skip to main content
Menu
  • Blog
    • Art & design
    • Castles
    • Cycling
    • Edinburgh
    • Edinburgh Festival
    • Food & drink
    • General
    • History
    • Music
    • Sport
    • Walking
    • Whisky
    • Wildlife
  • Castles
    • Glossary
    • Mottes
    • Stay in a castle
    • Castle blog posts
    • Alphabetical list of castles
    • Castles divided by county
    • Photos of castles
    • Castles we've visited
  • History
    • Castles
    • Ancient history
      • barrows
      • brochs
      • cairns
      • caves
      • chambered cairns
      • cists
      • crannogs
      • cursus monuments
      • forts
      • henges
      • rock art
      • sacred sites
      • souterrains
      • standing stones
      • stone circles
    • Pictish history
      • Pictish stones
      • Pictish sites
      • Pictish placenames
    • Clans
      • Surnames
      • Trace your ancestors
      • Tartan
    • Trace your ancestors
  • Culture
    • Music
      • Bands & musicians
      • Music links
    • Film
    • Television
    • Placenames
      • Pictish placenames
  • Eat
  • Drink
    • Scottish beer
    • Scottish gin
    • Scottish vodka
  • Stay
  • Travel guide
    • City guides
    • Car hire
    • Airports
  • Walking
    • Munros
    • West Highland Way
  • Photos
  • Offers
  • Home
  • blog
The Haining estate in Selkirk

The Haining estate in Selkirk was our destination today, a country house and the associated designed landscape of its grounds.

Gifted to the people of Selkirk in 2009 by the owner, Andrew Nimmo Smith, upon his death, it is now being managed by a trust who are developing the estate for the benefit of the local community.

The estate is entered from a car park on the south of Selkirk town centre, a path leading into what looks to be an old walled garden. At the south east corner of this garden is a long mound, planted with trees, which is the motte and bailey of Selkirk Castle.

Built in the 12th century, Selkirk Castle would initially have been a timber building, later replaced with a stone tower. The actual castle of Selkirk Castle has long gone, but the terraced motte on which it stood is still clearly visible.

Around the bottom of this mound a series of terraces run, forming the bailey part of the castle.

By the early 14th century, after being heavily involved in the Wars of Independence during the previous century, the castle seems to have fallen out of use, and was replaced by a new castle called The Haining.

Probably starting life as a tower house in the 14th or 15th centuries, The Haining was developed over the centuries by successive owners, and in the early 18th century the then owner, John Pringle (later Lord Haining), was responsible for laying out the landscaped grounds.

The centre point of the grounds was Haining Loch, a natural loch which had been partially drained in the 17th century.

In 1794 Lord Haining’s great-nephew commissioned the local architect William Elliot to build a new grander house to the east of the old house, looking out over the loch.

The new house sits on a terrace on top of a mound above the loch.

Around 1820, to the west of both the new house and the old house, a stable block was constructed, with an arcaded wall on the loch side.

There are various walks around the estate, and the Borders Abbey Way also passes through the estate’s fields, over Murieston Hill to the west of the loch. Being April, these fields were full of sheep with their newborn lambs.

Also in the field are the remains of an old doocot, now very much ruined.

Returning to the house, and walking around to its north side, reveals the grand Palladian façade that was added around 1820.

The old house continued to stand, and was used as a kitchen wing and servants’ quarters. But unfortunately, while under requisition during the Second World War and occupied by the Free Polish Army, it burned down and was later demolished.

Walking back through the walled garden, there was a great view of Selkirk under gathering clouds.

Next to the car park is Halliwell’s House Museum, an interesting collection of local history and artefacts, including a model of the likely structure of Selkirk Castle.

There is also an intricately carved stone, originally thought to have been from Selkirk Castle, but now believed to actually have come from Melrose Abbey.

A wooden panel shows the cost of using various vehicles on the old Whitmuir Hall toll road.

Also next to the car park are the substantial remains of the Auld Kirk, built on the site of the Kirk o’ the Forest. The roof has been removed and the church interior converted into an open-air burial aisle.

The Murray aisle, with the arched entrance, houses the Murray ancestors of the 32nd American President Franklin D. Roosevelt.

The sky was starting to look heavy, so we retreated to the car and started to head for home.

This area of the Borders is full of history however, so we stopped on the way at Trimontium, a Roman fort on the edge of the village of Newstead. There was a fantastic view of the fort on Eildon Hill North, illuminated by the sun piercing the clouds.

Nothing much of Trimontium remains above ground, although it was an extensive and important site. A stone monument marks its position.

Like this:

Like Loading...

Latest blog posts

The lost tower of Rakestonleis
23rd of July 2022 •
The three castles of Tolibothwell
7th of April 2020 •
Where to buy beer in Scotland during the Coronavirus lockdown
26th of March 2020 •
Cherry blossom in Edinburgh
23rd of April 2019 •
A dreich day of Dumfriesshire castles
13th of March 2019 •
Tweed Valley walks and Elibank Castle
30th of April 2018 •
Red squirrels at Eskrigg Reserve (and some castles)
6th of April 2018 •
Old and new Comiston Houses
29th of March 2016 •
Quintinshill rail disaster parade
23rd of May 2015 •
Cycling along Silverknowes Esplanade in Edinburgh
5th of April 2015 •
more blog posts....

Blog categories

art & design

15 posts

castles

88 posts

cycling

24 posts

Edinburgh

67 posts

Edinburgh Festival

7 posts

food & drink

4 posts

general

41 posts

history

143 posts

music

2 posts

sport

4 posts

walking

57 posts

whisky

1 posts

wildlife

41 posts

Follow us on bloglovin'

Stravaiging around Scotland Stravaiging around Scotland
  • advertisement

Most popular posts

Yester Castle and the Goblin Ha’
19th of June 2011 •
West Highland Way 2006 – Day 1
16th of July 2006 •
Ancient sites on Lewis
15th of June 2006 •
Calton Hill and the Scottish National Portrait Gallery
19th of May 2013 •
Loch Turret and Ben Chonzie
21st of October 2006 •
Standing stones in Edinburgh
28th of August 2010 •
Doors Open Day Edinburgh 2012
24th of September 2012 •
Castles and Pictish stones in the north of Scotland
13th of April 2013 •
Hot air ballooning over Scotland
2nd of April 2009 •
Walking around Gosford House and gardens
20th of June 2014 •
more blog posts....

Blogroll

Ailish Sinclair

BikELove Scotland

Edinburgh Drift

From Hill to Sea

isleofronalog

Jardine's Book of Martyrs

Kelsey Jackson Williams

Marc Calhoun

Scotland with The Wee White Dug

Scottish Crannogs

Senchus

The Hazel Tree

The History Girls Frae Scotland

The Urban Prehistorian

Walkhighlands

  • advertisement

Related pages

A trek to the top of Schiehallion
A trek to the top of Schiehallion
Walking in the woods above Pitlochry
Walking in the woods above Pitlochry
Stormy Portobello and birdlife on the River Tyne
Stormy Portobello and birdlife on the River Tyne
An underground adventure in southern Midlothian
An underground adventure in southern Midlothian
Baby squirrels at Callendar House
Baby squirrels at Callendar House
Exploring the Carmichael estate
Exploring the Carmichael estate
Published on the 28th of April 2012 at 10:03 pm. Updated on the 20th of July 2013 at 12:06 pm.

Leave a comment

back to the top of the page

Connect with us

Like us on Facebook

Receive our newsletter

Follow us on Twitter

Tweets by Stravaig_Aboot
  • advertisement

Quick links

Stay in a Scottish castle
Edinburgh Festival accommodation
Hotels in Scotland
Car hire in Scotland
Places to eat and drink in Scotland
Castles in Scotland
Trace your Scottish ancestors
Scottish clans
Standing stones in Scotland
The Picts
Pictish symbol stones
Pictish placenames
Scottish bands and musicians
Scottish films
Scottish TV shows
West Highland Way

About

Andy Sweet above Fast Castle

Stravaiging around Scotland is written, photographed and researched by Andy Sweet.
read more....

Cookies

To make this site work properly we use cookies to store information on your computer. Click here to read more.

Affiliate links

This site includes affiliate links and adverts. If you click on these links we may receive a small commission at no cost to yourselves. As an Amazon Associate we earn from qualifying purchases. This modest income goes towards funding the site.
© 2003 - 2025 Andy Sweet / Stravaiging around Scotland. Powered by WordPress. Hosted by Tsohost.
%d