Building record MAB11775 - LETTERFOURIE HOUSE

Mansion, built by Robert Adam between 1772-1773 for two Gordon's brothers.

Mansion, built by Robert Adam between 1772-1773 for two Gordon’s brothers. They made their money in Madeira in the wine trade and sent home Spanish mahogany that is in use in the principal public rooms. Alexander Gordon married in 1778, his son James inheriting the estate.

The house has a tall, centre, 3-storey, cubic main block joined with mirrored 2-storey outer wings by 3-bay linking blocks. The mansion is set on a raised basement, which is fully displayed as a lower ground floor at the south garden front. The basement may have been originally masked by a raised bank, which was lowered after the re-design of the garden and the installation of the fountains. The centre block is constructed from pink tooled pinned granite, with harl pointed rubble used elsewhere. There are tooled and polished contrasting sandstone dressings.

The north entrance front has outer mirrored wings set at right angles to form a shallow U-plan court. There is a centre entrance, with a shallow portico supported by two Corinthian columns and approached by a shallow flight of steps oversailing the raised basement. There are three console corniced windows with balustraded aprons in the first floor, and smaller upper windows. The outer wings each have a single ground-floor tripartite window. Each set-back, 3-bay linking block has an advanced and pedimented centre bay, and a doorway in the east linking block. The raised basement is screened by continuous spearhead railings with urn finials to stiffeners.

The south garden front has a 5-window centre block with a centre entrance to the basement, and small flanking lights. There is a blind window in the centre of the upper storey with a dated keystone. The outer wings are fronted at the east and west by a centre, 2-storey, single bay projecting wing with a piended roof. The west wing has an entrance to a former chapel in the lower ground floor. The chapel has round-headed windows with intersecting astragals, decorative glazing to fanlights and 9- and 12-pane glazing. There are coped end, wall head and ridge stacks, and a single leaded dummy ridge stack at the east for symmetry. The centre cube has a blocking course and a piended slate roof, with a centre ridge weathervane. There are gabled slate roofs elsewhere.

There is a shaped water garden in front of the south elevation, with two fountains of earlier-mid-19th Century date. Both stand on square plinths, their wide bowls with scalloped lips are supported by shaped baluster stems. The fountain furthest from the house has a shaped central stem with diminishing basins.

Inside, there is an entrance hall, from which rises a full-height cantilevered flight of stairs. There is also a ground floor parlour and dining room. The dining room has a white marble chimneypiece, a steel basket grate by James Fraser, Banff, a plaster ceiling and cornice, a dado rail, mahogany raised and fielded panelled doors and window shutters, and double doors to the parlour. The first-floor drawing room leads from a spacious landing. It has a yellow and white marble chimneypiece, a steel basket grate with incised decoration, also by James Fraser, Banff (signed), a mahogany dado rail, raised and fielded panelled doors and window shutters, a decorative painted (green and white) plaster ceiling, and richly coloured hand painted wallpaper with birds and flowers. The library has modern shelving and a re-used marble chimneypiece.

The Gordons were a staunchly Roman Catholic family and built their mansion at a time when public worship was proscribed for Catholics. Because of this, above the chapel (no longer in use as such) there was accommodation for a resident priest who also acted as a tutor to the children of later heirs. The chapel also has a groined plaster vaulted chancel, flanked by engaged pilasters. No fittings survive.

The home farm is to the north (MAB11808).

Author unknown, , PRESS & JOURNAL (Bibliographic reference). SAB1416.

THE SCOTSMAN, 0000, THE SCOTSMAN, 26/09/91, 6/02/92 (Bibliographic reference). SAB1819.

Author unknown, 1799, OLD STATISTICAL ACCOUNT, 363 (Bibliographic reference). SAB1845.

COLVIN, H, 1978, BIOG DICT OF BRIT ARCHITECTS, 54 (Bibliographic reference). SAB270.

MCKEAN, C, 1987, MORAY: AN ILLUSTRATED ARCHITECTURAL GUIDE, 124 (Bibliographic reference). SAB1142.

BOGDAN, NQ, 1991, Castles, Manors & Town House survey, 36 (Bibliographic reference). SAB2251.

Aug 18 1990 , KN 1-9, KN 1-9 (Ground Photograph). SAB33816.

Jan 1 1990 , AAS/GR/90/CT87-89,91,94, AAS/GR/90/CT87-89,91,94 (Ground Photograph). SAB32791.

Jul 12 2010 , AAS/10/3/DG1985-7, AAS/10/3/DG1985-7 (Air-oblique Photograph). SAB30768.

SDD, n.d., BLDS OF ARCH & HIST INTEREST, RATHVEN 16 (Bibliographic reference). SAB1827.

Author unknown, n.d., NSA, 255 (Bibliographic reference). SAB1269.

Record last edited

Sep 11 2026 9:43AM