MARCHMONT HOUSE CURATOR TOUR AND ARTISAN WORKSHOP VISIT
Courtesy of The Marchmont Makers Foundation and Marchmont Farms Ltd in memory of Hugo Burge
£500
Auction: 22 November 2023 from 11:00 GMT
Description
A private tour of Marchmont House for up to six people with a glass of champagne. The tour of the House and art collection will be led by the Marchmont House curator and will offer an in-depth look at a collection spanning 500 years of art history. Following the House tour, guests can walk through the Walled Gardens to visit to Marchmont Makers Foundation studios and workshops. The experience will last approx 3.5-4 hours.
Marchmont House is an imposing 'Grade A' listed Palladian mansion built in 1750 by Hugh Hume-Campbell, 3rd Earl of Marchmont. The interior is arguably one of the finest in Scotland, and the house retains many of its original features, including the magnificent George II period plasterwork by Thomas Clayton.
Major changes were made between 1914 and 1917 when the then owner, Robert Finnie McEwan, commissioned the eminent Scottish architect Sir Robert Lorimer to enlarge the house and it stands today as perhaps the finest example of his 'grand' house refurbishments.
Over a hundred years had passed since Lorimer's 'aggrandisement' took place when the House was purchased by Marchmont Farms Ltd under the leadership of father and son Oliver and Hugo Burge. Having spent 20 years as a care home it is something of an understatement to say the house was both institutionalised and unmodernised. The comprehensive, yet sensitive seven-year restoration was recently completed and has been the catalyst for an inspiring and passionate appreciation for craft and design tradition, quite literally observed through the layers of history of the house.
Marchmont offers an immersive experience for those with an eclectic interest across different historic periods of decoration but is especiallly strong on arts and crafts furniture and post-war sculpture including works by Barbara Hepworth, Bernard Meadows, Lynn Chadwick and Anthony Gormley.
The tour must be taken at a time which is arranged in advance with the curator and Makers Foundation.