Scotland's Lost Houses

About this book

In terms of architectural heritage perhaps nothing is more poignant than the ruination of a once-grand house. Since 1945 it has been estimated over 200 of Scotlands major houses have been lost. The reasons for the losses vary whether fire dry rot or demolition when costs become prohibitive. Fortunately photographs remain as a remarkable often eerie record of these great houses. Sometimes as with the magnificent photos of Hamilton Palace they provide a fitting testimony to an architectural masterpiece. In other cases as with Murthly the unique pictorial record is a painstakingand heartbreakingsequence of photos taken of the dynamiting of this beautiful property. Ian Gow Curator of the National Trust for Scotland and one of the countrys most eminent architectural historians has selected 20 of its most important lost houses placing them in the context of an entire era of destruction.