My Scottish Townhouse Story offers a unique way to add an extraordinary hallmark to your house. Our specialist archival research displayed with an elegantly designed illustration of your property offers a link to history that allows you to travel back through the years and view your house alongside the residents of yesteryear.
Do you hold your Scottish heritage close to your heart?
We all love the famous stories that run through Scottish history; the colourful characters who were brandishing fervour in the fight for justice throughout a historical landscape that rose and fell with the lives of its inhabitants.
Who were these inhabitants, and where did they live?
Descendants of Scottish heroes built the cities and townhouses of Scotland. Their lives have become interwoven in the fabric of Scottish history. Discovering the history of your house can uncover some interesting stories!
Who Lived In My House?
39 North Castle Street Edinburgh. 1801 – 1826
Today this charming property is split into city apartments—the property boasts at least one famous Scottish resident.
Sir Walter Scott
In the autumn of 1801, Sir Walter Scott became a tenant of this house, described as being in Edinburgh’s new town. By Whit – Sunday 1802 Scott had purchased the property for £850 cash + £950 bond. He lived at this residence until 1826 when the house was sold to aid his financial situation.
Imagine sharing a resident legacy with such a prominent Scottish author!
By researching records and publications, we can add details that bring the history of your house to life. During our research for this article, we came across an entry in a book describing Walers Scott’s frustration on moving into the premises in 1801. Finding the painters and workmen had made the place almost uninhabitable!
“To augment this confusion my wife has fixed upon this time as proper to present me with a fine chopping boy, whose pipe, being of the shrillest, is heard amid the storm, like a boatswain’s whistle in a gale of wind.”
Walter Scott His Life and Personality Hesketh Pearson.
This property on North Castle Street was also the subject of a pen and ink drawing by Turner. Such a provenance!
http://www.walterscott.lib.ed.ac.uk/biography/graphics/39castlest.jpg
House histories can connect you to a heritage you never knew existed.
44, Ann Street Edinburgh 1823 – 1915
Ann Street was described by Sir John Betjeman as
” The most attractive street in Britain.”
44 Ann Street was designed by the Scottish painter Sir Henry Raeburn with the architect James Milne. The house was completed in 1823, and the street was named after Henry Raeburn’s wife, Ann. Ann Street was also one of the first streets in Edinburgh’s New Town to be designed with private front gardens.
This beautiful townhouse has a legacy of residents; we have looked at a few dating from 1823 to 1915, including a banker, a commissions agent, a teacher and a silk mercer with attending live-in servants.
Tracing Property History
From 1617 the movement of property in Scotland from the humble croft, townhouse, or stately castle was legally recorded and traceable.
In 1617 The Registration Act (General Register of Sasines) was passed under King James VI. A sasine in Scottish law is defined as the delivery of feudal property, typically land. In this sense, feudal property means immovable property, including buildings, trees, and underground minerals.
The original act underwent several adaptations. Finally, 2002 witnessed the last legal ceremony of Sansine. And in 2007, Automated Registration of Title to Land (ARTL) allowed people to register their title deeds online.
My Scottish Townhouse Story
We can uncover your unique heritage with archival research to find the story of your own house.
My Scottish Townhouse Story is a bespoke illustration featuring a colour drawing of your house alongside a potted history highlighting its individual legacy.
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