The secrets of Bannockburn House
Two weekends ago we visited Bannockburn House near Stirling, a 17th-century mansion with a rich, colourful past. It was originally completed in 1675 for Sir Hugh Paterson and owned by several families over the centuries, with the last permanent resident moving out in the 1960s. A fire in the 1970s and years of further decline were halted in 2017 when it was bought by a Community Trust which aims to preserve it. They have their work cut out!
We decided to take one of their public tours after reading an exciting news story. A bullet hole has been found which seemingly corroborates the tale of an assassination attempt on a very famous guest. But first things first. When we arrived there was tea and cake, included in the price. I must say this was the best carrot cake I have ever tasted: beautifully moist and flavourful. I also had a laugh at the toilet signs. How true!
Our guides, Anne and Catherine, were excellent and conveyed real enthusiasm and passion. We started with Anne in the main hall with its astonishing ceiling – originally this would have been two rooms with the floor between them replaced by a gallery in the Victorian era. Here we look both up and down – the gilded ceiling would originally have been white.
Although some rooms are quite presentable, others show clearly the enormous scale of restoration needed.
And the laundry and kitchen are not exactly equipped with all mod cons!
There are portraits on view of previous owners and others with connections to the house. The photograph below is Annie Mitchell, the last owner in residence – I had an aunt with the same name so I was interested in her, but she is also linked to the bullet hole story along with the gentleman in the painting, Sir Hugh Paterson III.
Sir Hugh was a Jacobite supporter and invited Charles Edward Stuart, Bonnie Prince Charlie, to stay at Bannockburn House in January 1746. According to the house’s oral traditions, a would-be assassin fired a shot through his bedroom window, but until recently, this could not be corroborated. Then our guide Anne and another volunteer took an oral history from an elderly man whose aunt had been housekeeper to Annie Mitchell and, he said, she “had taken great pride in looking after the bullet hole”. Armed with new information about its whereabouts a secret panel was discovered and voila! – the bullet hole, which experts say is compatible with the muskets in use at the time. Catherine, who is the lead research volunteer, took us through the process of discovery which you can read more about on the House’s webpage. Here is the hole itself:
After this excitement we headed back to the car having thoroughly enjoyed our visit. A lot of work is also going on in the gardens and grounds so we couldn’t explore them, although we did spot a fountain in need of TLC and a ruined doocot (dovecote) near the carpark.
I feel this is a place which will repay future visits to see what progress has been made.
The Glasgow Gallivanter 
Love the bullet hole story. Amazing piece of history!
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I know! And it just shows how quickly things can get forgotten about. The bullet hole was clearly well known when this man’s aunt worked in the house, so maybe 1950s, then was covered up ready to be discovered again a few months later.
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Restoration and conservation on this scale must be an ongoing project, taking up many hours and dollars. What a fabulous history this place has. I hope you visit again some time so we can see the progress.
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Yes, I would not expect to see it completely restored in my lifetime! Not unless they find some billionaire benefactor.
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Wow! That would be a wonderful house to tour. The bullet hole left by an assassination attempt on Bonnie Prince Charlie makes it even better!
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It is nice to start the guide tour with a cup of tea and slice of cake. The ceiling is absolutely gorgeous 😍. Hopefully they will be able to restore everything.
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It was an excellent start! I hope they can restore as much as possible.
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Interesting. I look forward to your return visit.
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Thanks, so do I!
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Such an interesting tour, especially with a bullet hole to explore! It’s a place that one can return to again and again to check on those renovations. The cake did look delicious too!
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Yes, the whole thing was fascinating and the cake was the icing on the cake, ha ha!
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This looks to be a tour of a place with a difference. And with tea and cake included, it would be rude not to go.
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Indeed it would! All home baking by the volunteers too.
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Excellent!
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No end to their talents it seems.
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An historic mansion with tea and cake thrown in is right up my street! That kitchen range is fabulous.
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I know, what’s not to love?
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Always cheering to learn of a preservation and restoration of a historic building. The tour sounds lively!
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It is very heartening to see a building like this looked after so well – finally – and so enthusiastically.
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What would we do without people passionate about history? Well done, John for finding that gem. I’m now convinced that the South Island is a mini Scotland as we have a Bannockburn, a lovely small region and with history to boot.
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They do say Scotland and New Zealand have a lot of similar scenery – some day I might find out for myself. I love to see people passionate about history, however they come to it. I asked the research volunteer what her background is, expecting her to say archives or museums, but she’s a nurse! Studying for a PhD so has transferable research skills and is obviously relishing using them.
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Dunedin is more like Scotland due to homesickness with early settlers and Christchurch similar to England for the same reasons. Though both are unique in their own right, it’s the smells, the people and the quirky that make our countries. I hope you both do visit NZ.
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Good on the research volunteer as that level of study is a huge commitment.
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It will be interesting to go back in a couple of years time to see the progress.
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It will – I should really set myself a reminder!
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Well, something I never knew that there was an attempted assassination on the prince. I am glad that the house is being preserved. We lose so much of our past when no one is interested in the preservation of it . Lennox Castle being a good example. Glasgow finished using it and just abandoned it. Bannockburn House is being protected and restored. Yes it will take a lot of time and money but I think it will be worth the efforts.
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I had no idea either, until John spotted the news story last month. Lennox Castle is a sad ruin these days, I’m glad this one is doing better.
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What a wonderful tour. The bullet hole immediately captured my attention – and the toilet sign gave me a good laugh. Oh, and that carrot cake — it looks absolutely divine — especially on vintage china!
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The bullet hole story is amazing, as was the carrot cake – heavenly! John is familiar with the toilet door sentiments – if, for example, I put mugs of coffee on the table, or hang towels on a rail, mine is always right. Because, of course, I AM always right.
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What an interesting place. I love the story of the bullet hole, finding it must have been quite something at the time, and the toilet sign made me smile😊
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The toilet sign is, of course, 100% correct! There was huge excitement at the discovery of the bullet hole – John read about it and we just had to go.
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One place I haven’t been. Good house history. Bob. BSS.
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It was really interesting but, as I’ve said to others, not open all that much so worth planning well ahead if you want to go.
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I’ll put it on my ‘to do’ list
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Worth seeing – but not open very much so you have to plan well in advance, which probably makes it harder for tourists than those of us who live reasonably close.
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It sounds like the trust is doing a great job of engaging visitors in the history of the house as well as trying to restore and protect it for the future. You’re right, it would be interesting to revisit from time to time to monitor progress 🙂
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Engaging is definitely the word! We were enthralled.
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Stirling is one of those bits of Scotland that I’ve managed to miss but always quite fancied. A visit to Bannockburn in a couple of years should be a great incentive.
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Stirling itself is great, and has my favourite castle! Bannockburn House is not open very often – we were lucky to get the last two tickets for our tour.
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Like you say, they have their work cut out for them. At some point, though, the house and grounds will look much, much better.
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It will – the volunteers we met were so determined that I’m sure they will be able to make big differences.
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It’s good that finally someone is going to restore the building, so much history. It’s such a shame places like this become neglected, but of course maintaining them costs a lot of money.
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It is good. The fire story is all too familiar – many old buildings go up in flames before they can be rescued. Fortunately, this one was limited to part of the house and although it might be a while (all that money to raise) hopefully it can be restored at least to some extent.
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A fascinating place. Wonderful that it is being preserved, no small task. Uncovering that bullet hole is quite something. Imagine the excitement when it was found!
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The excitement was almost palpable when we visited! You are right, restoration will be no small task, but at least the building is now being preserved and, hopefully, no longer declining.
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Thank you for this fascnating glimpse!
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It certainly was fascinating! So glad we spotted the story about the bullet hole and decided to go.
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