South Queensferry - Dalmeny House

Just outside Dalmeny (8mi/12.8km northwest of Edinburgh), a road branches off to the right to Dalmeny House, which occupies a commanding position overlooking the Firth of Forth. This residence of the earls of Rosebery was designed in 1815 by William Wilkins in Tudor Gothic style. Of greatest interest from an architectural point of view are the dragon beam hall and the fan vaulting in the corridors. It is, however, the valuable art treasures that probably attract most visitors. In 1878 the fifth Earl of Rosebery married a Rothschild heiress and as a result the collection was considerably extended. The French furniture dates mainly from the time of Louis XV and Louis XVI, including a Jean-François Oeben bureau which belonged to the dauphin. Sèvres and Vincennes porcelain, Beauvais tapestries by François Boucher and silk curtains said to have been embroidered by Marie Antoinette and her court ladies form another part of the Rothschild collection. Portraits by Reynolds, Raeburn, Gainsborough and Nasmyth and tapestries designed by Goya (1800) are also on display. The Napoleon Room contains paintings and personal effects belonging to the emperor and also a seat used by the Duke of Wellington.