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THE HOUSE
Visit Abbotsford, where Scott became the biggest-selling author of his day and the fashion for Scots Baronial architecture began.
The rooms visitors can discover at Abbotsford were left just as Scott kept them after his death and are packed full of the fascinating items he collected. Amongst them is one of the best examples in the world of an 19th Century writer’s personal library. Listen to our free audio guide as you walk through the rooms to experience all the historic house has to offer.
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Sir Walter Scott's home
Abbotsford is the extraordinary home of Sir Walter Scott, the 19th century’s best selling author, and the man who put Scotland on the world map. Creator of the genre of historical fiction with novels such as Rob Roy, Ivanhoe and Waverley, and poems including The Lady of the Lake. Celebrated still in opera, theatre and by Edinburgh’s ‘gothic rocket’ the Scott Monument and at Waverley Station.
He was the ‘Great Scott’ who, more than anyone, changed how the world saw Scotland and Scotland saw itself – he even rediscovered his country’s Crown Jewels, popularised the wearing of tartan, and encouraged Scots to embrace whisky as the national drink.
Scott’s Abbotsford remains one of the most famous homes in the world. In Scott’s own words it was his “conundrum castle”, a place where fact and fiction collide, inspiring him as he became the biggest-selling author of his day. Its towers and gables began the craze for Scots Baronial architecture, emulated at Balmoral and across the nation.
As a great friend to artists, playwrights, statesmen and royals, Scott hosted many famous guests at Abbotsford. Yet the stones speak of both triumph and disaster; as debt struck and bankruptcy loomed, discover how Sir Walter Scott battled to save his beloved home.
Sitting on the banks of the River Tweed only an hour from Edinburgh by train or car, Abbotsford is at the heart of a landscape of folklore and legend. Immerse yourself in Scott’s home through our popular audio tours and explore his beautiful gardens. Children will love discovering Abbotsford with the help of Scott’s cat and dog.
House History
As Sheriff-Depute of Selkirkshire, Scott needed to spend part of the year in easy reach of the courtroom in Selkirk, so he spent legal terms in Edinburgh and legal vacations in the country. For a few years he rented a house at Ashestiel, but in 1811 he bought his own 'mountain farm' as he described it, 'on a bare haugh and bleak bank by the side of the Tweed'.
It was called Newarthaugh on the deeds, but was Cartleyhole (and sometimes 'Clartyhole' on acount of the mud) to local people. He immediately renamed it Abbotsford, after the ford across the Tweed below the house used in former times by the monks of Melrose Abbey.
Scott was in such a hurry to turn his bare bank into a paradise that he was already planting trees before taking full possession in May 1811. The existing farmhouse was small for a man with four children. Nevertheless, Scott’s first priority was not to enlarge the house but to acquire more land from his neighbours. With money flowing in from his poetry and early novels, he was able to expand the estate from 110 acres to 1400 within a few years. At the same time, he made small improvements to the house, with no plan for the creation of what can be seen today. The initial intention was to keep the Cartleyhole farmhouse and add a few rooms to give his family more space.
Rambling, whimsical and picturesque were expressions he used at different times to describe the building and they very much fit the process, too. He filled in the courtyard to the west of the farmhouse with a Study, a Dining Room, an Armoury (which he referred to as his ‘Boudoir’) and a conservatory, yet many changes were swept away by later stages of building. The stables which he built still survive, but not the conservatory, kitchen, laundry or spare rooms housed in a building across the courtyard.
As money continued to pour in from his writing, Scott began planning the addition of the library, a development that would lead to the house that can be seen today. The old farmhouse was demolished to make room for a large rectangular building housing an Entrance Hall, a new Study, a Library and a Drawing Room. John Smith of Darnick, a local stonemason, was eventually hired as the principal builder and Scott again acted as his own clerk of works as the cottage was pulled down.
Several professional architects, craftsmen, dilettante designers and friends contributed ideas and sketches. These included the architect Edward Blore, the cabinet-maker George Bullock and Scott’s friends, the artist James Skene and the actor Daniel Terry. But the principal architect was William Atkinson, who was later responsible for the remodelling of Chequers in Buckinghamshire. The interiors were decorated by David Ramsay Hay of Edinburgh, who went on to redecorate the Palace of Holyroodhouse for Queen Victoria.
After Scott's death, his descendants continued living in and making changes to parts of the house, most notably Charlotte and James Hope Scott adding the chapel and the wing of the house now known as the Hope Scott Wing. The family continued to live in the wing until 2004, having kept the historic rooms of the house open to the public since early 1833 - five months after Scott's death.
