A Scottish Castle With Connections to a Whiskey Dynasty

Listing of the Day

Location: St. Andrews, Scotland

Price: £1.75 million (US$2.4 million)

This grand and historic Victorian mansion, built in 1860, was originally home to the Haig family, Scotland’s oldest whiskey distillers, whose distillery was in the nearby village of Guardbridge, according to the property’s brochure.

Of the many generations of the Haig dynasty who lived in the home, perhaps its most famous owner was the 1st Earl Field Marshall, Douglas Haig, who played a commanding role during World War I’s Battle of the Somme.

While retaining many of its original Victorian features, such as a grand wooden staircase, period marble fireplaces, working window shutters, wood floors and ornate cornicing throughout, the home has been extensively refurbished over the last four years by its current owners for use as a bed-and-breakfast.

Its bedrooms and reception rooms have been updated and its gardens landscaped to an immaculate standard, making for a luxurious family home, or a ready-made business.

Conveniently for buyers, the home’s current status as commercial means that they can avoid what Savills agent Jamie Macnab calls the "draconian property tax" operative for private residences in Scotland, meaning the new owner will pay 4.5% rather than closer to 12% in tax. The property could also easily be returned to its residence status.

Stats

The regal three-story, 8,447-square-foot home has eight bedrooms and 10 bathrooms and sits on 5.3 acres of beautifully planted and maintained gardens and lawns with mature wooded areas, too. The property also includes a 915-square-foot gate lodge renovated to function as a two-bedroom cottage.

Amenities

The mansion boasts a library, a spacious wine cellar, many marble fireplaces, as well as a home cinema charmingly redecorated in Art Deco style by its most recent owners.

As well as the gate lodge which functions as a guest house, the property also includes a four-car garage and stable yard, as well as a walled garden contained by a soaring brick wall. The garden is divided into four large areas of lawn with a central fountain, surrounded by wide pathways, fringed by flower beds and fruit trees. It also features a large period greenhouse with two imposing glasshouses and a garden room. Extensive outbuildings concealed behind the walled garden provide excellent storage.

More:Former WWII Radar Station With Sweeping Views of the Scottish Coast Lists for £3.5 million

Neighborhood notes

The beautiful and historic town of St. Andrews in Fife has been the "the seat of religion, learning and golf for centuries," according to Mr. Macnab. Less than four miles from Eden Mansion lies the prestigious St. Andrews University. Established in 1410, it is one of the oldest universities in Britain, attracting students from all over the world. The mansion overlooks the Eden Estuary toward the iconic Royal and Ancient Golf Club, a private members club where the Open Championship is staged every five years. As old as the game of professional golf itself, according to Mr. Macnab, the course is recognized as the "home of golf."

Agent: Jamie Macnab and Eleanor Robertson, Savills Country Houses

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