Melville House

Mellville House was built in 1697 by the architect James Smith (c. 1645–1731) for George Melville, 1st Earl of Melville (1636–1707). The remains of the 14th-century Monimail Palace which the Melvilles had bought in 1592 were incorporated into the grounds as a folly. The estate once bordered the nearby royal estate of Falkland Palace which had been a popular retreat with all the Stuart monarchs who used the vast surrounding forests for hawking and hunting deer. Wild boar, was also imported from France and hunted in the area. Melville however was to be accused of being involved in the Rye House Plot — a Whig conspiracy to assassinate King Charles II and his brother the Duke of York (the…