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The Kinmount Estate
enjoys a fascinating history, originating in a 12th-century charter
granted to the Carlyles by William de Brus. Owned by the Douglas Family
since 1733, it was during this tenure that the present Kinmount House was
built in 1812 for John Douglas (the sixth Marquis) to replace the previous
seat — destroyed by fire at the turn of the 18th century. John’s
descendant, the eighth Marquis of Queensberry, is best remembered for
inaugurating boxing’s ‘Queensberry Rules’, but was also famous for his
connection with Oscar Wilde, who was a frequent visitor to Kinmount.
Indeed, it was his association with the Marquis which led to Wilde’s
ultimate imprisonment and humiliation. Kinmount House is a fine example of
early 19th-century architecture, and its balustrading (added at the turn
of the century) is a charming feature which softens its cubic simplicity.
Sale of Kinmount in 1999.
The
super-rich buyer of country mansions goes purely for the standard and
setting of the property and if location is important to him, then it is
often a case of the more secluded the better.
The
five most expensive Scottish properties sold last year by Savills were all
purchased by buyers who were based outside Scotland. One of these was
Kinmount House, home of the athlete, Steve Ovett, which, after being on
the market for a long period, suddenly sold towards the end of last year
for considerably more than the upset price of 1.3m. Kinmount House is
situated in Dumfries-shire, where more conventional country housing
proving extremely difficult to shift. So the moral seems to be: if do you
chose a house in slow-to-sell location then make sure it's a good one.”
Awaiting further details
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