exploretheborders.com

Your guide to the brilliant borderlands

  • Welcome
  • Home
  • Towns
    • Hawick
    • Jedburgh
    • Selkirk
  • Active Borders
  • Historic Borders
  • Homes & Gardens
  • Coast & Countryside
  • Trips and Trails

Jim Clark Museum in the Scottish Borders

Friends of Monteath Mausoleum turn back time

Lock of Napoleon’s hair rediscovered at Abbotsford

Salmon fishing in the Scottish Borders

Bowhill – Duke Walter’s cultural tour de force

August 12, 2020 By David Pike Leave a Comment

Bowhill – Duke Walter’s cultural tour de force – We can’t say for certain where Walter Francis, 5th Duke of Buccleuch, acquired the collecting bug.

But he must surely have been mightily influenced by Sir Walter Scott, one of the avid collectors of his day, and one of Walter’s six guardians.

Living just down the road at his ‘conundrum castle’ of Abbotsford, Scott was at the height of his popularity and a frequent visitor to Bowhill near Selkirk, the ancestral Scottish Borders home of the Buccleuch family.

We should be eternally grateful for any advice he passed on to young Walter who inherited his title in 1819 at the tender ago of 13. As Duke he added major works of art, furniture and silverware to Bowhill’s treasures.

He also played a major role in shaping the landscape around Bowhill, which sits in over 63,000 acres, and commissioned the services of the same architect who had worked for Scott on Abbotsford.

Duke Walter was responsible for bringing together a wonderful collection of miniature masterpieces that include works by Holbein, his tutor Horenbout, Nicholas Hilliard and Samuel Cooper.

It is one of the great private collections, second only to the Royal Collection, and includes the celebrated ‘warts and all’ portrait of Oliver Cromwell.

The 84 miniatures are on show in the Italian Room at Bowhill and their artistic ‘neighbours’ include works of Venice by Guardi, Marieschi and Belotto together with views of Naples and southern Italy by Antonio Joli.

In the Dining Room the eye is drawn to the huge Canaletto masterpiece of Whitehall (circa 1710) and just right of the fireplace the Pink Boy by Sir Joshua Reynolds; painted as a rival to Gainsborough’s famous Blue Boy and featuring Charles, 4th Duke of Buccleuch, as its study.

In this room, too, you’ll find a silver candelabrum telling the origin of the family name Buccleuch. Commissioned by Duke Walter it was made by Garrard’s of London in 1830 and weighs 13 stone.

Duke Walter and his wife Charlotte Anne were the first to live at the house and their vision is largely what we see today.

He was a patron of the arts and visitors will also find superb examples of French and Meissen porcelein as well as French furniture from the reigns of Louise 14, 15 and 16.

The art works are amazing and Winter by Reynolds (right) painted in 1777 is a special favourite with visitors. The little girl in the painting was Walter’s aunt, Caroline Scott. People also make special trips just to view the Gainsbrough’s and the portrait of Walter Scott by Henry Rayburn,” she said.

Bowhill, a couple of miles drive from Selkirk. More information about opening times at www.bowhill.org

Filed Under: Bowhill, Homes & Gardens Tagged With: Bowhill, Duke of Buccleuch, Scottish Borders, Sir Walter Scott

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

8 − 2 =

Welcome to the brilliant borderlands

Welcome to the brilliant borderlands – Before it was finally anchored on the English side of the border with Scotland, Berwick-upon-Tweed changed hands no less than 13 times. Some 530 or so years later, the good folk of Berwick still lean to the north – by a margin of 60-40% – if local polls are […]

Havens of stone in the Scottish Borders

Havens of stone in the Scottish Borders – The number of stone keeps and peel towers scattered across the Borders landscape are testament to the turbulent times that ebbed and flowed through the region for hundreds of years. One of the best preserved is Smailholm Tower in the Scottish Borders, a defiant landmark built on […]

Step into borders history

Step into borders history – If you enjoy history and exploring times gone by you will love the Borders. Northumberland and the Scottish Borders was the most fought over land in Britain as the crossed swords marking local battlefields on maps of the region will show. From the earliest times, when Agricola marched his Roman […]

Wallace stands tall in the Scottish Borders.

Wallace stands tall in the Scottish Borders – There may be as much Hollywood as there is historical fact in Mel Gibson’s ‘Braveheart’ but it does nothing to diminish the stature of Scotland’s national hero, Sir William Wallace. To the English he was an outlaw and murderer while in Scotland he is credited with laying […]

Borderlines

Scottish Borders on track for new opportunities

Scottish Borders on track for new opportunities – The Campaign for Borders Rail has received a top level boost following a meeting with Scotland Office minister, Iain Stewart MP. He confirmed the UK Government’s support for the project and gave a commitment to drive the plans forward with his ministerial colleagues. It was revealed that […]

Scottish Borders push for a national park

Scottish Borders push for a national park – A Borders National Park could provide an important post-Covid boost for the Scottish Borders region. The campaign to create seven national parks across Scotland – including one in the Borders – is expected to take on a new urgency now that a return to normality is in […]

Recent Posts

  • Jim Clark Museum in the Scottish Borders
  • A five star cast for the Tweed Valley Hotel
  • Friends of Monteath Mausoleum turn back time
  • Sir Walter Scott’s historic home re-opens
  • Salmon fishing in the Scottish Borders
  • Pirn House a welcome stop for first class food
  • Welcome to the brilliant borderlands
  • Havens of stone in the Scottish Borders
  • Step into borders history
  • Wallace stands tall in the Scottish Borders.
  • Melrose – A small town with a big history
  • The Tweed – recreation, romance and history

Copyright © 2021 · Explore The Borders - Privacy Policy