Arbuthnott House

Arbuthnott House is a country house which contains within it the remains of a 16th century tower house, and vaults which probably date to an earlier construction phase. The house is sited within private grounds on a promontory overlooking the junction of an unnamed burn with the Bervie Water. The site is consistent with early fortification, although no trace of this survives; the natural strengths make a motte unlikely and a ditched enclosure more probable.

The lands of Arbuthnott were granted by King William to Osbert Olifard, sheriff of the Mearns, inherited by Hugh de Swinton and held in thanage by Hugh’s descendants, who took their surname from the lands. The Memories of the Arbuthnots of Kincardineshire and Aberdeenshire states that the eighth laird, Hugh of Arbuthnott, strengthened the older manor place in about 1420, finding it too weak to defend during a conflict with the Melvilles of Glenbervie – Hugh having killed John Melville, who was sheriff of the Mearns at the time. This first line of Arbuthnotts came to an end with the death of Robert in 1631, by which time the estate had been greatly extended, and the 15th century structures profoundly reworked. Unfortunately there is no record to show what the tower house looked like, but it forms the basis of the north-eastern wing of the mansion today. He was followed briefly by his nephew, another Robert, and this Robert by another, who was ennobled in 1641 as the first Viscount Arbuthnott – an unsuccessful attempt to gain support by King Charles I . The house was considerably extended in 1660, 1754 and 1810, and remains the home of the Arbuthnott family, a remarkable length of continuity. The house is open for tours a set number of days a year.

HES Canmore database entry

Official website