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A brief history of Dalkeith Country Park
Dalkeith Country Park has been in the Buccleuch family for over 300 years and the site itself can be traced back to Roman times. The ancient woodlands are now a Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI) with some trees over 900 years of age. The architecture and designed landscape you see today have been created through the generations by the Buccleuch family.
Historic Architecture
Dalkeith Palace was completed in 1711 for Anna, 1st Duchess of Buccleuch, who appointed leading architect at the time, James Smith, to design the new palace allegedly based on Het Loo in the Netherlands. It is built on the same site as the fortified medieval castle and palace of the Earls of Morton, acquired by Francis, 2nd Earl of Buccleuch in 1642. It is regarded as one of the grandest early classical houses in Scotland.
Successive generations of the Buccleuch family have contributed architecturally to the Dalkeith estate’s landscape. The 1740’s stable block by William Adam, now home to Restoration Yard, was developed by Francis, 2nd Duke of Buccleuch; the remarkable Montagu Bridge by Robert Adam, was commissioned by Henry, 3rd Duke of Buccleuch in 1792. Walter Francis, 5th Duke of Buccleuch instructed William Burn on a number of projects including the remarkable 12-sided Orangerie with doric columns and central chimney, which remains adjacent to the stables. Fortunately however, Burn’s dramatic neo-Jacobean makeover for the Palace itself never progressed beyond an elaborate hand carved model.
Dalkeith Palace History
Many eminent guests have been entertained at Dalkeith over the years. Bonnie Prince Charlie stayed here during the Jacobite Rebellion year of 1745. King George IV slept here during his visit to Edinburgh in 1822, in preference to Holyroodhouse Palace, which was then in poor repair. Queen Victoria also visited in 1842.
The Palace was last used as the Buccleuch family residence in the years before World War I. During World War II, Polish troops of the 3rd Flanders Rifle Brigade, part of the 1st Polish Armoured Division, were quartered on the third floor of Dalkeith Palace.
Today, Dalkeith Palace is owned by the Buccleuch Living Heritage Trust (registered charity number SC014915). In 2021 the inaugural art exhibition, Inception, was held at Dalkeith Palace.
Dalkeith Country Park Redevelopment: The Park reopened in 2016
The vision of Buccleuch was to restore The Park, its stableyard and courtyard to create a world-class visitor destination. A partnership was created with Amanda Pratt, designer and previous co-owner of Avoca, to bring her concept to Scotland. After many years of planning, construction work began in 2015 and a £8.9million investment was made. Fort Douglas and Restoration Yard were lovingly created and the wider park was developed to include new paths and waymarked trails. The development generated over 50 new jobs and opened on 25th July 2016.
Restoration Yard is now a thriving Store, Restaurant and Wellbeing space. The project has not only restored the stableyard at The Park, but enables visitors to help restore themselves, whether that’s through a walk, yoga class, retail therapy or simply great food. The historical features of the stableyard have been beautifully restored, so today you can still find the horse stalls and their feeding racks while you shop.
So there’s our story, not quite in a nutshell (not easy when you have a few hundred years of history to cover!). We hope you love it when you visit – we can’t wait to welcome you.
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