Building record MAB22644 - HADDO HOUSE

Remains of a designed landscape around Haddo House (NJ83SE0042) incorporating various features probably by J and W Smith 1847.

Remains of a designed landscape around Haddo House (NJ83SE0042) incorporating various features probably by J and W Smith 1847. The present designed landscape of Haddo House dates to the 18th and 19th centuries and is most commonly associated with the prominent figures William Adam (bap.1689-1748), George Hamilton-Gordon, the 4th Earl of Aberdeen (1784-1860), and the artist James Giles (1801-1870). A 1.3 km long southeasterly avenue originating from below the formal garden terrace of Haddo House was designed by William Adam in circa 1738 during landscape reorganisation. The present parkland landscape was developed in the first half of the 19th century, and still retains its essential 19th-century structure, as depicted on the 1st and 2nd edition OS maps. The works included the drainage of the boggy grounds of the 'Doolies' east of the house, the straightening of portions of the Kelly Burn, landscaping of the policies, the creation of the two lakes (The Upper Lake and Keithfield Lake), the planting of vast numbers of parkland and woodland trees, and stocking the parks with deer. The oldest element associated with the parkland is the deer park (NJ83SE0152). At the east end of the avenue is a massive urn on a tall plinth, dated 1847 (NJ83SE0111). Flanking the avenue a short distance to the west is a pair of deer statues on tall granite plinths (NJ83SE0110). Further west are The Golden Gates (NJ83SE0109). To the south of Haddo House is The Gordon Monument (NJ83SE0087), erected some time after 1815. The estate has a number of lodges: Tangland Lodge (NJ83NE0204), The North Lodge built circa 1848, in Tudor style (NJ83NE0188), Keithfield Lodge dating from 1878 (NJ83SE0089), and South Lodge built in circa 1845 in Tudor style (NJ83SE0108). West of the house is the walled garden (NJ83SE0092) of early 19th century date with mid-18th-century gates, and a gardener's cottage (built circa 1843) to the south (NJ83SE0091). There are also a number of other cottages and houses across the estate, including The House of Formartine (NJ83SE0145). Within Knockorthy Wood is a burial enclosure (NJ83SE0107), designed by Alfred Waterhouse 1884, and in Gothic Style. The home farm, Mains of Haddo (NJ83SE0094 and NJ83SE0093) is south of the house, dating from the first half of the 19th-century, although partly altered in 1890. A possible manor house (NJ83SE0040) may have been sited at the Mains of Keithfield. A number of other installations are set within the landscape, including a dovecot (NJ83SE0017), a laundry (NJ83NE0178), and two boathouses on the Upper Lake (NJ83SE0137) and Keithfield Lake (NJ83SE0123). Two bridges cross the Burn of Kelly (NJ83SE0181 and NJ83SE0157) to the southeast of Haddo House.

Period Notes
Haddo House built 1731-6, alterations 1822, kitchen court 1843, interiors 1879-81; Chapel 1876-81; fountain mid-19thC; The Avenue with golden gates, urn and pair of stags c.1847; Sundial 17th or early 18thC; Balustrades mid-19thC; stable and coach-house 1822; Obelsik 1815; Walled garden early 19thC; Gardener's cottage c.1843; Icehouse early 19thC; Burial enclosure 1884; Butler's house c.1860; Theatre 1891; The Peatyards 1993; South Lodge c.1845; North Lodge and laundry c.1845 and laundry extended 1975; Haddo House Lodge and gate 1878; Mains of Haddo c.1822 and altered 1890 and 1980s.

BBC NEWS WEBSITE, , BBC NEWS WEBSITE, 12/02/16 (Bibliographic reference). SAB3784.

NATIONAL MUSEUM ROYAL NAVY, 2016, GENEROUS DONATION OF SCOTTISH TIMBER ENSURES HMS VICTORY WILL FIGHT ANOTHER DAY (Bibliographic reference). SAB1351.

RATHMELL ARCHAEOLOGY, 2017, HADDO HOUSE DEER PARK, ABERDEENSHIRE: ARCHAEOLOGICAL SURVEY ASSESSMENT AND COMMUNITY EXCAVATION, DBA and Excavation (Bibliographic reference). SAB3131.

RATHMELL ARCHAEOLOGY, 2019, SCHOOLHILL PHASE 2, ABERDEEN: ARCHAEOLOGICAL WATCHING BRIEF DATA STRUCTURE REPORT (Bibliographic reference). SAB3151.

Record last edited

Feb 3 2026 11:44AM