely masterpiece, not quite like anything that came before or
after… essentially an individual Scottish creation, a kind of sobered-
up baroque palace.”
The legacy Kinross left was that of the acceptance of the
classical style in Scotland through the 18th and 19th centuries, A
History of Scottish Architecture, from Renaissence to Present Day
stating,
“later in an urban sense Kinross set an example for the idea of
monumental ashlar facing, with rubble at rear and uniform
fenestration. Compressing the idea of the great apartment even
further.”
Examples of which being seen in Edinburgh New Town (1765-1850).
As the future of the house is concerned it has recently been
refurbished, saved from further deterioration to function as a
rentable residence and private function facility proving such a plan
can still function today.
Unfortunately the result being the gates which have
remained open to the public for the last century now being firmly
closed. The house, once part of a community, now reverting to the
same stigma and detachment which has shrouded many other
houses of its kind, with the general public being left unaware and
unable to appreciate a building which is not just of incredible
architectural significance, but is engrained within the very history of
our nation.
33
Bibliography
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Colvin, H, 1995. A Biographical Dictionary of British Architects: 1600
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Defoe, D, 1724. Tour Through the Whole Island of Great Britain. 3rd
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Fenwick, H, 1970. Architect Royal: The Life and Works of Sir William
Bruce. 1st ed. County of Warwick: The Roundwood Press. 3, 9, 10,
14, 15, 22, 23, 72, 73, 80-95, 110, 111
Gifford, J, 2007. The Buildings of Scotland: Perth and Kinross.
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Hannan, T, 1928. Famous Scottish Houses: The lowlands. London, A
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Macaulay, J, 1987. The Classical Country House in Scotland 1660 –
1800, 1st ed. London: Faber and Faber. 15-19, 31, 36, 41, 49, 50
MacInnes, R, 1999. Building a Nation: The Story of Scotland’s
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Palladio, A, 1965. Andrea Palladio: The Four Books of Architecture
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34
Image References
1. Vitruvius Scoticus, 18thc. Kinross House. Plan of first, second
and third floors and vaults [scanned image] (RCAHMS inv)
2. R. Cooper, 18thc. Engraving showing Kinross House west
[scanned image] (Vitruvius Scoticus)
3. Chateau Le Vaux Le Victome [photograph] available at:
www.everycastle.com [accessed August 2013]
4. Chateau Bellaroy, [photograph] available at:
http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Ch%C3%A2teau_d
e_Balleroy_2008_PD_05.JPG [accessed August 2013]
5. Mauritshuis, [photograph] available at:
http://www.pds.ewi.tudelft.nl/~iosup/pics/2k4_11_07_Den
_Haag/tn/116_mauritshuis%20at%20dawn.med.jpg
[accessed August 2013]
6. Coleshill House [Engraving, scanned] Available online at:
http://www.berkshirehistory.com/articles/coleshill.html
[accessed August 2013]
7. Coleshill House [Plan, scanned] Available online at:
http://wallpanelling.co.uk/history/history-oak-wall-
panelling-62-architectural-periods.html [accessed August
2013]
8. Balkaskie House Elevation [Photograph] Available online at:
http://www.mortondesign.co.uk/gallery/scotland/fife/f16-
72.jpg [accessed August 2013]
9. Balkaskie House Terrace [Photograph] Available online at:
http://www.mortondesign.co.uk/gallery/scotland/fife/f16-
72.jpg [accessed August 2013]
10. Balkaskie House [plan scanned] Available at:
http://www.scotlandsplaces.gov.uk/record/rcahms/34206/
balcaskie-house/rcahms?item=991238#carousel [accessed
August 2013]
11. Moncreiffe House [Plan and elevation scanned] Available
online at:
http://canmore.rcahms.gov.uk/images/l/DP038697/
[accessed August 2013]
35
12. Plan of the town of Kinross 1823 [Scanned image] Available
online at
http://www.genuki.org.uk/big/sct/KRS/Kinross/Pics/Kinross
map.jpg [accessed August 2013]
13. Site Plan Kinross House and Gardens, 17th c. Scanned from:
Fenwick, H, 1970. Architect Royal: The Life and Works of Sir
William Bruce. 1st ed. County of Warwick: The Roundwood
Press.
14. View from Terrace [photograph] Available online at:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/tourscotland/5011489534
[accessed August 2013]
15. Kinross House stables and offices [Photograph] Available
online at:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/smbtravels/5194085466/ligh
tbox/ [Accessed August 2013]
16. Pavvilion curtain wall west façade, c. 1929 [photograph]
Available online at:
http://www.scotlandsplaces.gov.uk/record/rcahms/27882/k
inross-house/rcahms?item=710770#carousel [accessed
august 2013]
17. Garden Pavillion, c.1929 [photograph] Available at:
http://www.scotlandsplaces.gov.uk/record/rcahms/27882/k
inross-house/rcahms?item=1244037#carousel [accessed
august 2013]
18. West elevation oblique view, c. 1929 [photograph] available
online at:
http://www.scotlandsplaces.gov.uk/record/rcahms/27882/k
inross-house/rcahms?item=702624#carousel [accessed
august 2013]
19. East elevation, c.1929 [photograph] available online at:
http://www.scotlandsplaces.gov.uk/record/rcahms/27882/k
inross-house/rcahms?item=693030#carousel [accessed
august 2013]
20. Detail of capital. Scanned from: Cruickshank, D, 2011. The
Country House Revealed, 1st ed. London: BBC Books.
21. Detail of window. Scanned from: Cruickshank, D, 2011. The
Country House Revealed, 1st ed. London: BBC Books.
22. Detail of south portico. Scanned from: Cruickshank, D, 2011.
The Country House Revealed, 1st ed. London: BBC Books.
36
23. South façade.. Scanned from: Cruickshank, D, 2011. The
Country House Revealed, 1st ed. London: BBC Books.
24. Plan and elevation, 17thc. Scanned from: Fenwick, H,
1970. Architect Royal: The Life and Works of Sir William
Bruce. 1st ed. County of Warwick: The Roundwood Press.
25. Ballroom/great dining room.. Scanned from: Cruickshank, D,
2011. The Country House Revealed, 1st ed. London: BBC
Books.
26. Ballroom/great dining room.. Scanned from: Cruickshank, D,
2011. The Country House Revealed, 1st ed. London: BBC
Books.
27. Garden Room [photograph] available online at:
http://www.scottishfield.co.uk/article/336-
Kinross_A_Bruce_masterpiece.html [accessed august 2013]
28. Great stair. Scanned from: Cruickshank, D, 2011. The
Country House Revealed, 1st ed. London: BBC Books.
29. Interior, circulation.. Scanned from: Cruickshank, D, 2011.
The Country House Revealed, 1st ed. London: BBC Books.
30. The Fish Gate, [photograph] available online at:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/tourscotland/5011489534
[accessed august 2013]