St. Boswells, near Galashiels
Scottish Borders
Scotland
Historic County: Berwickshire, RoxburghshireCirca Date: 1703 w/18th & 19th century alterations
Status: Partially Extant
19th and 20th century additions demolished 1953-55
House Open to Public: Grounds Only
Country House: Yes
The house from a circa 1909 postcard
Earlier Houses: There was an earlier house, Old Mertoun House, dated 1677, on the site of the current house.
House & Family History: In the early 19th century the writer Sir Walter Scott, a relation of the Scotts of Mertoun, was a regular visitor; he composed "The Eve of St. John" at Mertoun House. The Hepburne-Scott family sold Mertoun in 1912 to John Egerton, Viscount Brackley, later 4th Earl of Ellesmere. Between 1953 and 1955 the 19th and 20th century additions to the house were demolished, leaving Mertoun with its original 18th century footprint.
Garden & Outbuildings: In 1984 the 7th Duke (then Francis Egerton) established the Mertoun Gardens Trust as a charitable organization to run the 26-acre garden and open it to the public.
Architect: William Burn
Date: 1843-44Architect: Ian Gordon Lindsay
Date: 1953-55Vitruvius Scoticus: Pl. 142
Country Life: Jun 2 & 9, 1966.
Title: Biographical Dictionary of British Architects, 1600-1840, A - SOFTBACK
Author: Colvin, Howard
Year Published: 1995
Reference: pgs. 176, 189
Publisher: New Haven: Yale University Press
ISBN: 0300072074
Book Type: Softback
Title: Debrett's Peerage and Baronetage, 1990
Author: Kidd, Charles; Williamson, David (Editors)
Year Published: 1990
Reference: pg. P 1179
Publisher: London: Debrett's Peerage Limited (New York: St. Martin's Press, Inc.)
ISBN: 0312046405
Book Type: Hardback
Title: England's Lost Houses From the Archives of Country Life
Author: Worsley, Giles
Year Published: 2002
Reference: pg. 12
Publisher: London: Aurum Press
ISBN: 1854108204
Book Type: Hardback
House Listed: Category A
Park Listed: Listed as a Garden & Designed Landscape
Current Seat / Home of: Francis Ronald Egerton, 7th Duke of Sutherland; Egerton family here since 1912.
Past Seat / Home of: SEATED AT EARLIER HOUSE: Halliburton family, 17th century. Sir William Scott of Harden, late 17th century. SEATED AT CURRENT HOUSE: Sir William Scott, early 18th century; Henry Hepburne-Scott, 7th Lord Polwarth, 19th century. John Egerton, Viscount Brackley, later 4th Earl of Ellesmere, early 20th century.
Current Ownership Type: Individual / Family Trust
Primary Current Ownership Use: Private Home
House Open to Public: Grounds Only
Phone: 01835-823-236
Website: https://www.mertoungardens.co.uk/
Historic Houses Member: Yes