Dalmeny House

In the 13th century, the estate was the property of the Mowbray family, who built Barnbougle Castle. In 1402 Sir John Mowbray of Barnbougle, Laird of Dalmeny, was knighted by Sir Thomas Erskine at the battle of Homildon Hill. The estate was acquired in 1662 by Sir Archibald Primrose, whose son was created Earl of Rosebery in 1703. In 1774 Neil Primrose, 3rd Earl of Rosebery, commissioned Robert Adam to design a new house at Barnbougle, and in 1788 Robert Burn also provided designs. However, the Earl concentrated on the estate, carrying out woodland planting and constructing a walled garden. The son of the 3rd Earl, Archibald Primrose, commissioned further plans in the early 19th century:…

In contrast to the exterior, most of the principal rooms are in the Regency style, with the exception of the hammerbeam roof of the hall. The house contains many paintings and items of furniture from both the Rosebery and Rothschild collections, as a result of the 5th Earl's 1878 marriage to Hannah, daughter and heir of Meyer de Rothschild. Much of the French furniture and porcelain came from the family's English mansion, Mentmore, Buckinghamshire, following the latter's sale in 1977. Dalmeny also holds one of Britain's largest collections of Napoleonic memorabilia.