Skip to content
The Great Britain Guide

Historic houses · Central Scotland

Balcarres House

♿ Wheelchair: limited

Balcarres House — country mansion in Colinsburgh, Fife, in Scotland.

Balcarres House, historic houses in Central Scotland

Wikimedia Commons contributors — see linked file page for photographer and licence licence

Plan your visit

Typical visit
1 h–2 h
  • Family-friendly
  • Limited wheelchair access

About

Balcarres House is a historic house in the United Kingdom — typically a country seat, manor, or town house with notable architecture or history. Heritage designation: category A listed building. Wikidata describes it as: "country mansion in Colinsburgh, Fife, in Scotland". Coordinates: 56.2293°, -2.8499°.

Photo gallery

From the Wikipedia article

Balcarres House lies 1 km north of the village of Colinsburgh, in the East Neuk of Fife, in eastern Scotland. It is centred on a mansion built in 1595 by John Lindsay (1552–1598), second son of David, 9th Earl of Crawford. The house became the family seat of the Earl 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. Balcarres House is protected as a category A listed building, and the grounds are included on the Inventory of Gardens and Designed Landscapes in Scotland, the national listing of significant gardens.

Excerpt from Wikipedia under CC BY-SA 4.0. See the source article linked in Sources below.

Background

History

The name Balcarres comes from the Gaelic baile carrach, meaning rough or stony settlement. 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. In 1587, the house was acquired from Sir John Stirling by John Lindsay, Lord Menmuir (1552–1598), second son of the 9th Earl of Crawford. He also acquired other lands in Fife, which were created into a barony in 1592. dying in exile in Breda in 1659, while Balcarres was sequestered by the Parliamentarians. The Crawfords…

Sourced from Wikipedia under CC BY-SA 4.0.

Coordinates
56.2293, -2.8499
District
Fife
Postcode
KY9 1HN
Parliamentary constituency
North East Fife
Established
1595

Sources

Other places nearby

Loading nearby places…

Nearby

More historic houses in this region

Frequently asked questions

Where is Balcarres House?
Balcarres House is in central Scotland, United Kingdom (postcode KY9 1HN).
When was Balcarres House built?
Built or established in 1595.
Who owns Balcarres House?
Balcarres House is owned by Anthony, Earl of Crawford and Balcarres.
Is Balcarres House a listed building?
Balcarres House is officially recognised as category A listed building listed.
How do I get to Balcarres House?
Drivers can navigate to postcode KY9 1HN. It sits within the North East Fife parliamentary constituency.