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ARBIGLAND HOUSE KIRKBEAN, DUMFRIES, DUMFRIESSHIRE A10375 Arbigland vs 2:Layout 1 22/3/10 12:56 Page 2
REFURBISHED GEORGIAN COUNTRY HOUSE WITH MAGNIFICENT COASTAL GARDENS
ARBIGLAND HOUSE Kirkbean, Dumfries, Dumfriesshire DG2 8BQ
Dumfries 12 miles, Carlisle 42 miles, Glasgow 100 miles, Edinburgh 106 miles
Reception Hall, Drawing Room, Sitting Room, Library, Dining Room, Kitchen, Cloakroom, Morning Room
Master Bedroom with Dressing Room and Bathroom, 6 further Bedrooms and 3 Bathrooms (2 En Suite)
Large Basement with Offices and Stores
Traditional Courtyard 7 Bedroom Guest Cottage, 3 Bedroom Gardener’s Cottage, Derelict Stables Cottage Squash Court, Stables, Garages, Workshops and Stores
Grounds Formal Garden. Coastal Garden with Huge Variety of Shrubs, Plants and Trees, Lake, Grazing
About 24 Acres In All
Savills Edinburgh Wemyss House 8 Wemyss Place Edinburgh EH3 6DH T +44 (0)131 247 3700 Email: [email protected] A10375 Arbigland vs 2:Layout 1 22/3/10 12:56 Page 3
NS AND SEA VIEWS A10375 Arbigland vs 2:Layout 1 22/3/10 12:56 Page 4 A10375 Arbigland vs 2:Layout 1 22/3/10 12:56 Page 5
DIRECTIONS
From Dumfries take the A710 road The south west of Scotland is a genuinely south, pass through the village of New rural area of Scotland. The area has a Abbey and continue south for a further 3 mild Gulf Stream climate which allows a miles to the small village of Kirkbean. In variety of tender plants to be grown. Kirkbean turn left off the A710 and take There is a RSPB bird reserve nearby at the first turning on the right. Follow this Mershead on the Solway Firth. minor road for a further mile. The driveway to Arbigland is signposted on Recreational opportunities nearby the left hand side. include pheasant shooting, salmon fishing on the Rivers Nith and Annan, Follow the tree lined drive to the hunting with the Dumfriesshire & junction opposite the gates to Arbigland. Stewartry Foxhounds and roe deer Proceed through the gates and continue stalking in the forests inland. The coast on to the house. offers opportunities for sailing, with a marina at Kippford 10 miles away. There is a championship quality coastal golf SITUATION course at Southerness which is only 3 miles away. Arbigland is set just above the coast of the Solway Firth. The house lies Dumfries, 12 miles to the north, is an between mature policy woodlands and active country town which provides a magnificent wooded gardens which run wide range of facilities including schools, down to the sea. It has open outlooks to a hospital, a wide range of shops, sports both the north and south with sea views clubs and professional services. The M6 from all the main windows. and M74, the main route from north- west England to Scotland, is only 24 The property was formerly part of miles to the east. There are railway Arbigland Estate which extends to about stations at both Dumfries and Carlisle 1000 acres in all. The surrounding with services to Glasgow and London. countryside combines rolling grass Glasgow airport has a wide range of farmland, a spectacular coastline and an regular domestic and international abundance of established woodland. services. There are many attractive walks and opportunities for pheasant shooting and wild fowling. A10375 Arbigland vs 2:Layout 1 22/3/10 12:56 Page 6 A10375 Arbigland vs 2:Layout 1 22/3/10 12:56 Page 7 A10375 Arbigland vs 2:Layout 1 22/3/10 12:56 Page 8
HISTORY DESCRIPTION
The original house at Arbigland was Arbigland House has a classical McCulloch's Castle which lay above the Georgian entrance façade with a central cliff to the north of the present property pediment above Ionic pillars, stone urns and was used from the Iron Age to about on the roof and decorative stone detail. 1500. Thereafter the main house was There are matching single storey moved to the top of the cliff on the south octagonal pavilions on either side. A side of the bay. The foundations of that porch was subsequently added to the building are still in use as the present entrance façade to protect the front door day sunken garden. from the prevailing south westerly wind.
In 1679 the Craik family bought the Internally, the accommodation is property and transformed the land to arranged on three floors with a basement create the estate which exists today. below. The house has beautifully proportioned rooms, particularly on the William Craik designed a house to be ground floor. Many original features built set back from the shore, it in the such as fireplaces, decorative cornice style of Adam, the most famous domestic work and window shutters remain. architect of that time. The new house was completed in 1755. The house has been fully refurbished over the past ten years and now provides luxurious accommodation. The ground, first and second floors are all of highly manageable proportions. There is considerable scope to create more accommodation in the basement and also in the unused elevations of the courtyard. A10375 Arbigland vs 2:Layout 1 22/3/10 12:56 Page 9 A10375 Arbigland vs 2:Layout 1 22/3/10 12:56 Page 10
JOHN PAUL JONES FATHER OF THE UNITED STATES NAVY
John Paul was born at Arbigland in 1747, son of the head gardener of the estate. In 1761, at the age of 13, he went to sea and sailed to the American colonies. There he became a merchant captain and amassed a small fortune. In the War of Independence he was the American Navy’s ablest commander and earned a place in history as the“Father of the United States Navy”. Paul Jones’ Cottage, just beyond Arbigland House, has been converted into the John Paul Jones Birthplace Museum and Visitor Centre.
TRADITIONAL COURTYARD
Just to the west of the house is an To the front of the house is a large gravel enclosed traditional courtyard built of sweep surrounded by banks of stone under a slate roof. The courtyard rhododendrons. There is a wrought iron dates from about 1680 and therefore pre- fence and steps leading down to the dates the main house. The courtyard is coastal gardens. To the rear of the rectangular and cobbled. It has central house is a new formal garden. It has a archways with a dovecot above the central rill with a fountain at the end and eastern entrance archway. formal beds with box hedging. A gate opens into a paddock with views to the Solway Firth beyond. GARDENS AND GROUNDS There is a drying green and a lawn Arbigland House is set in grounds of behind the courtyard. Adjacent to this is over 24 acres which give the house great a kitchen garden enclosed with a high protection and amenity. beech hedge with productive, south facing vegetable gardens and fenced fruit beds. There is a former tennis court and pavilion, currently disused and requiring refurbishment. A10375 Arbigland vs 2:Layout 1 22/3/10 12:57 Page 11 A10375 Arbigland vs 2:Layout 1 22/3/10 12:57 Page 12 A10375 Arbigland vs 2:Layout 1 22/3/10 12:57 Page 13
COASTAL GARDENS
The coastal gardens originate from about • Sundial inscribed Arbigland 1815 to 1680, when the Craiks built a carriage commemorate the battle of drive from the stable block to their house Waterloo. Four symmetrical beds above the shore. This avenue is now around. Potting shed to the side. known as the “Broad Walk”. There are magnificent • Sunken garden centred on stone trees and a mass of rhododendrons to obelisk. Symmetrical beds with box either side. hedging. Open pavilion to side with inscription POW 1946, believed to The gardens were laid out in their present have been built by Italian prisoners state by the Chatelaine in the 1920’s. of war.
The gardens are well protected by • Decorative well with circular bed established woodlands which include around. stands of conifers and a mix of broad leaf trees. This combined with the mild • Large pond or lake thought to date climatic conditions (which are comparable from 1750 with central island. with Torquay, over 300 miles to the south) Wooden bridges over burns. means that a huge variety of tender plants and shrubs not often seen in Scotland are • Above the pond is an area called flourishing. The gardens are included in Japan, with acers, bamboos and the Inventory of Gardens and Designed hostas. 1930s water feature fed by Landscapes in Scotland. Features include: mains water supply. Handkerchief walk with handkerchief trees (Davidia involucrata). A10375 Arbigland vs 2:Layout 1 22/3/10 12:57 Page 14
GENERAL REMARKS Listings Offers VIEWING
Services Arbigland House is listed Category A. Offers, in Scottish legal form, must be Strictly by appointment with Savills - 0131 247 3700. The traditional courtyard and the submitted by your solicitor to the Selling Mains water and electricity. Private entrance gate piers are listed Category B. Agents. drainage to septic tank. IMPORTANT NOTICE It is intended to set a closing date but Arbigland House has central heating and Solicitors the seller reserves the right to negotiate Savills, their clients and any joint agents give notice that: hot water from an oil fired boiler. The a sale with a single party. All genuinely Aga in the kitchen is fired by propane Primrose and Gordon interested parties are advised to instruct 1. They are not authorised to make or give any representations or warranties in relation to gas. 92 Irish Street their solicitor to note their interest with the property either here or elsewhere, either on their own behalf or on behalf of their Dumfries the Selling Agents immediately after client or otherwise. They assume no responsibility for any statement that may be made in The Guest Cottage has both central DG1 2PF inspection. these particulars. These particulars do not form part of any offer or contract and must heating and hot water from propane gas Telephone: 01387 267316 not be relied upon as statements or representations of fact. fired boilers. The Gardener’s Cottage Fax: 01387 269747 has electric heating. [email protected] Deposit 2. Any areas, measurements or distances are approximate. The text, photographs and plans are for guidance only and are not necessarily comprehensive. It should not be A deposit of 10% of the purchase price assumed that the property has all necessary planning, building regulation or other Fixtures and Fittings Council Tax may be required. It will be paid within 7 consents and Savills have not tested any services, equipment or facilities. Purchasers days of the conclusion of Missives. The must satisfy themselves by inspection or otherwise. The curtains and light fittings are Arbigland House is in Dumfries and deposit will be non-returnable in the available for a price to be agreed in Galloway Council Tax Band H. The event of the Purchaser(s) failing to addition. Gardener’s Cottage is in band C. The complete the sale for reasons not Guest Cottage is in band B. The former attributable to the Seller or his agents. The urns at the front door and the Greek Stables Cottage is vacant and pays no jars in the Sunken Garden and the rates. wooden summerhouse overlooking the Solway Firth are excluded. Servitude rights, burdens and wayleaves
Rights of Access The property is sold subject to and with the benefit of all servitude rights, Arbigland House has a servitude right of burdens, reservations and wayleaves, access over the main driveway (opposite including rights of access and rights of the front gates) from the public road to way, whether public or private, light, the property. There is also a servitude support, drainage, water and wayleaves right of access over the driveway to The for masts, pylons, stays, cable, drains House on the Shore which runs along the and water, gas and other pipes, whether boundary to the north of the property contained in the Title Deeds or and gives an alternative access to the informally constituted and whether coastal gardens. referred to in the General Remarks and Stipulations or not. The Purchaser(s) Arbigland Estate has retained a servitude will be held to have satisfied himself as right of access over the tarmac road to the nature of all such servitude rights which runs past the traditional courtyard. and others. Maintenance is according to usage.
This plan is based upon the OrdnanceSurvey map with the sanction of the Controller of HM Stationery Office. Crown copyright reserved. Licence 100041908. A10375 Arbigland vs 2:Layout 1 22/3/10 12:57 Page 15
This plan is based upon the OrdnanceSurvey map with the sanction of the Controller of HM This plan is based upon the OrdnanceSurvey Stationery Office. Crown copyright reserved. map with the sanction of the Controller of HM Licence 100041908. Stationery Office. Crown copyright reserved. Licence 100041908.
Savills Edinburgh Wemyss House 8 Wemyss Place Edinburgh EH3 6DH T +44 (0)131 247 3700 Email: [email protected] A10375 Arbigland vs 2:Layout 1 22/3/10 12:57 Page 16