 Floors Castle
In its enviable setting beside the River Tweed stands the magnificent
and romantic creation of William Playfair - a vast fairytale castle
adorned with turrets, domes and spires. When the first Duke of Roxburghe
came to Floors at the turn of the 17th century he inherited a much more
modest property on the Huge Ker estate.
In 1721 William Adam was commissioned to extend the existing tower house
to provide an elegant Georgian country house for the first Duke. A relatively
plain, symmetrical block served the Dukes for the next 100 years until
James Innes Ker decided to upgrade the rather dour building. He was only
seven years old when he became the 6th Duke of Roxburghe but 20 years
later he was created Earl Innes, and had begun the magical transformation
of Floors Castle. William Playfair, a leading Edinburgh architect, was
responsible for the inspired design and it took him some 10 years to complete
the project. Not only did he embellish the central core of the old house,
but he extended it even further until the dimensions and grandeur of this
stately home were unsurpassed in Scotland.
Floors Castle remains very much the great Victorian showpiece externally, but the internal decorations
have since been altered to reflect the style of Duchess May, the American
heiress who married the 8th Duke of Roxburghe in 1903. During the early
1930s she reorganised and redecorated many of the rooms to provide suitable
settings for her collections of fine art, tapestries and exquisite French
furniture, and Floors Castle retains her strong influence. With an instinctive
appreciation of beauty, and an ability to create the perfect environment
for exhibiting her treasures, the Duchess has certainly left a legacy
worthy of such an impressive house.
The lands forming the original estate were acquired in the mid-14th century
by John Ker but, as the family's wealth increased over the next two centuries,
so the estate was extended. The 10th Duke has established several commercial
enterprises on his 56,000-acre estate, including sporting activities and
a country house hotel, but a large part of it is still farmed. Visitors
can enjoy woodland walks, explore the nature trails, see the old walled
garden, or eat a picnic beside the River Tweed. Whilst welcoming the public
onto to his extensive property to sample a little of the grand life of
his predecessors, the present Duke is also ensuring that future generations
can continue to maintain their ancestral home. |
