Kinneil House, Bo'ness (Edinburgh)
15th century tower remodelled by the Earl of Arran.
Introduction
Set in a public park, the oldest part of the house is a 15th century tower remodelled by the Earl of Arran between 1546 and 1550 and transformed into a stately home for the Dukes of Hamilton in the 1660s.
The grounds contain the ruins of James Watt’s cottage and the boiler of his Newcomen Engine.
Kinneil Museum which is managed by Falkirk Council, is located in the 17th century stable block of Kinneil House. The museum features the exhibition "2000 years of history" which tells the story of the park from Roman times to the present day. There is also an audio visual show on the history of the area.
The line of the Roman Antonine Wall runs through the surrounding Kinneil Estate, and the area is part of the Frontiers of the Roman Empire World Heritage Site. A Roman fortlet can be viewed a short walk to the west of Kinneil House. Details on this and other attractions are available from inside the museum.
History to the present day
The lands of Kinneil with Larbert and Auldcathy were given to Walter Fitz Gilbert, an ancestor of the Hamilton family by Robert the Bruce in 1323. A charter of 1474 mentions the castle, then called Craig Lyown, and the saltpans which added to the estate income. Parts of this castle may be incorporated in the present building. James Hamilton, 1st Earl of Arran died at Kinneil in 1529, but wished to be buried at Hamilton.
The east wing of the surviving building, and perhaps the earlier tower with wide-mouthed gunloops, was built by James Hamilton, 2nd Earl of Arran (c.1516–1575). The painted decoration and a stone armorial carry his ducal coronet, and the collar of the Order of Saint Michael, French honours he received in 1548. The stone has the arms of his wife, Margaret Douglas, and her motto Lock Sickar.
One of his painted rooms has decoration that evokes verdure tapestry and vignettes of Samson and Delilah, Abraham and Isaac, and David and Bathsheba and the Temptation of St. Anthony; this vaulted room is now called the Arbour Room. The other room has scenes from the Parable of the Good Samaritan, Lucretia, Saint Jerome and Mary Magdalene. The original use of this suite of rooms is unknown.
The house was empty on 4 February 1560 when French troops attacked and burnt it. On Easter Day 1562, the 3rd Earl of Arran, who suffered from mental ill health, escaped from his father and bedchamber at Kinneil using sheets as a rope. The drop was 30 fathoms.
Regent Lennox damaged the house with gunpowder and spoiled the lands after the assassination of Regent Moray at Linlithgow by a Hamilton. James VI reduced the power of the Hamiltons by military force in 1579, and the Duke's wife, Margaret Douglas, and daughter Lady Jean Hamilton, Countess of Eglinton, were brought to Kinneil from Craignethan Castle. In 1581 the king gave their estates and titles to James Stewart. He often resided at Kinneil until his own fall in 1585, and for a time Kinneil was called Arran House. James VI stayed in May 1582, to receive an envoy, Signor Paul, sent by the Duke of Guise with a gift of horses.
The Arbour Room was redecorated c.1620 for James Hamilton, 2nd Marquess of Hamilton and his wife Ann Cunningham and the "shakefork" of Cunningham heraldry can still be seen. This painting was almost certainly the work of Valentine Jenkins, Englishman and burgess of Glasgow, and painter of the Chapel Royal at Stirling Castle. As a tradition recorded by Maria Edgeworth, and still current, it is said that in 1651, during the war of three kingdoms, the house was occupied by Cromwell's officer, Colonel Robert Lilburne, and his wife Alice fell from the roof. The main house was rebuilt by William Douglas, 3rd Duke of Hamilton in 1677 with a uniform facade and a pair of stone staircases at the ends. He sent his plans to help William Douglas, 1st Duke of Queensberry with his building works, which included Drumlanrig Castle in Dumfriesshire and Queensberry House in Edinburgh. An inventory of 1688 gives the names of rooms in the now gutted main house. The front door opened into a Laich Hall, and a grand stair to the south led to the dining room above. The same arrangement can still be seen at the contemporary Argyll's Lodging, Stirling.
But family use of the house declined, as income from the mines and port increased. In the late 18th century, Dr John Roebuck, founder of the Carron Iron Works lived at Kinneil House, during which time the engineer James Watt worked at perfecting his steam engine, in a cottage adjacent to the house. Between 1809 and 1828 the 9th Duke gave the philosopher Dugald Stewart use of the house.
By 1936 the Hamiltons had abandoned the house, and Bo'ness Town Council were demolishing it when Stanley Cursitor, director of the National Galleries of Scotland, heard that new wall paintings had been discovered. The Ministry of Works quickly secured the wing with the paintings, and recovered the oak ribbed ceiling of the Parable Room. The paintings were restored, and the whole building is now in the care of Historic Scotland.
Arrival information and how to find us
Address: , Edinburgh, , United Kingdom
Kinneil House is located on the western outskirts of Bo’ness. Off A904 follow signs for Kinneil Museum.
Opening times: The House is open on special free open days during the year, organised by Historic Scotland and the charity, The Friends of Kinneil. At other times, the building can only be viewed externally.
The Museum is open all year from 12.30 to 4.00 pm, Monday to Saturday. please phone 01506 778 530 for additional information on the Museum.
