Location

The location allows for easy access to the Deeside area which combines an excellent variety of sport with wonderful scenery, cultural attractions, leisure pursuits and productive farms and woodlands.

Banchory, considered to be the gateway to Royal Deeside, is a popular town located along the picturesque River Dee within easy commuting distance of Aberdeen and overlooked by the renowned Scolty Hill. Within Banchory there is a good range of amenities, including specialist shopping, two large supermarkets, banking, restaurants, coffee shops, a garden centre, hotels, library, health centre and several dentists. There are pre-school facilities available in addition to two primary schools and Banchory Academy which caters for secondary education. Banchory Sports Village provides sporting facilities, including a six lane swimming pool. There are countless outdoor leisure activities available, including hill walking, horse riding, fishing, gliding and golf. Banchory is also well located for access to the ski resorts at Glenshee and the Lecht during the winter months.

There is ease of access to the AWPR at Milltimber or Maryculter, providing a quicker commute to areas north and south of the city centre, including Aberdeen International Airport which is less than a half hour drive.   Within Aberdeen there are regular train services, including a sleeper to King's Cross London. Aberdeen provides all the services of a major city, including business, leisure and health facilities, theatres and cinemas, restaurants and a wide range of shopping. There is private schooling including Robert Gordon's College, St Margaret's, and Albyn as well as the International school at Pitfodels. There are two universities and several colleges of further education. Lathallan is a private school near Stonehaven.

Description

Durris House dates originally from the 16th century and is Category B Listed. It is believed to have been re-built after being razed to the ground by the Marquis of Montrose in 1645, with the tower at the core of today's house being the first structure.   In the main sitting room you can see the earlier stone buttresses to support floor beams below the ceiling.

The Tower is the oldest part of Durris House. Originally it was a standalone fortified tower, built to protect the boundary into the Cairngorms on the south side of the river Dee. Hence the name Durris, 'Door' in today's parlance. It was apparently the site of several inter-clan skirmishes.

The earliest recorded date for the Tower is about 1320 when Robert the Bruce settled the Tower on the Fraser clan. During their long tenure the Fraser clan extended the property with the addition of the South Wing converting the property from the standalone tower to a sizeable manse. The property passed from the Fraser clan to the Gordon clan in 1795, as there was no heir to the Fraser chieftain. The Gordons leased the property to James Innes.

Around 1824 Archibald Simpson of Aberdeen added the South Wing for John Innes of Leuchars, father of the noted advocate and historian, Cosmo Innes, who was born at Durris House in 1798. John Innes leased the estate from 1795 and carried out many other improvements. However, in 1824 he was ejected by the Duke of Gordon, after protracted litigation, and financially ruined. In 1837, the Gordons sold Durris to Anthony Mactier, Registrar of the High Court in Calcutta. Anthony Mactier apart from his Magisterial Duties was one of the East India Company merchants and in part made his substantial fortune exporting opium from India to China. He was succeeded by his son Alex, who in 1871 sold to James Young the Chemist, whose portrait is hanging in the study at the Tower. James Young was a friend of the explorer Dr David Livingstone, both of them having studied at Glasgow, and he became one of Dr Livingstone's main sponsors.
Anthony Mactier had made many improvements, including alterations to the north and east wings of the house and, most notably, improving the farms and laying out the policies, and planting thousands of trees. Locally Durris House became known as "Paraffin Ha", and James Young was described as one of the most remarkable Lairds of Deeside during the fashionable Victorian period when Albert and Victoria entertained, and were entertained by, the neighbouring sporting estates after their acquisition of Balmoral. On James Young's death the property passed to the Baird family who owned the estate from 1890 until the early 1930s when it was purchased by Viscount Cowdray.

Subsequently for many years the house was owned by Kincardine and Deeside District Council and used by the Ministry of Defence as the North-Eastern Command Centre for civil defence purposes. It was bought from the council in the 1970s and divided into four sections: the Tower Wing, East Wing, North Wing and South Wing.
The sale of The Tower represents an incredible opportunity to purchase a home of great historical importance situated within stunning wooded grounds.

A long meandering driveway is sheltered and secluded by the most magnificent mature rhododendrons, bursting with colour in the seasonal months. The accommodation at The Tower begins with an entrance vestibule with flagstone floor which also serves well as a boot room. At a lower level with vaulted ceiling is the dining kitchen, complete with four oven electric crimson AGA and under heated flagstone flooring. There is a comprehensive range of oak cabinets complemented by granite worksurfaces. An open archway leads to the extremely versatile vaulted cellar which is fitted with power, light and plumbing for a sink. The original clockwise spiral stone staircase threads through the property. It first ascends to the first floor where there is a delightful sitting room which boasts a large fireplace housing a Jotul multifuel stove and beamed ceiling. A door connects into the study which has a window overlooking the courtyard. At a mezzanine level is a modern shower room with white WC and wash basin. Enjoying wonderful natural light is the principal bedroom with feature fireplace and exposed beamed ceiling. Adjacent is a dressing room/nursery with a courtyard aspect. The main bathroom is well appointed with freestanding rolltop bath, WC and wash basin. A particularly useful space is the walk in linen cupboard. Two further bedrooms are found on the third floor while even further up the staircase there is the tower bedroom for total peace and sanctuary.

Directions

From the A90 at the roundabout on the south side of the Bridge of Dee on the outskirts of Aberdeen, take the B9007 (South Deeside Road) westwards for about 10 miles. The drive to Durris House will be seen on the left just after the Park crossroads, where the right turn is signposted to Drumoak. Arriving at Durris House, the Tower is the third property on your right.