Mar Lodge

Mar Lodge is a sporting lodge 5 miles (8 kilometres) to the west of Braemar and the principal building on the Mar Lodge Estate in Aberdeenshire, Scotland. It was built in 1895, replacing an earlier building, by Alexander Duff, 1st Duke of Fife.

Mar Lodge
The front elevation of Mar Lodge during 2015
General information
Status	Complete
Type	Events venue and holiday accommodation
Architectural style	Highland with elements of Tudor Revival
Address	Mar Lodge Estate Braemar Aberdeenshire AB35 5YJ
Country	Scotland
Coordinates	56°59′30″N 3°29′19″W
Construction started	1895
Completed	1898
Renovated	1991–1993 (after fire)
Owner	National Trust for Scotland
Technical details
Material	Granite, timber detailing, roof tiles
Floor count	Two
Design and construction
Architect	Alexander Marshall Mackenzie
Developer	Duke and Duchess of Fife
Website
Official website
Listed Building – Category B
Official name	Mar Lodge Estate, Mar Lodge including garden wall
Designated	24 November 1972
Reference no.	LB48775

Location

Mar Lodge from Linn of Dee Road

Mar Lodge is a sporting lodge built for the use of the Duke and Duchess of Fife. It is located about 4 miles (6 kilometres) to the west of Braemar and is accessed from the Linn of Dee road, over the Victoria Bridge, a lattice girder structure built across the River Dee in 1905.[1]

History

There have been three buildings known as Mar Lodge. The first, originally known as Dalmore House, was built in the 18th century by William Duff, Baron Braco,[2] close to the site of the present Lodge.[3] Lord Braco had acquired the Dalmore estate some time between 1730 and 1737 from the Mackenzie lairds of Dalmore, and by the end of the 18th century the Duff family also owned the lands of Allanaquoich, Auchindryne and Inverey[4] The building was damaged in the "Muckle Spate" ("great flood") of 1829,[5] and later demolished.[1]

Corriemulzie Cottage

The 2nd Mar Lodge, colloquially known as Corriemulzie Cottage or 'New' Mar Lodge, was built near Linn of Corriemulzie at the top of Mar Lodge Brae. It was a very 'Victorian' building with architectural detailing such as prominent use of lattice work (still visible on the 'Stag Ballroom') and tree-trunk supports (visible in the veranda of the old bar at the rear of Mar Lodge) being reused in the construction of the next Mar Lodge. It was destroyed by fire on the 14th of June 1895.[5]

The present lodge

The Mar Lodge Gatehouse, as seen from Victoria Bridge

The 3rd Mar Lodge was built between 1895 and 1898 for the Alexander Duff, 1st Duke of Fife and his wife Princess Louise, Princess Royal and Duchess of Fife. The foundation stone was laid by her grandmother Queen Victoria on 15 October 1895.[6]

The architect was Alexander Marshall Mackenzie of Aberdeen (1848-1933) who, at the express request of the Duchess—H.R.H. Princess Louise, in the Elizabethan style of architecture.

— Wyness, Fenton

An old postcard shows the original veranda and drive alignment that allowed horse-drawn carriages arriving from Braemar to pull up at the main door.

The 3rd Mar Lodge was extensively damaged by a fire while being renovated in 1991, but was rebuilt. It was converted into holiday flats and retains many of the grand features of its heyday as a hunting lodge. The ballroom has 2,435 red deer stags heads lining the walls and ceiling.[7]

Mar Lodge Estate became a National Trust for Scotland property in 1995.

Stag Ballroom

A ballroom was constructed for estate staff balls, required by the need for segregation between master and servant which dominated the period. Built near to the second Mar Lodge at Corriemulzie, it was moved to the present site in 1898. A large timber building in the estate red, it has distinctive lattice trellising, an original Victorian ventilation system and unusual cast iron bracers on stone plinths supporting the walls. Internally the building remains virtually in its original state and contains over 2,000 stags skulls.[8]

• 
  The foundation stone
• 
  Interior of Mar Lodge
• 
  Interior of Mar Lodge
• 
  Ballroom with thousands of antlers

St Ninian's Chapel

St Ninian's Chapel

St Ninian's Chapel stands immediately adjacent to Mar Lodge and was originally the private chapel of the owners of Mar Lodge. The 1st Duke of Fife and his family are buried in the chapel.[9]

Sources

• Wyness, Fenton (1968), Royal Valley : The Story Of The Aberdeenshire Dee, Alex P. Reid & Son, Aberdeen
• Dixon, P.J.; Green, S.T. (1995), Mar Lodge Estate Grampian : An Archaeological Survey, Royal Commission on the Ancient and Historical Monuments of Scotland, Edinburgh

See also

• Places, place names, and structures on Mar Lodge Estate

Footnotes

1. "Overview of Mar Lodge (Corriemulzie Cottage)". Gazetteer for Scotland. Retrieved 7 February 2009.
2. Dixon & Green
3. Historic Environment Scotland. "Mar Lodge Estate, Mar Lodge including Garden Wall  (Category B Listed Building) (LB48775)". Retrieved 21 March 2019.
4. Wyness
5. "A selection of the Cairngorms National Park's architectural heritage" (PDF). Historic Scotland. Retrieved 7 February 2009.
6. "Mar Lodge, Braemar". Rampant Scotland. Retrieved 7 February 2009.
7. "History". Braemar Guide. Archived from the original on January 31, 2009. Retrieved 7 February 2009.
8. Historic Environment Scotland. "Mar Lodge Estate, The Ballroom  (Category B Listed Building) (LB50769)". Retrieved 22 March 2019.
9. Historic Environment Scotland. "Mar Lodge Estate, St Ninian's Chapel (Scottish Episcopal Church)  (Category B Listed Building) (LB50768)". Retrieved 22 March 2019.

External links