View from south west

Description View from south west

Date 18/6/2001

Collection Records of the Royal Commission on the Ancient and Historical Monuments of Scotland (RCAHMS), Edinbu

Catalogue Number SC 769043

Category On-line Digital Images

Copy of E 15717 CN

Scope and Content Kennels, Balmoral Estate, Aberdeenshire These simple, single-storeyed kennels were built during the reign of Queen Victoria's great-grandson, King George VI (1936-52) to house the royal gun dogs. They consist of three cedarwood units, grouped around a rectangular courtyard with one side left open. Each unit consists of three to five dog houses, each opening into a railed and cemented yard surrounded by a low wall with an access gate. The roofs are slated, and each house has a central door with a kennel entrance that can be left open during the day to allow the dogs access to the yard, or closed at night to keep them safe and warm inside. The estate provided an excellent habitat for red grouse, a game bird that thrived in large numbers on the heather-covered hills around Lochnagar. Grouse-shooting, which officially opened on 12th August each year, provided employment for a large workforce, including gamekeepers, beaters, picker-ups and kennelmen, most of whom were employed on a regular basis by the estate. The gamekeeper organised the shoot, the beaters beat the grouse out of the heather towards the guns, and the picker-ups had highly trained gun dogs that retrieved the birds. The gun dogs were usually labradors, but springer spaniels, cocker spaniels, German pointers and vizzlas were also used. The Balmoral estate was bought in 1852 by Prince Albert and Queen Victoria at their own expense as a Highland retreat from the stresses of London life. Prince Albert initiated many improvements, including the building of a new holiday home, Balmoral Castle, in 1853-5. On Queen Victoria's death in 1901, the castle and estate passed to her successors, and Balmoral became a favourite holiday residence for successive members of the royal family. Source: RCAHMS contribution to SCRAN.

Permalink http://canmore.org.uk/collection/769043

File Format (TIF) Tagged Image File Format bitmap