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Easter Pencaitland, Pencaitland House
Country House (17th Century), Pavilion (17th Century)
Site Name Easter Pencaitland, Pencaitland House
Classification Country House (17th Century), Pavilion (17th Century)
Alternative Name(s) Old Penkaet House; Penkaet House
Canmore ID 54711
Site Number NT46NW 20
NGR NT 44257 69070
NGR Description and NT 44225 69103
Datum OSGB36 - NGR
Permalink http://canmore.org.uk/site/54711
- Council East Lothian
- Parish Pencaitland
- Former Region Lothian
- Former District East Lothian
- Former County East Lothian
NT46NW 20.00 44257 69070 and 44225 69103
NT46NW 20.01 4434 6904 Gateway
(NT 4423 6908) All that remains of 17th c Pencaitland House are two symmetrical structures, which formed its wings. They were attached to the main portion by a wall which in part remains.
RCAHMS 1924
The two wings of Pencaitland House survive as modernised dwelling houses and exhibit no architectural merit.
Visited by OS (BS) 21 October 1975
NT 442 690 A standing building appraisal was carried out by CFA Archaeology Ltd in May 2006 at Old Pencaitland House. The building appraisal has confirmed that the buildings examined are of locat architectural interest owing to the relationship between the Old Brew House, Ice House and Old Pencaitland House.
Michael Cressey, 2006.
NMRS REFERENCE
Central portion destroyed by fire in 19th Century.
OWNERS: Mrs Gilbert Ogilvy of Winton. Left hand lodge
C.B. Clarkson. Right hand lodge
Field Visit (22 May 1920)
Within the policies of Winton Castle, a hundred yards north-north-east of Pencaitland Bridge, are two symmetrical structures now inhabited by employees on the Winton estate. These are the wings of Pencaitland House, which was a 17th century structure, destroyed by fire in the 19th century. The wings were attached to the main portion by a circled sweep of walling, which in part remains. The contemporary gateway opening on the high road opposite the church contains a wrought iron gate removed from Bloxholm Castle, England. On the circled walling mentioned above is a small lead casting representing a peacock in pride above a cap of maintenance, the crest of the Manners family.
HISTORICAL NOTE. James Hamilton first of Pencaitland had a charter of the lands on July 3, 1696 (cf. Introd. p. xxiii). In 1712 he became a judge with the title of Lord Pencaitland. His great-grandson William Hamilton Nisbet of Belhaven and Dirleton married Mary daughter of Lord Robert Manners, brother of the then Duke of Rutland (Anderson's Memoirs of the House of Hamilton, pp. 336-7).
RCAHMS 1924, visited 22 May 1920.
Standing Building Recording (May 2006 - November 2007)
NT 4423 6908 A series of site investigations was carried out between May 2006 and November 2007 prior to the
construction of a private dwelling at the former Pencaitland House. The main part of the house was destroyed by fire in 1876. It was originally flanked by two pavilion buildings, one of which is occupied (Pencaitland House). The other is currently being renovated (Old Pencaitland House). A ground-penetrating radar survey had previously been carried out to identify the subterranean remains.
A standing building survey of Old Pencaitland House, an adjacent structure called the 'ice house' and a large rectangular building known as the Brew House was carried out in 2006. The results of the appraisal suggest that the Brew House was a mid 18th-century building which may later have been used as a forge.
Two test pits dug in the interior in 2007 confirmed that it is of single phase construction resting on a platform of made ground. A single fragment of medieval white gritty ware suggested that the material used to construct the building platform had been brought in from elsewhere. The 'ice house' is a much modified barrel-shaped dovecote which has been reduced in height by the addition of a flat concrete roof. A more recent window has also been inserted. Old Pencaitland House contains several features dating to the late 17th century, notably a turnpike turreted staircase and possibly an original roof, which was recorded in 2007.
Archive to be deposited with RCAHMS; reports deposited with SMR and RCAHMS.
Funder: Mrs Lynne Hare.
