Building record MAB22622 - HADDO HOUSE

Mansion house, originally designed by William Adam in Georgian Palladian style.

Mansion House, originally designed by William Adam in Georgian Palladian style, completed with detail alterations and sculptures by John Baxter between 1731-1736. Alterations were made to the house, and the stables and coach house were built, in 1822. The interior of the house is late-Victorian in style, having undergone major refurbishment and alterations between 1879-1881 by Wright and Mansfield of London. The house was built by the 2nd Earl of Aberdeen to impress the Duke of Gordon, the father of the Earl's third wife. It has been home to the Gordon's of Methlilck and to the Earls and Marquesses of Aberdeen since it was built in the 1730s. The house’s landscape (MAB22644) of vistas, avenues, and ornaments was created by the 4th Earl of Aberdeen, who was also Britain's Prime Minister during the Crimean War. The two Wellingtonia trees in the garden were planted by Queen Victoria and Prince Albert when they stayed in 1857. During the Second World War, Haddo was used as a maternity hospital. The house was bequeathed to the National Trust after the death of the 4th Marquess in 1974.

The central block of the house is a 23.5 square metre, three-storey structure built of ashlar granite with quoined corners. Both the east and west facades feature seven windows and are astylar in design. On the west side, the central three bays are slightly projected and topped with a pediment adorned with urns. A piended roof with a parapet crowns the structure. Extending from the central block are quadrant walls with a radius of 7.3 metres, connecting to two-storey wings constructed of quoined rubble. These wings present five-window facades facing both the front and the courtyard. The first floors of the wings were raised in 1780, and it is likely that the quadrants were modified at the same time. A chapel adjoins the northeastern wing of the house. Of the Adam-Baxter interior work, the original first-floor entrance hall at the centre of the west side survives. It features a notable addition: an 1845 bust of Queen Victoria sculpted by Baron Marochetti. The kitchen court dates to 1843. Between 1930-1931, the west wing was renovated and reconstructed after damage by fire and alterations were completed on the south wing. A restoration and upgrading scheme commenced in 1997; and development plans for the house were proposed in 2005.

The policies of the house incorporate several entities, including a stable and coach house block (MAB22662), two halls (MAB22661 and MAB22712), two sundials (MAB22665 and MAB22668), a fountain (MAB22666), balustrades (MAB22667), an unidentified building (MAB22711), a chapel (MAB22718), and several findspots (MAB48460, MAB48442, and MAB48443).

Various archaeological investigations have taken place at Haddo House. A small section of V-shaped stone drain of probable 19th Century date was recorded below a pathway on the south side of the chapel, adjoining the house, during a watching brief in 2005. A probable mid-19th Century path was recorded during excavation in August 2008. Two small trenches, also excavated in August 2008, provided information on a 'daisy' feature and cut a section across one corner of a 'peta' bed. The 2008 trenches also showed that the bed had been cut through one of the mid-19th Century paths. A series of archaeological works in 2011 recorded a considerable wall and other structures which pre-dated the lawn, established when Haddo House was built. The structures recorded are thought to be the remains of the 16th Century House of Kelly (MAB56503). An early-19th Century brick drain and part of a mid-19th Century garden path were recorded during an evaluation in January 2012. There are also earlier structural remains to the south of the house (MAB56522).

Author unknown, , PRESS & JOURNAL, 08/03/78 (Bibliographic reference). SAB1416.

Author unknown, , PRESS & JOURNAL, 10/08/15 (Bibliographic reference). SAB1416.

Author unknown, , PRESS & JOURNAL, 15/06/1989 (Bibliographic reference). SAB1416.

Author unknown, , PRESS & JOURNAL, 19/08/87 (Bibliographic reference). SAB1416.

Author unknown, , PRESS & JOURNAL, 19/09/2008 p.12 (Bibliographic reference). SAB1416.

Author unknown, , PRESS & JOURNAL, 23/07/83 (Bibliographic reference). SAB1416.

Author unknown, , PRESS & JOURNAL, 29/03/86 (Bibliographic reference). SAB1416.

THE SCOTSMAN, 0000, THE SCOTSMAN, 24/12/2008, p.7 (Bibliographic reference). SAB1819.

FORMAN, S, 1967, SCOT COUNTRY HOUSES & GARDENS, 134 (Bibliographic reference). SAB511.

MACAULAY, J, 1981, EIGHTEENTH CENTURY COUNTRY HOUSES IN ABERDEENSHIRE. IN DEESIDE FIELD 17, 58-62, 58-9 (Bibliographic reference). SAB1216.

McALLAN, L, 2005, DES VOL5, 2004, P.17 (Bibliographic reference). SAB4584.

EVALUATION

MURRAY, J. C., 2006, DES VOL6, 2005, p.18 (Bibliographic reference). SAB4552.

watching brief

ARCHAEOLOGY SCOTLAND, 2009, DISCOVERY & EXCAVATION IN SCOTLAND, VOL 9, 2008, p.26 (Bibliographic reference). SAB3496.

MURRAY ARCHAEOLOGICAL SERVICES, 2011, WEST LAWN, HADDO HOUSE, TARVES, ABERDEENSHIRE: ARCHAEOLOGICAL WATCHING BRIEF AND EXCAVATION (Bibliographic reference). SAB5011.

ARCHAEOLOGY SCOTLAND, 2012, DISCOVERY AND EXCAVATION IN SCOTLAND. NEW SERIES, VOLUME 12, 2011, pp.24-5 (Bibliographic reference). SAB5536.

CAMERON ARCHAEOLOGY, 2012, HADDO HOUSE, TARVES, ABERDEENSHIRE: RELOCATION OF NORTH WING OIL TANK: REPORT ON ARCHAEOLOGICAL WATCHING BRIEF, CA106-2012 (Bibliographic reference). SAB5344.

MURRAY ARCHAEOLOGICAL SERVICES, 2012, LIGHTNING CONDUCTOR TRENCH, HADDO HOUSE: ARCHAEOLOGICAL EVALUATION (Bibliographic reference). SAB5010.

ARCHAEOLOGY SCOTLAND, 2013, DISCOVERY AND EXCAVATION IN SCOTLAND, NEW SERIES, VOLUME 13, 2012, p.25 (Bibliographic reference). SAB5487.

MURRAY ARCHAEOLOGICAL SERVICES, 2013, HADDO HOUSE, ABERDEENSHIRE: STAFF CAR PARK MAINS WATER LEAK: ARCHAEOLOGICAL WATCHING BRIEF, WB report (Bibliographic reference). SAB5158.

ARCHAEOLOGY SCOTLAND, 2014, DISCOVERY AND EXCAVATION IN SCOTLAND, NEW SERIES, VOLUME 14, 2013, p.27 (Bibliographic reference). SAB5483.

MURRAY ARCHAEOLOGICAL SERVICES, 2014, WENDY HOUSE, HADDO HOUSE, ABERDEENSHIRE: BUILDING RECORDING, Building recording (Bibliographic reference). SAB5162.

ARCHAEOLOGY SCOTLAND, 2015, DISCOVERY AND EXCAVATION IN SCOTLAND. NEW SERIES, VOLUME 15, 2014, p.31 (Bibliographic reference). SAB5542.

CAMERON ARCHAEOLOGY, 2024, HADDO HOUSE, METHLICK, ELLON, ABERDEENSHIRE, AB41 7EQ REPORT ON THE ARCHAEOLOGICAL WATCHING BRIEF, Watching Brief (Bibliographic reference). SAB8956.

Aug 26 2004 , AAS-GR-04-08-006, AAS-GR-04-08-006 (Ground Photograph). SAB35798.

Feb 3 2000 , AAS/00/03/CT50-8, AAS/00/03/CT50-8 (Air-oblique Photograph). SAB12278.

Feb 3 2000 , AAS/00/03/G7/4-9, AAS/00/03/G7/4-9 (Air-oblique Photograph). SAB12277.

Jan 25 1999 , AAS/99/01/G1/16-20, AAS/99/01/G1/16-20 (Air-oblique Photograph). SAB17128.

Jun 20 2015 , AAS-GR-15-06-090 - 097, AAS-GR-15-06-090 - 097 (Ground Photograph). SAB20826.

Jun 20 2015 , AAS-GR-15-06-136 - 208, AAS-GR-15-06-136 - 208 (Ground Photograph). SAB20825.

Jun 20 2015 , AAS-GR-15-06-221 - 223, AAS-GR-15-06-221 - 223 (Ground Photograph). SAB20888.

Mar 1 1997 , AAS/GR/97/CT121-124, AAS/GR/97/CT121-124 (Ground Photograph). SAB33025.

Mar 21 2006 , AAS/06/1/DG50-1, AAS/06/1/DG50-1 (Air-oblique Photograph). SAB18621.

SDD, n.d., BLDS OF ARCH & HIST INTEREST, METHLICK 13 (Bibliographic reference). SAB1827.

Author unknown, n.d., COUNTRY LIFE, AUGUST 1966 (Bibliographic reference). SAB276.

Author unknown, n.d., NSA, VOL XII, 967 (Bibliographic reference). SAB1269.

Author unknown, n.d., THE MAIL ON SUNDAY, 15/03/2009 (Bibliographic reference). SAB4633.

Oct 27 2016 , AAS-GR-16-10-009 - 033, AAS-GR-16-10-009 - 033 (Ground Photograph). SAB35583.

Sep 6 1984 , AAS/84/14/S9/1-20/1-9, AAS/84/14/S9/1-20/1-9 (Air-oblique Photograph). SAB14654.

Sep 11 1988 , HT 1-8, HT 1-8 (Ground Photograph). SAB14656.

Sep 14 1984 , DE 4-24, DE 4-24 (Ground Photograph). SAB14655.

Record last edited

Oct 8 2026 6:26PM