A 350-year-old Aberdeenshire home with turrets and a courtyard is on sale for £850,000.
Davidston House, south Keith near the Moray border, is described as an “architectural gem” combining elements of French and Scottish 17th-century building styles.
The listed building has been standing since 1678 and features corbelled turrets and slit windows, which create a sense of grandeur as you journey up the driveway.
It is a “rare example of a fortified laird’s house” and sits among eight acres of land.
The building is horseshoe-shaped, with the rest enclosed by a high wall, creating a private courtyard.
You enter the house via the orangery, which leads into the large utility room with a guest toilet.
At the heart of the home is the kitchen/breakfast room, with thick wooden beams and an exposed stone fireplace.
The kitchen has a central island with modern appliances, a marble worktop, and cream-coloured cabinets.
Davidston House is a fortified former laird’s home
There is an informal dining area and, at the end of the room, a cosy wood-burning fire with seating around it.
Behind the kitchen is a large pantry connected to the formal dining room, which has a low ceiling, adding to the intimate dining experience.
Off the dining room, a hallway leads to the upper floors and a small guest toilet.
Further down the hall, there is another sitting room, a cosy space.
This leads to the master bedroom, which has a separate dressing room and an en suite bath and shower.
Upstairs, on the first floor, is the spacious drawing room—the perfect place for entertaining. It is a bright and airy space with a large marble fireplace.
Also on the first floor is a study.
On the second floor, there are two bedrooms, each with a bathroom.
There is an additional bedroom in the third-floor attic.
Also attached to Davidston House is a self-contained, two-storey cottage, which has a sitting room, kitchen, bedroom, and bathroom on the ground floor.
On the first floor, there are two bedrooms—one with an en suite—and an additional toilet.
The cottage connects to a double garage, while on the opposite side of the courtyard, there are several outbuildings, including a shed, coal store, and wine cellar.
Grounds and gardens
Outside the courtyard is a garden shed/workshop with a concrete floor and fitted shelves.
The gardens are to the front and side of the house, while at the back, there is a flower and vegetable garden with a wooden summer house and a greenhouse.
The house is listed via estate agent Savills.
Property Agent Fiona Gormley said: “I love the personality and warmth of this home which can be spacious living areas combined with intimate spaces with cosy nooks.
“Ideal for large gatherings and quiet retreats.”
Daviston House is ‘remarkable’ example of 17th-century laird’s fortified home
Historian AC Hughes also once wrote: “The old house of Davidston is a most remarkable and characteristic example of a 17th-century laird’s fortified house with some of its original outbuildings attached.
“This architectural gem, with its decorated corbelled turrets and slit windows, is little altered externally since its building in 1678.
“This beautiful house with its corbie-stepped gables is a delightful example of the typical dwelling house of a 17th century Banffshire laird, a house which could be readily defended to resist the attacks of armed bands of caterans.
“There are all too few surviving specimens of this rugged and delightful Scottish domestic architecture deriving in style from the French chateau and of which the Scots baronial building was the direct descendant.”
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