Publication Account
Date 1985
Event ID 1016182
Category Descriptive Accounts
Type Publication Account
Permalink http://canmore.org.uk/event/1016182
'Traquair' means 'the village on the winding stream'. It reflects a settlement of Cumbric or British-speaking people prior to the arrival of the English-speaking Northumbrians. The earliest building known, however, is that referred to in a 1512 charter, "turris et fortalicium de Trakware" -presumably that of James Stewart, 1st of Traquair, who inherited from his father, the 1st Earl ofBuchan, in 1492.
The original tower-house, three storeys high with an attic, occupies the northern end of the present main block. A new wing was added directly to its south wall about the middle of the 16th century, with further southwards extensions and angle turrets later that century when most of the new wing was four storeys high. By the mid 17th century the tower itself had been raised to the same height and an angle turret added to the north-west corner.
It was at this time that there had been a rise in stature of the family. John, Smith of Traquair, actively supported Charles I; he was made 1st Earl of Traquair in 1633 and Lord High Treasurer of Scotland in 1636. To present the house foundations he made the New Water, by re-routing the course of the Tweed. Under his son, another John, the family became Roman Catholic, so that the upper storey of the old tower came to house secret masses and a concealed staircase.
At the very end of the 17th century, plans were drawn up for further extensions by the Edinburgh architect, James Smith, overseer of the Royal Works in Scotland. The formal forecourt was built, along with the two service wings which were remodelled in the late 18th early 19th century. The present north wing includes tables and a working brew house; the chapel dates only from the mid 19th century following the Roman Catholic Emancipation Act of 1829.
Traquair is a complex building. In addition to its structure there are some remarkable and attractive features-the wrought-iron door furniture including the knocker-plate for the main entrance door dated 1795; a 17th century close-garderobe in the Old Chapel; Smith's late 17th century panelling in the High Drawing Room, and parts of a late 16th-early 17th century painted ceiling; a remarkable mid 16th century mural; the early-mid 16th century carved oak Passion and Nativity panels from "Queen Mary's Chapell in Leith" .
Information from 'Exploring Scotland's Heritage: Lothian and Borders', (1985).
