General view, renaissance front in ruinous condition

Description General view, renaissance front in ruinous condition

Date 1889

Collection Papers of Erskine Beveridge, antiquarian, Dunfermline, Fife, Scotland

Catalogue Number SC 739304

Category On-line Digital Images

Copy of F 1903

Scope and Content Craighall Castle, Fife (now demolished) Craighall Castle, an early 17th-century mansion to the south-east of Ceres, was built for Sir Thomas Hope, and altered and enlarged in 1697-9 to designs by Sir William Bruce. By the 19th century it had become ruinous, with only the south front remaining, and was finally demolished in 1955. The house was photographed c.1889 by the Scottish photographer, Erskine Beveridge. The surviving south wall stands like a Classical stage in a rural setting. The recessed central section forms a two-tiered, three-arched loggia on a channelled ashlar lower storey, and is surmounted by a segmental pediment bearing a cartouche. The rubble-built projections on either side were originally topped by a balustrade, little of which remains. The east wing (right) has corbelled-out turrets in the south angles. Sir William Bruce (1630-1710) was an architect and diplomat who became Surveyor to the King's works in Scotland (1671-8). He introduced the Classical tradition to Scotland as a complete design philosophy, and among his major works are Kinross House (1686), Holyroodhouse (1671-9) and Hopetoun House (1699-1703). Source: RCAHMS contribution to SCRAN.

Permalink http://canmore.org.uk/collection/739304

File Format (TIF) Tagged Image File Format bitmap