| Balcarres House | |
|---|---|
 West façade of Balcarres House | |
| Coordinates | 56°13′45″N2°51′00″W / 56.2292°N 2.8499°W /56.2292; -2.8499 |
| Built | 1595 |
| Built for | John Lindsay of Balcarres |
| Architect | William Burn,David Bryce (19th century additions) |
| Owner | Anthony, Earl of Crawford and Balcarres |
Listed Building – Category A | |
| Designated | 1 February 1972 |
| Reference no. | LB8625 |
| Official name | Balcarres |
| Designated | 31 March 2005 |
| Reference no. | GDL00036 |
  Location in Fife | |
Balcarres House lies 1km north of the village ofColinsburgh, in theEast Neuk of Fife, in eastern Scotland. It is centred on a mansion built in 1595 byJohn Lindsay (1552–1598), second son ofDavid, 9th Earl of Crawford. The house became the family seat of theEarl of Crawford. The present house is the result of substantial extensions in the early nineteenth century, using part of a fortune made in India, but preserves much of the original mansion.[1]
Balcarres House is protected as a category Alisted building,[2] and the grounds are included on theInventory of Gardens and Designed Landscapes in Scotland, the national listing of significant gardens.[3]
The house is in southeastFife, south of the A915, betweenLargoward andColinsburgh about 3 miles (4.8 km) from the coast. The nearest town isSt Andrews, to the east.
It commands a view southwards to theFirth of Forth and beyond toLothian on the opposite shore of the estuary. On a clear day, the skyline ofEdinburgh may be seen, 20 miles (32 km) away.[4]
The name Balcarres comes from theGaelicbaile carrach, meaning rough or stony settlement.[5]
The house was founded in 1511 by Sir John Stirling of Keir, having acquired the lands from the Scottish Crown upon strict condition of building certain structures and cultivating the land. The L-plan house which he constructed still survives in the centre of the much-extended house.[6]
In 1587, the house was acquired from Sir John Stirling byJohn Lindsay, Lord Menmuir (1552–1598), second son of the 9thEarl of Crawford. He also acquired other lands in Fife, which were created into abarony in 1592.[3] He built the original mansion in 1595, three years before his death.[1] This original building was plain in design.[4] It comprised aZ-plantower house, which itself incorporated an earlier turret.[2] This earlier tower had been built by Sir John Stirling ofKeir around 1511.[3]
In 1633, KingCharles I bestowed the title of "Lord Lindsay of Balcarres" onDavid Lindsay, second son of John Lindsay. David built a small Gothic chapel, and was buried there when he died in 1641. The chapel still stands near the road, but has lost its roof.[1] David's sonAlexander was createdEarl of Balcarres in 1651. He and his wife,Anna supported the Royalists through theCivil War,[7] dying in exile inBreda in 1659, while Balcarres was sequestered by the Parliamentarians. The Crawfords continued to back the Stuarts, and in 1689Colin, 3rd Earl of Balcarres, was imprisoned and later exiled as a supporter of the deposedJames VII. He was permitted to return to Scotland in 1700, but took part in the failedJacobite Rising of 1715, and was subsequently placed under house-arrest at Balcarres. He later founded the estate village ofColinsburgh to the south of the house, before his death in 1722.[3]
In 1789, the sixth EarlAlexander, sold Balcarres to his brother, Robert Lindsay, who had acquired a fortune in India. Robert's son Colonel James Lindsay inherited the house in 1836. He commissioned a substantial extension to Balcarres from the architectWilliam Burn, preserving most of the old house within it.[2] His son,Sir Coutts Lindsay, built another extension to the north east, and the terraced gardens, to designs byDavid Bryce in the 1860s.[2][8] In April 1886 Sir Coutts sold the estate to his nephew,James Ludovic Lindsay, the ninth Earl of Balcarres and twenty-sixth Earl of Crawford. It remains in the Earl's family.
To the east of the house there is a crag on which stands afolly.John Blackadder preached at aconventicle on this crag during the 17th-centurypersecution of the Covenanters.[1] The folly was built around 1820, and comprises a Gothic tower surrounded by mock ruins.[9]
The 17th-century chapel is protected as ascheduled monument.[10] The 17th-century sundial, brought here from Leuchars Castle is also listed at category A.[11] A late 17th or early 18th centurydower house also stands in the grounds.[2]
The estate is represented by East Neuk Estates, a joint venture of six local landed families who continue to live on and run their estates, some of which date back to the Medieval era and are still largely agricultural. The other estates areBalcaskie (Anstruther family), Elie House (Nairn baronets), Gilston Estate (Baxter family), Kilconquhar Estate (Lindesay-Bethune family) andStrathtyrum (Cheape family).
