Bothy, ground floor, room, fireplace, detail

Description Bothy, ground floor, room, fireplace, detail

Date 12/5/1997

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

Catalogue Number D 12183

Category Photographs and Off-line Digital Images

Copies SC 778731

Scope and Content Fireplace in bothy, Game Larder, Mar Lodge, Aberdeenshire This shows the fireplace in the bothy of the timber-clad and timber-lined game larder which was built in 1899 and used to store and butcher deer killed on the estate. An estate worker would have lived in this bothy and would have cooked some of his meals on this fireplace. A pan or a kettle would have been hung from the chain or placed at either side of the fire. The lever with the round handle operated the flue damper, controlling the ventilation for the fire. This building is still used for its original purpose as visitors staying at the lodge have the opportunity to shoot deer. The National Trust for Scotland aim to regenerate the native Caledonian pine forests, and to encourage this, the Trust wants to reduce the number of red deer on the estate from 2,700 to 1,750. Currently 400 stags and 600 hinds are culled every year and five gamekeepers are employed to manage the animals on the estate. William Duff of Dipple who became the 1st Earl of Fife in 1759 built the original Mar Lodge (or Dalmore House) in 1750. The 6th Earl was created the 1st Duke of Fife when he married Princess Louise, who was a daughter of King Edward VII. When Mar Lodge was destroyed by fire in 1895, Alexander Marshall Mackenzie (1848-1933) designed a new lodge and Queen Victoria laid the foundation stone later in the same year. The duke and duchess used the house mainly as a sporting lodge and an autumn home. The building had another serious fire in 1991 but was subsequently restored. The 29,380-hectare estate had several owners from 1959 until 1995 when The National Trust for Scotland bought it, with the help of a £10 million lottery grant. The lodge has been divided into five self-catering holiday apartments which can be rented by the public. Source: RCAHMS contribution to SCRAN.

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