Craigdarroch
| Craigdarroch | |
| Kirkcudbrightshire | |
|---|---|
 Craigdarroch House | |
| Location | |
| Grid reference: | NX74119088 |
| Location: | 55°11’46"N, 3°58’45"W |
| Village: | Moniaive |
| History | |
| Country house | |
| Information | |
Craigdarroch is a house near Moniaive in Kirkcudbrightshire. It was the seat of the Chief of the Dumfriesshire Fergussons for 600 years.
The house seen today was built by William Adam in 1729, over the old house, of which dated the earliest records are of the 14th century.
The first Fergusson of Craigdarroch on record was Jonkyne, who flourished in the 14th century. Robert, his descendant in the 6th generation, married Lady Janet Cunningham, daughter of the 4th Earl of Glencairn of Maxwelton, in 1537 and their marriage stone, with the shakefork of the Cunninghams, is to be seen with the other carved stones on the base of the old tower of Craigdarroch. The upper part of the tower was demolished when the present early 18th-century house was built.
A later heir, John, Colonel of a Regiment of Foot, rode from Craigdarroch to Killiecrankie in 1689, where he was killed in battle. His servant returned with his master's horse and saddle and the saddle was kept at the top of the stairs until 1918 when it went to Caprington Castle where it still is. The story goes that his wife, Elizabeth, refused to believe her husband was dead and pined her days away waiting for his return.
His son, Alexander, born in 1685, actively supported King William against the Stuarts. In 1710 he married Anna Laurie or Annie Laurie, daughter of Sir Robert Laurie, Bt., of Maxwelton House, near Moniaive, the Annie Laurie of the song. In 1726 they commissioned William Adam, father of Robert Adam, Scotland's most famous architect, to build the new house. The estimate for the work in William Adam's handwriting (copy in the house) came to the then princely sum of £526 2s 9d. It was completed, much as it is today, in 1729, the date above the present front door. Robert Adam, then under his father's tuition, designed and made the fireplace in the hall. "Annie Laurie" lived at Craigdarroch for over 50 years and died at Friars' Carse, near Auldgirth, in 1763. Some sources suggest she may have been buried at Craigdarroch, but as she was a lifelong worshipper at Kirkland Church, her grave may be there, but it has not been located.
Their son James, Chamberlain to the 3rd Duke of Queensberry, lived all his life at Drumlanrig Castle and was there when 'Bonnie Prince Charlie' came with his Highland Army in December 1745, demanding that the castle provide hospitality to the Pretender. The staff left rather than serve the traitors, and when they returned, it was to find the house ransacked and much of the furniture burnt as fuel.
During the 19th century various alterations and additions were made - the Oriel window in the drawing-room; the Chapel, built in 1889 of oak and stone from the estate; and later the billiard room wing, replacing former conservatories, and rebuilt in 1932 as the present study. In the chapel there are photographs of the 50 or so estate workers and their families all together in their Sunday finery at the turn of the 20th century. Some of them would have worked in the extensive walled garden and greenhouses, now derelict, to provide produce for the house. Others would have worked on the local tenanted farms and in forestry on the estate.
During the late war (1939–1945) the house was allocated to a special unit of the Norwegian Army since when it has been lived in for short periods only until the present occupation. Modern conditions do not encourage developments and improvements, but they continue slowly. In recent years the house has been used for events and meetings and plans are in progress to use it as a wedding and function venue.