South Queensferry - Hopetoun House

Generations of the Hope family, later the Marquess of Linlithgow, have resided in the impressive Hopetoun House. Lying some 3mi/4.8km to the west of South Queensferry, it was begun in 1699 by Sir William Bruce, who also built the Palace of Holyroodhouse in Edinburgh. By 1703 he had completed the rectangular central section. His pupil William Adam and sons John and Robert Adam extended the house between 1721 and 1754. It was Adam who provided the Baroque mansion with a finely ornamented two-story facade adding semi-circular colonnades and pavilions to both sides. The original entrance hall was converted into a garden room - the oak paneling and gilded capitals are original. The splendid rooms of the mansion are decorated with damask wallpaper, tapestries from Antwerp and Aubusson (17th century), delightful stucco ceilings and furniture from the 18th and 19th centuries. In the Red Drawing room hangs Canaletto's "The Doge's Palace and Campanile by the Grand Canal in Venice". Portraits by Raeburn, Ramsay and Gainsborough decorate the Dining Hall. Also represented are Rembrandt, Titian and works from the Rubens School ("The Adoration of the Shepherds" in the Yellow Room). Early 19th century Meissen and Derby dinner services and vases take place of honor in the porcelain collection.