THE

MINTO HOUSE

DEBACLE

Late in August, Minto House, Roxburghshire,

was spot-listed category A; within a week two-

thirds of it was demolished. In this article

Dennis Rodwell outlines the background and

reflects upon the unprecedented events which

surrounded the conservation scandal of 1992.

If you wanted to make fools of successive

Secretaries of State (in this case, for

Scotland), to drive a coach and four through

the legislation to protect our listed heritage,

and to destroy one of the nation’s great

houses, how would you go about it?

This is a cautionary tale; hopefully the

effects of its telling will go some way to

avoid its repetition. Much of what follows is

presented here in abbreviated form and

without any, or only understated, comment.

If certain aspects strain readers’ credulity

then, yes, you will have understood

correctly.

POTTED HISTORY

This reads like an inventory of Scottish

architectural history: 16th century tower

encased by William Adam house (1738-43),

enveloped by Archibald Elliott (1809-14),

altered by ‘William Playfair (1837), enlarged

with a service wing by Robert Lorimer, who

also laid out the stonework terraces to the

formal garden (1894-1906). All set in very

private and idyllic parkiand.

The V-shaped plan of the house is (was!)

highly distinctive, the elevations

disappointingly bland, but the sequence of

internal spaces through the point of the V

quite stunning. The history has never been

properly researched; the house has long

been underrated.

The house has been owned, almost

continuously over several centuries, by the

Elliott family: the first Earl of Minto was

Governor-General (1806-13) and the fourth

was Viceroy (1905-10) of India; the present

and sixth Earl has been Convenor

(Chairman) of Borders Regional Council

(which is both the planning and building

control authority) since 1990.

DIARY OF EVENTS

Post Second World War: Following

requisitioning, the house was leased in 1952

to Craigmount Girl’s School. In 1962, the

lease (at £250 a year) became a purchase (at

£20,000). The school closed in 1966:

liquidation.

14 April 1972: The present Earl, then

Viscount Melgund, outbid (E15,000) a

restoring purchaser (L13,000) under the

Scottish blind auction system.

22 June 1972: Lord Melgund applied for

listed building consent to demolish (Minto

House was listed category B).

July 1972: Resigned representations from

the Scottish Civic Trust and the Scottish

Georgian Society, followed by determined

ones from the outbid restorer. He was Mr

Robin Jell, who had successfully pioneered

country house restorations in Scotland

(Seminal work: 15th century and later

Saltoun Hall, East Lothian, converted to

separate houses 1970-72). His schemes were

always undertaken without any grant aid.

Late July to September 1972: The amenity

bodies reversed their acquiescence, and an

increasingly forceful correspondence

developed concerning Mr Jell’s reiterated

offer to buy. He upped his bid twice,

effectively out-matching what Lord

Melgund had paid.

11 September 1972: Six-page letter of

personal pleadings from Lord Melgund to

the Roxburgh County Planning Officer. Mr

Jell’s advice to me, September 1992: “It is

clear that he bought the house back fully

determined to demolish it”.

24 October 1972: Listed building consent to

demolish granted. The County Clerk’s

covering letter stated: “the County Council

came to their decision in the light of the

information put before them by the County

Planning Officer and by Viscount Melgund

as to the impracticality of restoring the

property. I would stress that they would of

course give favourable consent to a

restoration scheme if this were to be

possible”. The application was not called in

The coffer domed stairhall circa 1950. Copyright The

Royal Commission on the Ancient & Historic

Monuments of Scotland.

CONTEXT 36

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