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Balbithan House (/bælˈbɪθən/ bal-BITH-ən) is a three-storey L-plan keep dating from the 16th century.[1][2] Alternative names are Old Place of Balbithan, Old Balbthan and Balbythan House.[1] It is located in Aberdeenshire, Scotland, 4 kilometres (2.5 mi) south-east of Inverurie.
The grounds once belonged to the Abbey of Lindores,[2] but by 1490 the Chalmers family had acquired them.[2] An earlier House of Balbithan, of which there is now no trace, also stood above the River Don, opposite Kintore.[2]
The Chalmers built the new house, probably as an oblong with one round tower, in about 1560.[2] A second wing, added in about 1600, entailed the removal of the tower, which had been to the north-west.[2]
Jacobites are supposed to have used the tower in 1746, after Culloden.[2] The Chalmers sold the property to James Balfour, an Edinburgh merchant, in 1696.[2] After a brief period – from 1699 to 1707 – in the ownership of the Hays, it came to be owned by a branch of the Gordons until 1859.[2]
In the century to 1860 internal alterations were made. The top floor was removed early in the 19th century, and the second-floor ceilings were raised.[2]
It was bought in 1960 by the botanical artist Mary McMurtrie,[3] who restored it.[2]
Balbithan House is an L-plan tower, unusual in that the new wing, dating from 1630, and the original are of equal length.[2] There is an unvaulted kitchen on the ground floor, with the long hall, a long gallery or withdrawing room, and bedrooms successively above. A small addition on the north side, which housed a service stair, has been removed.[2] Attached to the south turret of the west wing is a metal sundial; it is dated 1679 and carries the initials of James Chalmers.[2] It is a category A listed building.[4]
The gardens, recreated by McMurtrie, are regarded as important,[1] and very fine.[2]
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