Balmoral Castle View from East.

Description Balmoral Castle View from East.

Date 1860

Catalogue Number AB 6106 P

Category Photographs and Off-line Digital Images

Copies SC 775929

Scope and Content Balmoral Castle, Aberdeenshire, from the north This rather quaint, rambling house, built from near-white granite from the local Glen Gelder quarries, is modest by royal standards. Its most impressive visible feature is a five-storeyed, square tower which rises to a height of 30m at the east end of the south front. Pepperpot turrets adorn three corners while the fourth carries a round tower which gives access to the flat crenellated roof. Turrets rise in profusion from other parts of the castle including a domed turret (centre) above an octagonal base. The crowstepped main block (right) contained the principal rooms - dining room, drawing room, library, billiard room and visitors' rooms grouped around a small courtyard, and was connected to the tower by a low service range (centre). It is interesting to note that the ballroom, the largest room in the castle, which was built northwards from the service block, had not yet been constructed when this photograph was taken. The original Balmoral Castle was a small Deeside castle belonging to Sir Robert Gordon, brother of Lord Aberdeen. In 1848 Sir Robert died, and Queen Victoria and Prince Albert took over the lease of the house as a holiday home. The Queen was delighted by it, describing it as 'a pretty little castle in the old Scottish style', and the wooded hills that surrounded it reminded the prince of his homeland, Thuringia, now part of East Germany. In 1852 the royal couple purchased the land on which Balmoral stood, as well as the neighbouring estates of Abergeldie and Birkhall. They spent six weeks at Balmoral each autumn, walking, shooting, driving and deer-stalking. They also embarked on 'great expeditions' on escorted pony treks to the Cairngorm summits as well as the less adventurous pursuits of boating and fishing on Loch Muick. However, this 'pretty little castle' soon proved too small for the needs of the royal family, and they decided to rebuild, choosing a site 100m to the north-west for the new castle. The architect chosen, William Smith, was the son of the architect, John Smith, who had reconstructed the existing building for Sir Robert Gordon. The new Balmoral Castle, which was to become Queen Victoria's 'dear place', was eventually completed in 1859, and the old house demolished. Balmoral Castle, set in gently wooded countryside close to the River Dee, was built in 1853-5 for Prince Albert and Queen Victoria at their own expense as a Highland retreat from the stresses of London life. The house was designed in a Scots Baronial style by the City of Aberdeen architect, William Smith, and incorporated ideas suggested by the prince who exercised considerable influence on the form which the building finally took. On Queen Victoria's death in 1901, ownership of the house passed to her successors, and is today a favourite residence of the present royal family during the summer holiday period. Source: RCAHMS contribution to SCRAN.

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