Glenbuchat Heritage

4 Edinglassie and Skellater Houses

Edinglassie and Skellater Houses
This painting may well have been commissioned by John Forbes, Bombay Jock, in the 1790’s when he returned from India and when he started buying up the estates in Strathdon. It is the third of three paintings of the area made before the building of Castle Newe and a fourth one of the Castle once it was built probably commissioned by Sir Charles Forbes 1st baronet

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The picture above shows:

1 A view looking south across the river Don at Strathdon. On the left is the roof of Edinglassie House, beyond that in the distance also on the left, is possibly the faint view of Inverernan House, and on the right is Skellater House. In the distance is Lochnagar.

2 Close up of Edinglassie House roof on the left and Skellater house on the right

3 A smaller copy of the picture painted on ivory and obviously done in India. See below for details

4 A map of the area with the red arrow giving the direction of the view.

Indian Copy

The paintings were done before the building od Castle Newe in 1831. They were probably commissioned by John Forbes Bombay Jock. However, he returned home from India in 1796. The picture must then have been taken to India by his nephew Charles Forbes the 1st Baronet of Newe who would have had the copy made by Indian artists. Four paintings were copied and it is hoped to get pictures of the other three. The paintings appear to be made on sheets of ivory about 8 inches wide.

Edinglassie House

Edinglassie House, 18th century. Long, low, formless sprawl grown from a two-storey red granite rubble U-plan house with its three-window centre, and one-window gabled advance wings. It is a reduced version of Skellater House (c.1700). Remodelled early 19th century, extended to the east in the later 18th century and again in the mid-19th. The west addition has a bay window, c.1850.
Both Historic Scotland and Shepherd (2006) describe the house as being of 18th century date, with later 18th and 19th century additions. Timperley (1976) notes the owner c.1770 as Alexander Stewart. The property was evidently acquired by Sir Charles Forbes of Castle Newe, who is noted by Hall (1885) as owner in the 1880s, albeit that the house was let to the Marquis de Breteuil at that time.
(On March 12, 1881, the Marquis Henri de Breteuil organized a secret meeting at the Château with the Prince of Wales, the future King Edward VII, and Léon Gambetta, President of the Chamber of Deputies. This constituted the beginnings of the Entente Cordiale.)
Later owners are noted by Historic Scotland as the Tennant family, and most recently by the Cowdray family, whose principal house is Dunecht. The house, which continues in their ownership, is used in connection with sporting interests

Marquis Henri de Breteuil at the Lonach Gathering
The Aberdeen Weekly Journal. Saturday, August 28. 1880

Among those present were :
From Castle Newe—Lady Forbes, Misses Blanche and Mabel Forbes, Miss Laura Winn, Mr and Mrs Arthur Sassoon, Mr Reuben Sassoon, Captain Donald Browne, 60th Rifles, and Mr Musgrave.
From Edinglassie—The Marquis and Marchioness de Breteuil, Monsieur and Madame O’Connor, the Comte de Vogue, and Monsieur Hottinguer.

The Queen - Saturday 18 November 1916

The Death of the Marquis de Breteuil. The Marquis de Breteuil, o well known in England ae a friend of King Edward VIT., of our present King, and host to the Prince of Wales during his stay in Paris, has been sincerely mourned this week. The Marquis and Marquise de Breteuil stand, in society, for all that is best in international intercourse. They have friendships and relationships in France, England, and the United States which make for wide sympathies and go far to break down those invisible barriers between nations which come from lack of knowledge of each other. The Marquis de Breteuil was made a Knight Commander of the Victorian Order by King Edward, and was raised by King George to the dignity of the Grand Cross. His first wife was Mlle. de Castelbajae, and his second Miss Garner, of New York. By his second wife he had two sons, M. Jacques and M. Francois de Breteuil, the latter being now with the British armies in France in close attendance on- the Prince of Wales. Other links with England come through Lady Gordon Cumming, who is sister to the Marquise de Breteuil

Skellater House

https://britishlistedbuildings.co.uk/200349889-skellater-house-strathdon

Skellater was built by Lachlan Forbes in 1727. Set over the front door is a pink sandstone armorial panel within a moulded granite frame, probably replacing an earlier panel. The current panel is dated MDCCLXX (1780), possibly the date of renewal. The coat of arms is that of the Forbes' of Skellater, and the motto 'Solus inter Plurimos' translates as 'Alone amongst many'. This is thought to refer to the fact that the Skellater Forbes' held differing religious beliefs from their own clan and joined with the Gordon Forbes clan, in supporting the Jacobite cause.
George Forbes of Skellater fought at Culloden and died in Bolougne in October 1767.
John Forbes of Skellater married a Portuguese princess and became a Field Marshal in the Portuguese army; he died in Brazil in 1809.
The house was eventually inherited by Benjamin Forbes, 8th Laird of Skellater and Balbithan, who was a Lieutenant-General of the 80th Regiment. When he died in 1803, the estate of Skellater was bought by Sir Charles Forbes, 1st Baronet of Newe, for £24,000.
Dormer window pediments were added in about 1845 and the house was extended in 1857. In the latter half 19th century, the house was only occasionally occupied during the shooting season and for 70 years the building was used to store hay.

Inverernan House

Inverernan House was reworked as a near copy of Bellabeg House in 1935
Search on Inverernan in the Web site and you will see the older structure of Inverernan House
Click to see the the present style of Inverernan House. It is now similar to Bellabeg House

An interesting reproduction of Bellabeg which is one of the finest houses in Strathdon. Inverernan has some very early fabric as well as some fine imported interior timberwork. Purchased in the 1980s by the present (2006) owners who have renovated the nearby stable block, and report that the house was very dry although having been empty for some years. This is attributed to the excellent quality of work carried out after Inverernan was taken over by the Wallace family in 1934. At that time, it was to be used as the dower house for Candacraig, and improvements included importing panelling and decorative timberwork from London in 1938, as well as re-lining lath & plaster walls using treated 2 x 4 timbers.

Prior to the Wallace family ownership, Inverernan had belonged to the Forbes family. A photograph from circa 1925 shows the house in its classical guise, with 4-column Roman Doric porch and deep blocking course with raised centre urn on decorative consoles. There are also dormer windows in a shallow pitched roof, and grouped gablehead stacks.
The New Statistical Account describes Inverernan 'As altered and enlarged some years ago' in the 'style of a modern villa, partaking of the Italian'. The first Forbes of Inverernan was Black Jock, Bailie to the Earl of Mar in 1715. It is reported that the current dining room was the place where, urged by Mar to take part in the rising, documents were signed raising the neighbourhood to arms. Black Jock was taken prisoner and died in Carlisle the night before the day fixed for his execution. Forbes family records date a building to this site in 1680.

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