About Us – The Architect

Sometime after Robert Adam died in 1793, four architects were appointed to carry out his unexecuted plans for the New Town in Edinburgh. One of them, William Burn (1789 – 1870), who later became one of the leading architects of his time, was the builder of Ardanaiseig.

Burn’s early work was in and around Edinburgh. His best-known buildings are – the Melville Monument, the Edinburgh Academy, John Watsons and St John’s Episcopal Church. The Edinburgh Academy and John Watsons are neo-classical buildings with no trace of the Scottish Baronial style of building of which Burn and his pupil Bryce were to become the most dignified exponents.

During the 1830’s and 1840s, Burn was the principal architect in Scotland of large houses for the nobility and gentry. His chef d’oeuvre was Bowhill which he built for the Duke of Buccleuch.

Burn was a forthright critic of the work of his competitors and his rows with his great rival Playfair provided many problems and some amusement to the Committee of the Royal Scottish Academy of which they were both members. There was probably some relief when Burn went south to London in 1844.

The only other example of his work in this area is Gallanach near Oban, which was built in 1817, but which was extensively altered and added to at the beginning of this century.

Ardanaiseig is a Grade II listed house. The exterior remains virtually unchanged but parts of the interior were altered by the Ainsworth family and of course the conversion of the house to a hotel has inevitably involved further alterations recently. Every effort has been made to keep these to a minimum and to preserve the atmosphere of a private house, but fire precautions and the need for private bathrooms have made some changes unavoidable.

The original design included a tower and a third storey but this plan was mercifully abandoned before building commenced and the final version is both aesthetically and practically a more satisfactory building than the first attempt.