Accessing Scotland's Past Project
Event ID 561151
Category Descriptive Accounts
Type Accessing Scotland's Past Project
Permalink http://canmore.org.uk/event/561151
The lands of Mellerstain were granted by King Charles I to an Edinburgh burgess, George Baillie of Jerviswood, in 1642. It was his grandson, also named George Baillie, who commissioned the architect William Adam to design and build the existing house. Work began in 1725, but by the time George Baillie died in 1738, only the two wings had been completed. The central portion of the house remained unbuilt.
The estate passed to George Baillie's grandson, George Hamilton, second son of the Earl of Haddington, who changed his name to Baillie when he inherited Mellerstain. He commissioned William Adam's famous son, Robert, to complete the building of Mellerstain, which he did between 1770 and 1778.
Surviving drawings suggest that Robert Adam intended to modify the wings designed by his father, but this work was never carried out. The exterior was slightly altered at a later date, when the main entrance was rebuilt in the style of the William Adam wings.
The interior boasts some of Robert Adam's finest work. The library is particularly outstanding, and the plaster ceiling in this room is one of his masterpieces. The interior also includes marble busts by Roubiliac, one of which represents Lady Grisel Baillie.
Text prepared by RCAHMS as part of the Accessing Scotland's Past project
