For 13 years, Hamish and Lorna McLean have been chasing their dream of helping their home, Breda House, reach its full potential. Now they explain why they have decided to let someone else fulfil that vision.
It was a dream for Hamish McLean to see his childhood home, Breda House, restored to its former glory and transformed into a stunning wedding and conference centre. Along with his wife, Lorna, he has spent 13 years trying to make that dream a reality. But after Hamish became seriously ill last year, the couple have had to rethink their position and come to a very difficult decision concerning the future of their plans for Breda House.
It’s a decision that was not easy to take, given that substantial restoration is fully under way and the end is almost in sight. But as Lorna told me as we sat in the lounge of their farmhouse on the estate just outside Alford, it came down to a choice between her husband’s health and the house itself.
“Hamish’s health is of prime importance and we need to concentrate all our energy on that.
“Trying to do both just isn’t possible. I don’t think we could take on both. It has to be one or the other. It’s a very difficult decision. We’ve been through a lot with the various planning applications and things; we are so close and now we’re nearly there. It’s been one of the most difficult decisions, but we’ve taken good advice,” Lorna said.
“Being seriously ill makes you look at your life. It was because of my illness that it made us look at what we wanted to do with our lives and what challenges we want to take on. And although Breda House would make a wonderful home and would make a very good business, our priorities have now changed. Living there would be wonderful and running a business there is really exciting and very stimulating but one can’t do everything,” said Hamish.
THE VISION
The B-listed Scots baronial mansion house has been home to the McLean family since 1892, when they bought the 1,600-acre Breda Estate. Hamish explained that his family had lived in Islay for nine generations when they decided they wanted to live somewhere with a drier climate so made the move from west to east.
The house was built originally for Major General Robert Farquharson and Hamish’s great-great-grandfather built an extension to the original building in 1894. It features distinctive pink granite and was designed by Aberdeen architect Marshall Mackenzie.
It was used as a family home for many generations of the McLeans and was last lived in back in the early 1990s. Then Hamish began to look at what the house could also be used for.
“By this time, I was farming full time and I needed to be here when my cows were calving, for instance, so it was most practical for me to live in this house which was closest to the farm,” he said, speaking about the farmhouse he still lives in today.
“The vision for the house came as much from the house itself, really, and what would suit it. It would make a wonderful family home, but equally it lends itself to having functions in it, especially in the Victorian rooms. The public rooms all face due south and let the most wonderful natural light into the house. The Victorian wing was mostly used for entertaining, so the idea of using the house for that evolved from there.”
He said market research was undertaken and it was agreed that transforming the house into a wedding and conference centre would not only be a financially viable thing to do, but would also ensure the sustainability of the property itself. Work began in 2006, after an assessment was taken of the house, of what was needed to be done.
“There are so many wonderful features – the panelling, the proportions of the rooms, the ornate plasterwork – all you have to do is bring it back to life and that is what we have been endeavouring to do,” said Hamish.
The house has been completely re-roofed, rewired and re-plumbed, with the next stage being to instal a new heating system, a biomass boiler, which aims to lower carbon footprint and bring down costs for the future owners.
Hamish said it was a plan of which Historic Scotland was very supportive, because it was recognised that these big old houses take a lot to heat, especially when you have a building like Breda, where you can’t put in any insulation because the walls are listed.
To fund the overall development project, the landowners were given planning permission to build 13 homes on the estate and, later, permission for a further eight properties was also granted. The eight properties will now be included in the sale to continue the restoration of Breda House.
The couple’s “journey” has not been easy, attracting controversy from members of the community, and battles with the council.
They had also applied to build a further four houses on the estate in 2013, but these were rejected by councillors on the grounds they did not form a cohesive group, were detrimental to the setting of the property and would have an adverse impact on prime farmland. The refusal was upheld by the Scottish Government on appeal, prompting them to resubmit revised plans last year. They were again rejected by councillors in the summer and, earlier this month, the government reporter dismissed the second appeal.
CHALLENGING TIMES
When I asked Hamish and Lorna about the planning stages, they said they had faced “challenging times” but they had learned a lot, too. Lorna said one thing they were happy about was being able to look after the house and renovate it to a stage where someone could come in and finish it.
“We would love to think that someone would be very happy living there,” she added.
“It’s such a lovely house inside; it has a lovely feeling to it; it has a heart and it needs someone to live in it again. It is very sad because it’s part of us, but I will be glad that it is being used again.
“It’s nice to know that we’ve done our bit. We’ve been very privileged to be able to do all that we have done to it. If we hadn’t, it would have fallen down. So we’ve played a part in the story.”
“I spent some of my childhood here and my father spent much of his childhood here; it was always a very bustling, busy place,” Hamish added.
“It would be lovely to see it busy again. Although we would have loved to complete our vision, someone else will have their own vision for it.”
TESTING THE MARKET
This is the second time the house has been on the market, having been on for some time previously when Hamish and Lorna wanted to see how things went. It attracted lots of interest, with one person making inquiries to do exactly what Hamish and Lorna had planned. The couple said they have had interest from people locally as well as abroad and remain confident that their vision for Breda House would work.
Hamish said: “What we are endeavouring to do with Breda is to create a small estate, something that is very manageable, and maybe if it’s a foreigner they will like the idea of being a Scottish laird.
“So we are not just selling the house or a business, it’s also the prestige of being a Scottish landowner. It might appeal to someone who wants to make a statement about their lives. They will be living in this beautiful listed building; it is unique in terms of the pink granite. What is even more useful is that the grounds are ideal for marquees. The lawn has been used for functions for over 100 years. My great-grandfather used to hold Highland games here and the only reason I know that is that there was a book of photographs published by the Press and Journal which showed a photograph of the Breda Highland Games and I recognised the trees.
“There used to be cricket matches on the lawn, too. The Breda team used to play the Aberdeenshire team, so it’s not a new idea to hold events here. There is a precedent.”
He said the possibilities for Breda were endless, after listing more ideas such as a golf course, equestrian facilities and fishing trips.
“The only limitation is one’s imagination,” he added.
Breda House Estate is being sold through Rettie & Co as a whole for offers over £4,725,000; It is also available in nine lots, with Breda House, the gardens, policies and full planning permission for eight five-bedroom homes included in Lot 1 and available for offers over £3,190,000. To find out more about what is available at Breda House Estate – and to see more pictures of the renovation work – don’t miss the P&J’s Your Home pull-out on Tuesday.
For more information, contact Rettie & Co on 0131 624 4074.