Research links

• Am Baile
  Am Baile is a resource which includes access to archive images of lost country houses, concentrating on the Highlands, and is bilingual in English and Gaelic.
  
  
• Pencils of Light
  An exhibition of calotypes (an early form of photography), including several of demolished or altered buildings.
  
  
• RCAHMS
  The Royal Commission on the Ancient and Historical Monuments of Scotland (RCAHMS) is the most comprehensive single source of information on the subject. Information is held in the National Monuments Record of Scotland (NMRS) on most of Scotland's country houses, past and present. The catalogue is freely searchable online through an index system called Canmore, and even their large collection of photographs is slowly being digitised. Free registration is required to use Canmore and some of their other online services.
  
  The RCAHMS website also includes some interesting features on Scottish architecture, including one looking at the loss of country houses during the 20th century here. It is illustrated with pictures from the Charles Brand collection, a number of photographs and drawings taken by a demolition contractor in the mid-20th century and currently on long-term loan to the NMRS from the McManus Museum and Art Gallery, Dundee. Researchers wishing to study the photographs in the Brand Collection may wish to contact Alastair Disley by email (aldisley@yahoo.com) for an informal catalogue he prepared of the collection in 2003.
  
  
• SCRAN
  Scran is a fantastic resource which provides digital resources (mainly images) primarily to educational users. Among these are many archives not otherwise currently available on the internet, such as photographs by Thomas Annan and images from The Scotsman. The service is free to many UK education users, some through the Athens gateway, but private users must pay a subscription. It is possible to view the resources available in thumbnails so that users can decide if a subscription is worthwhile.
  
  
• The Clydebank Story
  A well-illustrated account of Clydebank's history.
  
  
• The DiCamillo Companion
  The DiCamillo Companion is a database of British country houses, including many Scottish houses extant and lost.
  
  
• The Drawn Evidence
  The Drawn Evidence is an online collection of architectural drawings, which presents a fantastic opportunity to get close to some of the plans of Scotland's buildings.
  
  
• The Gazetteer for Scotland
  A useful gazetteer of Scottish places, including many mentions of country houses past and present - there is a huge amount of information here, well worth browsing.
  
  
• The Glasgow Story
  A well-illustrated account of Glasgow's history.
  
  
• The Visual Evidence
  The Visual Evidence is a companion site to The Drawn Evidence, and provides a common portal to the photographic collections of the universities of Aberdeen, Dundee and St Andrews. These encompass a large number of historic photographs, including many of demolished houses. Note that although the project as originally envisaged appears not to have been completed, the photograph collections of Aberdeen and St Andrews are accessible through this site.
  
  
• Who owns scotland
  A useful resource for tracing current owners of estates for historic information

Organisations

• Buildings at Risk
  The Scottish Civic Trust runs this register of buildings at risk all over Scotland. A number of lost and nearly lost country houses are included on the register.
  
  
• SAVE Britain's Heritage
  SAVE campaigns on behalf of threatened historic buildings throughout the UK.
  
  
• The Architectural Heritage Society of Scotland
  The AHSS aims to study and protect Scotland's buildings.
  
  
• The 20th Century Society
  Campaigns for the preservation of significant 20th century buildings all over UK.
  
  
• Historic Scotland
  Historic Scotland is a government agency that looks after a large number of historic buildings, archeological sites and remains, and also controls the listed building process in Scotland.
  
  
• The National Trust for Scotland
  The NTS owns and preserves some of Scotland's most significant land, houses and castles, most of which are open to the public.
  
  
• Historic Houses Association
  HHA properties are open to public but privately owned, and include a number in Scotland.

References

The following books have been used in the preparation of this website, in addition to the websites and resources listed above, and various books, leaflets, and other resources pertaining to individual houses. The abbreviations used throughout the website are given in brackets. Where details on this website differ from any source, this reflects additional evidence.

• Jones Views of the Seats, Mansions, Castles &c. of Noblemen and Gentlemen, Series of Scottish Seats
  Jones & Co., London, circa 1830 (Jones)
• A History of Peebleshire
  by William Chambers, 1864 (Chambers)
• The Old Country Houses of the Old Glasgow Gentry
  by John Guthrie Smith and John Oswald Mitchell, 1878 (second edition) (GG, available online here)
• The Castles and Mansions of Ayrshire
  Alexander Hastie Millar, 1885 (Millar Ayrshire, MA)
• The Castles and Mansions of Renfrewshire
  Alexander Hastie Millar, 1889 (Millar Renfrewshire, MR)
• Fife Pictorial and Historical, its Peoples, Burghs, Castles and Mansions
  by Alexander Hastie Millar, 1895 (Millar Fife)
• Kilbarchan - A Parish History
  by Robert MacKenzie, 1902 (MacKenzie)
• Famous Scottish Houses: The Lowlands
  by Thomas Hannan, published A & C Black, 1928 (Hannan)
• The Destruction of the Country House, 1875-1975
  by Roy Strong, Marcus Binney and John Harris, published Thames and Hudson, 1974 (DCH). This erroneously includes:
  • Alastrean or Cromar House, Aberdeenshire, restored after a 1948 fire with altered roofline and now a care home, see website.
  • Archerfield, East Lothian, shown as partially demolished in 1962. Certainly it was badly altered to permit conversion to, essentially, a barn, but the external structure and its roof remained, and have recently been restored as the clubhouse to a golf course. See website.
• Country Houses in Britain - can they survive?
  by John Cornforth, Country Life/BTA 1974 (CHB)
• Mr David Bryce, 1803-1876
  by Valerie Fiddes and Alistair Rowan, published University of Edinburgh, 1976 (DB)
• The Country House Guide
  Robin Fedden and John Kenworthy-Browne, 1979 (CHG)
• Lost Houses of Scotland
  by Marcus Binney, John Harris and Emma Winnington, published SAVE, 1980 (LHS). Erroneously includes Alastrean, as DCH above, and Bargany, Ayrshire, restored following threat of demolition. See website.
• The City that Disappeared
  by Frank Worsdall, Richard Drew Publishing, 1981 (CTD)
• The South Clyde Estuary - An Illustrated Architectural Guide to Inverclyde and Renfrew
  by Frank Arneil Walker, published RIAS 1986 (SCE)
• Scotland's Endangered Houses
  by Mary Miers and Marcus Dean, published SAVE, 1990 (SEH)
• A History of Scottish Architecture
  by Miles Glendinning, Ranald MacInnes and Aonghus MacKechnie, published Edinburgh University Press, 1996

The following abbreviations are used for the web resources described above:

• NMRS - the National Monument Records Service
• BAR - Buildings at Risk
• GAZ - the Gazetteer for Scotland