The Drum, Edinburgh
The Drum, Edinburgh | |
---|---|
Coordinates | 55°54′30″N 3°07′12″W / 55.9084°N 3.1201°W |
Built | 1726–1734 |
Built for | John Somerville, 13th Lord Somerville |
Architect | William Adam |
Listed Building – Category A | |
Designated | 14 July 1966 |
Reference no. | LB28052 |
Designated | 1 July 1987 |
Reference no. | GDL00356 |
The Drum is an 18th-century country house and estate on the outskirts of Edinburgh, Scotland. Located between the Gilmerton and Danderhall areas, The Drum is 4 miles (6.4 km) south-east of the city centre. The Drum was the seat of the Lords Somerville from the later Middle Ages, who built a 16th-century house on the estate. This was replaced in the 1720s with a classical house by William Adam. Sold by Lord Somerville in the early 19th century, the house remains in private hands.
History
In the
During the 16th century a dispute arose between the Lords Somerville and another branch of the family over the possession of Gilmerton and The Drum. This was resolved in 1578 after several years of legal debate, in favour of Hugh Somerville, 7th Lord Somerville (1547–1597).
The roumes are few, but fair and large; the entrie and stair-caice extremely ill-placed, neither is the outward forme modish, being built all in lenth in forme of a church.[4]
In 1726 James Somerville, 13th Lord Somerville (1698–1765), commissioned the present house at The Drum from the architect William Adam. The new house incorporates the ground floor of the 16th-century mansion in its west wing. A matching east wing was planned but never built. The pediment over the entrance bears the arms of Lord Somerville and his first wife, while over the fireplace inside the Somerville arms are shown with those of his second wife, indicating the date of the interior as after 1736.[5]
The
The estate was broken up in the early years of the 19th century, with the house purchased in 1862 by John More Nisbett, who also purchased much of the original grounds.[1] His second son Hamilton More Nisbett (1868–1955) trained as an architect under John Kinross, and inherited The Drum on his older brother's death in 1939. His architectural practice was afterwards based at The Drum, and he published a history of the house.[7] The Drum is still owned and occupied by the More Nisbett family.[8]
The Drum is a category A listed building.[5] The parks are included on the Inventory of Gardens and Designed Landscapes in Scotland, the national listing of significant gardens, and are described as a "good example of William Adam's formal style of landscape design carried out in the 1700s with the structure still relatively intact today".[1]
Edinburgh's original mercat cross (
References
- ^ a b c d e Historic Environment Scotland. "The Drum (GDL00356)". Retrieved 26 March 2019.
- ^ Somerville, vol.1, p.130
- ^ Somerville, vol.1, pp.442–458
- ^ a b Somerville, vol.1, p.461
- ^ a b c d e Historic Environment Scotland. "Gilmerton, The Drum with Sundial (Category A Listed Building) (LB28052)". Retrieved 26 March 2019.
- ^ "The Drum, Mercat Cross". Canmore. Royal Commission on the Ancient and Historical Monuments of Scotland. Retrieved 7 November 2011.
- ^ "Hamilton More Nisbett". Dictionary of Scottish Architects. Retrieved 7 November 2011.
- ^ "Historic Houses: South". Edinburgh Past and Present. Retrieved 7 November 2011.
- ^ Scottish Garden Buildings by Tim Buxbaum
- Somerville, James, 11th Lord (1815). Scott, Walter (ed.). Memorie of the Somervilles: being a history of the Baronial House of Somerville. Edinburgh: Archibald Constable and Company.
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: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link) CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link) - "The Drum". Canmore. Royal Commission on the Ancient and Historical Monuments of Scotland. Retrieved 7 November 2011.
Further reading
- More Nisbett, Hamilton (1928). Drum of the Somervilles. Edinburgh: William Brown.