Description

1667-70 with later additions and alterations by James Smith; extensively rennovated and partly incorporated into the Scottish Parliament complex, 1999-2004 (see Notes). Substantial, 3-storey and attic, F-plan mansionhouse. Lime-harled rubble with ashlar dressings. Regular fenestration with raised margins.

PRINCIPAL (N) ELEVATION: Rusticated single-storey entrance hall with blind attic flanked by full-height advanced 2-bay gabled wings with wall-head stacks; in-and-out quoins; round-arched rusticated door surrounds to inner faces.

S ELEVATION: 4-storey, 10-bay with pair of curvilinear wallhead gables and flanked by 3-storey ogee-roofed pavilion towers abutting angles to E and W.

Entire length of ground floor to rear (S) elevation adjoins single-storey Parliament Garden Lobby roof (see Notes).

Pantiled with grey slate to ogee-roofed pavilions. Tall end and ridge stacks. Coped ashlar skews and skewputs. Clay cans. Cast-iron rainwater goods.

INTERIOR: Extensively refurbished with ground floor integrated into Scottish Parliament complex (1999-2004). Timber flooring replaced with steel beams and concrete. Some stonework left exposed including bolection-moulded fireplace surrounds to ground floor. Vaulted arches at ground floor (former kitchen).

Statement of Interest

Queensberry House is a significant early grand mansionhouse situated in a key prominent site at the foot of the Royal Mile close to Holyrood Palace. Built in 1667-70 by Margaret Douglas of Balmakelly as a 'Grand Lodging' and modified in 1681 by Charles Maitland of Hatton, this formidable mansionhouse was bought by the 1st Duke of Queensberry in 1686 to provide him with an Edinburgh residence. James Douglas, Earl of Drumlanrig (1697 - 1715) and eldest son of the Duke, roasted and ate a kitchenboy in 1707 on the same night his father signed the Act of Union between England and Scotland. The remains of the bolection-moulded kitchen fireplace where this notorious event took place (now the Parliament's Allowances Office) is perhaps the most notable earlier fabric to remain in situ.

The house was remodelled by renowned architect, James Smith circa 1700 around which time the 2nd Duke of Queensberry added pavilions at each end of the garden front and the rusticated single-storey entrance porch between the wings at the Canongate elevation. The Queensberry family sold the house to the Board of Ordnance in 1801. In 1808 it was remodelled as an army barracks, with the addition of an extra storey, and the gardens replaced with a parade ground. Queensberry House later operated as a House of Refuge and subsequently as a geriatric hospital until 1995. It was returned to its former 3-storey height in 1999-2004 and incorporated into Enrico Miralles' Scottish Parliament complex. The flanking pavilions had their ogee-roofs re-instated and the walls lime-harled. Evidence of a belvedere tower dating from 1679-81 was revealed in the roof structure during analysis. The grey slate was replaced with red-pantiles and shaped gables were added to the S elevation. The structure was strengthened for security reasons using concrete and steel and bomb-proof glazing.

Change of category from B to A in 1998. List description updated at resurvey 2008.

External Links

• Historic Environment Scotland Listing
• Queensberry House at Wikipedia
• Wikidata Q7270841

External links are from the relevant listing authority and, where applicable, Wikidata. Wikidata IDs may be related buildings as well as this specific building. If you want to add or update a link, you will need to do so by editing the Wikidata entry.

Recommended Books

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