Balbirnie

The following is from the Historic Environment Scotland Gardens and Designed Landscapes Inventory. For the most up-to-date Inventory entry, please visit the Historic Environment Scotland website:

Type of Site

A picturesque designed landscape begun c.1779 to a design by Robert Robinson incorporating parks, shelterbelts, clumps and specimen trees, extended by Thomas White Jnr c.1815, with the addition of a woodland garden developed in the latter half of the 19th century hosting specimens collected by Hooker, the acclaimed plant hunter and, in the 20th century, the creation of an 18-hole golf course.

Location and Setting

Balbirnie is situated near the village of Markinch some 1.5 miles (2km) east of Glenrothes. The site is surrounded by major transport routes which cross this relatively low-lying area; the A92(T) forms the western boundary of the site. The railway line to Perth lies to the east and the A911 follows the valley of the River Leven to the south. The Balbirnie Burn flows through the policies to the north of the house. The site is underlain by coal measures and three workable coal seams were mined at Balbirnie up until the 1930s. The landform is undulating, rising to 350' (106m), and the climate is relatively mild with a low average annual rainfall. The policy woodlands and the nature of the landform tend to confine the views mainly within the policies and screen the designed landscape from view from the surrounding area.

Balbirnie House is set to the north-west of Fir Hill and faces south-west across the park. The designed landscape is bounded by the main A92 to the west, and by minor roads on the other sides. The village of Markinch has expanded into the south-east corner of the site. Documentary evidence of the extent of the designed landscape is provided by a plan by Robert Robinson in 1779, a plan by Thomas White Jnr in 1815, a survey plan of the estate in 1815 and by the 1st & 2nd edition OS maps of c.1860 and 1900. Comparison of these plans and maps shows a gentle evolution from Robinson's original layout in 1779. The road which ran through the estate in 1815 was moved to the west boundary by White, and the designed landscape at that time extended beyond the minor road to the east of the house and is shown extending beyond the railway line on the 1st edition map. In recent years, some changes have been made to the design, particularly by the laying out of an 18-hole golf course in the parks; however, the basic structure planting remains and the designed landscape today extends over 416 acres (168.5ha).

Landscape Components

Architectural Features

Balbirnie House was designed in its present form by Richard Crichton in 1815 and is listed A. It is a large classical mansion of two storeys and a basement. It incorporates the earlier house designed in c.1780 and has mid- 19th century 'railway architecture' additions in the rear courtyard. The Stables were built in c.1780, are two-storey and are listed B; they have been converted for workshop accommodation for the Craft Centre. The South Lodge, listed B, is a one-storey building designed by David Bryce. The West Lodge is listed B and was designed in 1823 by R.& R. Dickson who also completed the work on the mansion house after Crichton's death. There is a large walled garden to the south of the house. The golf clubhouse was built to the north of the mansion in 1980. A stone circle has been moved further into the park from its original site near the A92. Rose Cottage has been converted for use as a Craft Centre and Balbirnie Mains now houses the Community Farm Project. An early Stob Sanctuary Cross is sited near the East Lodge.

Parkland

The parkland at Balbirnie was laid out attractively and both clumps and individual trees were planted, mainly with beech, sycamore, oak, elm and Scots pine. Some of the trees date from 1780 plantings but most of the clumps were put in from 1815. The shelterbelts were extended in the early 19th century. Contemporary accounts refer to the picturesque views afforded from the woodland walks, some of which have become obscured by more recent planting. In 1980 an 18-hole, 6,444 yards, par 71 golf course was laid out in two 9-hole loops, one in the south park and one to the north of the mansion. The golf clubhouse was set in the north park. Care was taken over the design of the golf course to respect the topography and the existing designed landscape. A caravan park has been sited to the south-east of the policies, by Markinch. Minerals have been extracted from an area in the West Park where it is proposed to develop private housing. There is a large car park set in the woodland to the rear of the mansion house.

Woodland

The policy woodlands were planted in the late 18th/early 19th century in the form of curving shelterbelts and clumps, as part of the picturesque designed landscape. They are planted on the higher ground covering the ridges and hillocks and there are no extensive timber plantations within the policies. The largest area of woodland is at Fir Hill, through which the woodland garden has been laid out. The older trees are mainly hardwoods, oak, sycamore, and beech, with areas of Scots pine, for example on Fir Hill, with some later plantings of conifers. There is a conservation policy for the mature hardwoods, however some housing development is proposed in the Mount Frost woodland area.

Woodland Garden

There is a large woodland garden extending to the east of the mansion house from the walled garden area over Fir Hill to the Balbirnie Burn. A great variety of flowering shrubs and ornamental trees has been planted here, including a notable rhododendron collection. The rhododendrons have all been identified and recorded and their layout is mapped in the Balbirnie Park Guide booklet. The collection is of interest as one of the few of its kind on the east coast of Scotland, and contains amongst the remaining interesting specimens 'one of the finest R. thomsonii in general cultivation'. Many were grown from seed collected by Hooker and from the Forrest and Kingdon Ward expeditions. There are several interesting specimen trees, including a fine Eucryphia x nymanensis near the walled garden, several monkey puzzles and, amongst many others, Acer hersii, Pinus nigra, Cercididiphyllum japonicum and Cedrus atlantica. Walks lead up from the house and the walled garden under the cover of the trees and alongside the Balbirnie Burn.

The Gardens

The formal garden lies along the south-west front of the house. The 1st edition OS map of c.1860 shows a more extensive formal garden extending round to the north side of the house and divided off from the surrounding parkland by a low wall. At that time it was planted up in several compartments but photographs taken in the latter part of the 19th century show the terraces laid to grass with steps descending from the house. In the early 20th century, when two generations of Balfours shared the house, the garden was divided into two by yew hedges and a long central herbaceous border was planted up. The garden is now mainly well trimmed lawns with surrounding shrub beds and there are proposals to redesign this area.

Walled Garden

The large walled garden was constructed at the end of the 18th century to the south of the stables and is still in use today, as a nursery for Kirkcaldy District Council. There is an extensive range of glasshouses along the southwest-facing wall, and there are several choice shrubs planted in the areas to the west and north of the garden.