Philip de Sayton’s grandfather fought with William the Conqueror at Hastings in 1066.

Winton was built by the Setons following a grant of land by David I to Phillip de Sayton in 1150. Phillip’s grandson married the sister of King Robert “The Bruce” of Scotland. In the sixteenth century, Henry VIII had Winton burnt in an effort to impress Mary Queen of Scots, and Mary Seton was later her Lady-in-Waiting.

The Seton’s tenure lasted until 1715 when they backed the Jacobites and the Earl of Winton was taken to the Tower of London. The Earl’s capture ended an era when Kings were entertained and master craftsmen were engaged fresh from Edinburgh Castle to embellish Winton House in the style of the Scottish Renaissance. In the absence of the Earl but in his name, Winton was requisitioned by Bonnie Prince Charlie in 1745 when his rebel army camped on Winton Estate.

The Hamilton Nisbets, who bought the House and Estate, linked it to one of the greatest inheritances of the 18th and 19th centuries. The furnishings came from all over Europe and the Turkish Empire and the impressive estates covered some of the country's best farmland. Golf was not just a pastime but was carried out on estate land, which, at that time, included Muirfield and Gullane Links.

For over a century, Winton has hosted musical evenings and private functions; more recently it has successfully been used for corporate dinners and lunches, conferences, product launches and weddings, using the main rooms of the House. Activities and team-building events take place in the grounds.

Today Winton is the family home of Sir Francis and Lady Ogilvy. Visitors are welcome and private and corporate events are encouraged.

THE LORDS SETON Winton was a Seton stronghold for nearly 600 years.

1000 years ago As the builders of Winton, their history can be traced back to 1050 and Robert FitzPicot de Say, Lord of Aunay (Normandy), whose son, also Robert, fought at the Battle of Hastings with William “the Conqueror” in 1066. Phillip de Sayton, his grandson, was granted the lands of Seton, Winton and Winchburgh around 1150 by David I of Scotland, who was consolidating his power around Edinburgh with Norman nobles. There began almost six centuries of Setons at Winton.

The Royal Court Phillip’s grandson married the sister of King Robert “The Bruce”. The family were heavily involved in the Wars of Independence in the 14th century including the Siege of Berwick and the Battle of Bannockburn. Their names, through marriage, can be seen in the family trees of Hay, Gordon, Stewart, Campbell, Douglas and Montgomerie, and are linked to Dukes and Viscounts down to mere Earls, including the title bestowed upon Robert, 6th Lord Seton, 1st Earl of Winton. They held notable positions such as Mary Seton, Lady-in-Waiting to Mary Queen of Scots, Robert, 4th Lord Seton, Lord of Session, and Alexander (brother of the 1st Earl) who became Earl of Dunfermline and Chancellor of Scotland.

The Burning Although the Seton seat was nearby at Seton Palace, Longniddry, George Ist Earl of Winton built a stone tower at Winton around 1480. When Henry VIII adopted an unusual style of courtship on behalf of his son Edward with hopes of wooing Mary Queen of Scots, the Setons were caught up in the aggression of the Earl of Hertford. Under Henry’s orders, Winton was burnt by the English Army in 1544 around the time of the siege of Haddington. The thick walls of the vaulted basement survived the fire. The atmospheric Vaulted Cellar is still used for entertaining today.

The Earls Restoration The 6thth Lord Seton was made 1st Earl of Winton in 1600 and set about making a home out of the ruin. The work was continued by his nephew, the 3rd Earl, who engaged the services of William Wallace, the King’s Master Mason. Wallace was responsible for many of the prodigious projects at the time and Winton rose to be amongst the finest examples of Scottish Renaissance architecture and a Jacobean gem.

Prisoner Two generations on, support for the Royal Stuarts at the Jacobite uprising of 1715 saw the capture of George 5th Earl of Winton at the Battle of Preston. He was taken to the Tower of London; his land and titles were confiscated by the crown and the land was later leased to the York Buildings Company. It was later requisitioned for use during the uprising of 1745 by Bonnie Prince Charlie, on behalf of the exiled 5th. Earl. The rebel army camped on the Estate and were fed by the local tenantry.

LAWYERS TURN LAIRDS The Setons’ departure left a vacuum at Winton.

All Change The York Buildings Company who followed were interested principally in the minerals (coal) on the Estate and the House was leased to a market gardener. When they went bankrupt in 1779, the house was sold to Mrs Hamilton Nisbet of Pencaitland. This was the start of an extraordinary lineage involving over twenty families whose intertwined his- tories pre-date even the Setons.

The Hamiltons Whilst the Setons were siding with Robert the Bruce, loyalty to The Bruce at Bannockburn by Walter Fitzgilbert Hamilton was rewarded with a grant of land from which stemmed the most senior family in Scotland today. And when George Seton, Earl of Winton was creating his Renaissance Palace at Winton, the Hamiltons also formed a base in East Lothian. Sir James Hamilton, Sheriff of Lanark bought Biel, to the east by Dunbar, in 1641. It had formerly been owned by the Earls of Dunbar and then Lauder of the Bass (Rock).

Sir James Hamilton’s son, Sir John, was created a Baronet of Nova Scotia in 1635 and 1st Lord Belhaven and Stenton in 1647 for his support for King Charles 1 during the Civil Wars. He avoided Cromwell heading south via the Solway to become a respected horticulturalist at Kew and a messenger for Charles II. Meanwhile his cousin James Hamilton, Senator of the College of Justice like his father, Sir Robert of Pressmennan, moved closer to Edinburgh. He bought Pencaitland Estate in 1698 and took the title Lord Pencaitland.

The granddaughter of James, Lord Pencaitland, was Mary Hamilton, who bought Winton for her second son, Colonel John Hamilton. She was already linked to Archerfield Estate and the village of Dirleton through her marriage in 1747 to William Nisbet before she inherited Biel from her father Alexander in 1758. When her cousin, James 5th Lord Belhaven died in 1777, he left her the estates of Belhaven, Pencaitland and Barncleugh. The opportunity was taken two years later to purchase Winton and amalgamate it with the neighbouring estate at Pencaitland. BUILDER LAIRDS Colonel John Hamilton began making his mark at Winton planting woodlands and greatly enlarging the House.

Grand Designs Colonel John Hamilton enlarged Winton House with the help of the local architect, John Paterson. He was colonel of the East Lothian Fencibles, a regiment who exercised their horses above Wintonhill Farm. He married Janet Dundas of the ruling political family from the nearby estate of Arniston. They are remembered together with plaques in Pencaitland Kirk, showing the degree of affection held for them within the locality.

Presumably they lived nearby at Pencaitland House and intended Winton to be their main home. John’s neo-gothic additions on the north and west sides, however were left incomplete when he died in 1804, leaving Winton to his sister Mary Campbell. The Estate passed to her daughter, also Mary, who married James, Lord Ruthven (also of Nisbet descent). Throughout this time, however, the House would at best have been only a second home, just as it had been for all previous seven centuries.

By all accounts, Mary Hamilton Campbell, Lady Ruthven, was a local character. She was possibly the first person to live at Winton permanently as the laird. Most of the older buildings of the east side of Pencaitland date from her time or her uncle’s and the village of New Winton was built by her to replace houses (or hovels) which were falling down within the grounds of Winton House. She built a new school, though improvements to heating technology were not fore- most in the design. The park next door was gifted to those in the parish for a playground “for the games of Football, Cricket and others…and the Bowling Green…. for the Pencaitland and Winton Bowling Club“ in 1884, just four years before she died.

She was fondly remembered by the community with whom she had made great links during her time, possibly making the largest impact of any Winton Laird including the Setons. She left no children and Winton was left to her cousin, Constance, the great-grand-daughter of her other uncle, William Nisbet Hamilton of Biel. ARCHERFIELD AND THE ELGIN MARBLES Constance Dundas Christopher Nisbet Hamilton was a mouthful of a name even before marriage to Henry Ogilvy.

Three Ladies Each of Constance Nisbet Hamilton’s names represented a property with a house or a castle (or both) and a family lineage whose members had helped to shape the political map not just of Scotland but the British Empire. Her mother may have been described mockingly as a grand dame; she had married Robert Dundas, grandson of Robert Dundas of Arniston and great nephew of Lord Melville. As with Constance, Mary’s inheritance came principally from her mother, a repeating pattern in Winton’s history.

The story of Constance’s grandmother is the subject of several books, for she was amongst the most fascinating characters of her time. She was Mary Nisbet Hamilton and although not directly linked with Winton, her influence was felt on the Estate, as it was wherever she went.

Mary was two when Winton was bought by her grandmother for her uncle John Hamilton. She grew up at Archerfield (now a five star links golf course with country house) and by the age of twenty-one, was described as being dark, lively and with a shapely figure. She played the pianoforte, loved reels and was the centre of attraction amongst Edinburgh society. She was heir to a fortune not just from her father, William, but also from her mother, Mary Manners, daughter of the 2nd Duke and Duchess of Rutland. It was no surprise that she became noticed by the aspiring diplomat Thomas, 7th Earl of Elgin.

Marriage to an Ambassador Elgin was a direct descendant from Robert the Bruce. He was a nobleman with a promising career in which he negotiated with emperors and kings. He was polished, well educated and a member of the House of Lords. Like Mary’s father who had improved Archerfield and added to the house with the help of Robert Adam, Lord Elgin was improving his estate at Broomhall in Fife and was intent on building a fine mansion. The match was one with extraordinary prospects when they married in 1799.

Elgin was offered the post of Ambassador to Turkey. On their arrival in Constantinople, they were greeted by the Selim and a warship carrying 1200 men and 132 guns. They brought over an orchestra as part of their cultural suite and having sent for her pianoforte, Mary used her talents learnt during childhood to teach the women Scottish reels! A Turkish poet wrote that “her sugar lips are breeding sunshine and overspread the world with Heaven’s shine”.

Shortly after their arrival, Elgin set up staff to assess and record the antiquities in Athens which was then part of the Turkish Empire. A year later in 1801, after the birth of their son, Lord Bruce, Elgin was granted a permit which allowed the removal of the statues; many of the marble statues from the Parthenon were then shipped back to Britain by courtesy of the navy, aided no doubt by Mary’s charm. These became known as the Elgin Marbles.

Capture and Divorce The Elgins journeyed to France, however the value attached to holding Elgin ransom was not realised and all travellers were met with imprisonment at the Castle of Lourdes. Mary tried to use her influence to persuade Bonaparte to release Elgin, and it was then that she began to rely on the assistance of Robert Fergusson of Raith. Mary’s involvement with Fergusson grew and although they managed to secure Elgin’s release from France in 1806, only two years later an Act of Parliament secured his divorce from Mary. The dream alliance which had so much promise had been put under immense strain, even without a third member.

Mary went on to marry Fergusson and settled at Archerfield. A monument was erected in Haddington in memory of Fergusson by the Whig electorate, whom he represented in parliament for Kirkcaldy and then East Lothian. The inscription referred “to a kind landlord, a liberal dispenser of wealth, a generous patron of literature, science and art”. In the statistical account for Dirleton in 1836, the entry for Mary states: “Her kindness and liberality to her tenancy are too well known to require notice and the estimation in which she is held by them all is the best proof she ever takes in their welfare”. OGILVYS ARRIVE Into this family and social arena entered Henry Ogilvy, advocate and younger son of Sir John Ogilvy, liberal MP for Dundee.

3600 for a Party! Mary’s social considerations were followed by Constance, her granddaughter. Constance inherited an amalgamation of Mary Nisbet’s estates, Winton and the Christopher estates of Bloxholm and Wellvale in Lincolnshire. In East Lothian alone, these included 3 mansion houses in good order with pictures and contents collected on grand tours of Europe or from the Elgin’s time in Constantinople and Athens, 4 villages which the family had built and cherished and nearly 40 farms including some of the best in Scotland. Parties of an heiress of this stature, such as those thrown to celebrate the Queen’s Jubilee were of a scale worth reporting: she entertained 1,000 at Biel, 1,200 at Dirleton, 500 at Innerwick and 800 at Winton! Some party! The party goers sent a message to the Queen by carrier pigeon!

Enter a Liberal and a Highlander! Into this family and social arena entered Henry Ogilvy, advo- cate and younger son of Sir John Ogilvy. They married in 1888 when Constance was 45. As with the Jubilee parties, reports of the wedding matched what would be reserved for a royal wedding today. Together they spent time on their estates, living mainly at Biel, but moving from one property to another. Latterly, after Henry’s death in 1909, Constance lived mainly at Winton.

Church Building Into this family and social arena entered Henry Ogilvy, advocate and younger son of Sir John Ogilvy. They married in 1888 when Constance was 45. As with the Jubilee parties, reports of the wedding matched what would be reserved for a royal wedding today. Together they spent time on their estates, living mainly at Biel, but moving from one property to another. Latterly, after Henry’s death in 1909, Constance lived mainly at Winton.

Golf Links Golf was perhaps bound to feature for the Nisbet Hamilton Ogilvys since the Archerfield Estate was home to Muirfield and the links courses at Gullane. The East Lothian Golf Club met first at Archerfield and Henry was later president of the Archerfield Club with its 13 holes as well as the Gullane club. Local fuars in Gullane played for free and Muirfield was leased to the Honourable Company of Edinburgh Golfers. Together, they promoted the game to the best of their ability, sometimes with practical initiatives such as ensuring a public water supply for Gullane and the concessionary grant of the extension for North Berwick Golf Club. Constance lived mainly at Winton.

Other Interests Henry was on Councils and Committees concerning schools, churches, parishes, the lunacy board, railways and clean water for Gullane and Dirleton. He was a keen curler and was President of the Biel and Dirleton Clubs and Patron of the club at Winton. He was a Justice of the Peace and Deputy Lieutenant for the County.

Their homes were enjoyed by all walks of life, with dances for the tradesmen and their friends as well as balls for the gentry. They hosted concerts at Winton and elsewhere, a practice that has continued at Winton now for over 100 years. When Henry died in 1909, Constance came to live at Winton for her last 11 years. She apparently used to enter a tenant farmers cottage and sit sown without a word on account of her shyness. When she died, the Pencaitland Parish Minister said that “To outsiders she might seem stiff and proud, but under great shyness, there was a very humble and tender heart. No good object appealed to her in vain and she was ever ready to help where there was distress”.

EARLY TWENTIETH CENTURY There is no record of children at Winton for the first four centuries until 1920.

An Architect and his family at Winton Those of the staff who were used to a formal and courteous approach in the gardens, grounds and housekeeping were no doubt in for a shock when Constance’s nephew (by marriage) Gilbert arrived at Winton, coming by train to Winton Station in 1920 with three children and two more to come later.

Gilbert was the youngest son of Henry’s eldest brother, Reginald. He had done work for his aunt, building amongst other things, the Winton Laundry House. The gardens were already partially landscaped although he and his wife Marjory naturally made their own improvements. He relinquished his Dundee practice and moved from his family home of Baldovan, on the outskirts of Dundee down to Winton.

Marjory Ogilvy continued to live at Winton with her eldest son David for a further five years after Gilbert’s death in 1956. She had brought a Fielding connection once again through her mother whose family, Clive, were descended from the same Feildings and Earls of Denbigh as Constance’s cousin, Lucy Grant, adding another twist in the family histories of those connected with Winton. One visitor to the house remarked on the benefits of knowing ones place in family history. It is surprising how often the families have overlapped. Similarly, Gilbert’s brother married Constance’s cousin, Christian Bruce, daughter of the 9th Earl of Elgin, bringing a link back two generations later after Mary Bruce.

OGILVY SOLDIERS The Ogilvy history has several crossover points with Winton down the centuries, going back to William the Lion in the 13th century.

The Ogilvys were hereditary Sheriffs of the County of Angus. The three principle lines of the family were established from Sir Walter Ogilvy form the fourteenth century, including those of Airlie and next door at Inverquarity. When they were not fighting with their neighbours the Lindsays, subsequent generations would be present at Flodden, for the Royalists at Philiphaugh, the Stewarts at Culloden and in the Napoleonic Wars at sea.

Military exploits lessened as the centuries passed. Around the same time that Mary Hamilton bought Winton, the family moved to Dundee from their ancient seat of Inverquarity Castle in the Angus Glens. They were knighted by James VI, just a few years after the Earldom of Winton was granted to the Setons; their title of Baron was replaced with Baronet, like the Hamiltons, when they supported King Charles I in his mission to colonise Nova Scotia. RECENT TIMES Sir David Ogilvy was the 13th Baronet of Inverquarity and succeeded his father at Winton.

Although Sir David Ogilvy trained as an accountant, he retrained in farming and forestry to look after the Estate. He invested most of his time in the running of the Estate, basing his operations at Wintonhill Farm which he took in hand. His marriage at the age of 52 to Penelope Hills was a surprise to family and friends who had given up hope! Together they improved the House and Estate, as generations had tried to do before them.

The let farms were made over into a Trust in 1968 and the remainder of the Estate, including Winton House, followed over the next twenty years. Their son, Francis, is now 14th Baronet and lives at Winton with his wife Dorothy and their four children, Robert, Calum, Hamish and Elspeth.

This account of the individuals and families connected with Winton is intended to give a flavour of what went on, why and with whom. It is a fascinating place, so steeped in history that one cannot avoid being aware of those who have gone before. In many ways, this is a humbling experience; they have been kings and they have been coalmen, but all have played their part to develop a home and a haven. It is a pleasure to welcome visitors to share what Winton has to offer; I invite you to take part in the next chapter of Winton’s fascinating story.

Sir Francis Ogilvy 2006