Broughton Place

An old estate and a modern, but important, L-plan tower house in the Scottish Borders, Broughton Place is located a half-mile (0.8 km) northeast of the village of Broughton. The A-listed house is white-harled and comprises three storeys and an attic floor, with dormer windows, crow-stepped gables and two stair towers capped with slated cones. Despite its authentic 17th-C. appearance, this house was built in 1937 the work of Sir Basil Spence (1907-76). There is a massive oak door, pink sandstone dressings and carved details by sculptor Hew Lorimer (1907-93). This was a large house, with large public rooms on the ground floor, including a fine drawing room and little walnut-panelled library, with twelve bedrooms above. The kitchen and service accommodation is in a separate low wing to the west. The interior was unfortunately altered markedly when the house was divided into flats in 1975. Although a private art gallery operated for more than 30 years on the ground floor, providing public access, this too was converted to residential use c.2010.

The large south-facing garden is enclosed by a wall, and includes lawns, a parterre and sunken tennis court. The John Buchan Way passes along the now-public avenue immediately to the north.

The original house on this site belonged to Sir John Murray of Broughton (1715-77), who served as Bonnie Prince Charlie's secretary, but was destroyed by fire in 1773. The estate passed to the McQueens of Braxfield, who in 1816 built the farm house on the avenue which connects with the A701 road. The estate was bought by Thomas Renton Elliott (1877 - 1961), who was the first Professor of Medicine at University College Hospital in London but had strong Scottish connections. Mrs Elliott continued to run the house and the farm until her own death in 1975. Although their children sold Broughton Place, the farm and estate remain in the Elliott family.


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