PERFECT HOMES MAGAZINE - Issue 13 Issue 13 | Page 64

K inpurnie Castle is a magnificent Category ‘B’ Listed mansion house in the Scots baronial style, dating back to 1907. It has a harled and painted exterior lying under a slated roof and very much encapsulates the Scots baronial style with a castellated tower, turrets, fine dressed stone architectural details, astragal windows and a highly ornate porte cochere of dressed stone, castellated pediment and arched astragal windows. The flair of the exterior continues in the interior and boasts a wealth of period features throughout including oak panelled reception hall with fine oak staircase, polish wooden floors, panelled doors with original door furniture, ornate cornicing and ceiling plasterwork together with magnificent fireplaces. Despite the scale and proportions of Kinpurnie Castle it is surprisingly manageable. The principal accommodation on the ground floor comprises an oak panelled reception hall, four elegant reception rooms with marble fireplaces and elaborate ceilings and cornicing. The kitchen and number of stores and pantries are found in the practical east wing. There are four bedroom suites, four further bedrooms and four bathrooms with eight further secondary bedrooms all lying over the first and second floors. There is potential to enhance the principal bedroom suites by altering the existing layout to create en suite bathrooms in the existing dressing rooms. On the lower ground floor there is a series of storage rooms which could be converted to provide a state of the art gymnasium or entertainment suite. K inpurnie Castle was designed by Thoms & Wilkie of Dundee and built in 1907-8 for Sir Charles Cayzer, the ship owner and founder of the clan line, who had recently acquired the estate from the Earl of Wharncliff’s Trustees.   The gate lodge and entrance gates, together with the carriage house, were designed and built at the same time together with the walled garden.   It has all been described by John Gifford in the Buildings of Scotland: Angus and Dundee (Published year 2012) as being in the free C17 Scotstyle, otherwise known as Scots Renaissance. The finest craftsmen of the time were employed to decorate the house and the magnificent plaster work is by the Bromsgrove Guild, a company of artists and designers associated with the Arts & Crafts movement.   Probably the most famous of their works are the main gates of Buckingham Palace.   Kinpurnie Castle Lodge Kinpurnie Castle Lodge is a category ‘B’ listed gate lodge lying within the castle policies and adjacent to the northern entrance.  Built over one and a half storeys it provides a kitchen, sitting room, dining room, two bedrooms and a bathroom.   The lodge is surrounded by mature woodland and sits within its own garden.