TOWN mice and country mice alike will be weighing up the advantages of
nestling into Saltoun Hill, a charming family home in the conservation
village of East Saltoun, near Haddington, East Lothian. Although the
historic house was once a manse, those who are as poor as church mice
are likely to find the price beyond their means, writes Stewart
McIntosh.
The B-listed house dates back to 1802 when it was designed by Robert
Burn, a pupil of the famous Scots architect Robert Adam. Burn also
designed several distinguished Edinburgh buildings as well as Saltoun
Church, which has a fine steeple.
''The property forms a family house of ideal size, with delightful
rooms and many period features,'' says Mark Atkinson of estate agent
Brodies of Edinburgh. There are three reception rooms, six bedrooms, two
bathrooms, and a modern kitchen with an oil-fired Aga cooker.
Saltoun Hill retains many period features such as open fireplaces,
timber panelling, plaster cornices, and many working shutters It stands
in mature gardens of about one acre with some splendid trees and useful
outbuildings.
The most famous incumbent of the manse was Dr Gilbert Burnet, a
distinguished theologian. He kept a library of old and rare books which
remained in the manse after he left, and was added to by subsequent
incumbents. The collection is now in the National Library of Scotland.
He is thought to have planted the magnificent copper beech on the
north side of the house, known as Bishop Burnet's Tree.
East Saltoun lies at the foot of the Lammermuir Hills, about 16 miles
south east of Edinburgh via the ring road and the A1. Local woodland
walks include Strawberry Wood, which is just across the former glebe
field from the manse.
The village has an interesting history which is closely tied in with
that of the Fletchers of Saltoun, an enterprising local family which
responded to a deep seventeenth-century economic recession with
initiatives such as the building of Scotland's first barley mill, and
the establishment of the linen weaving industry.
The agent is quoting offers over #270,000 for Saltoun Hill. ''This
looks extremely good value when compared to a Georgian townhouse with
similar accommodation in Edinburgh, which would be worth at least
#400,000 and have much less of a garden,'' says Mark Atkinson of
Brodies.
Why are you making commenting on The Herald only available to subscribers?
It should have been a safe space for informed debate, somewhere for readers to discuss issues around the biggest stories of the day, but all too often the below the line comments on most websites have become bogged down by off-topic discussions and abuse.
heraldscotland.com is tackling this problem by allowing only subscribers to comment.
We are doing this to improve the experience for our loyal readers and we believe it will reduce the ability of trolls and troublemakers, who occasionally find their way onto our site, to abuse our journalists and readers. We also hope it will help the comments section fulfil its promise as a part of Scotland's conversation with itself.
We are lucky at The Herald. We are read by an informed, educated readership who can add their knowledge and insights to our stories.
That is invaluable.
We are making the subscriber-only change to support our valued readers, who tell us they don't want the site cluttered up with irrelevant comments, untruths and abuse.
In the past, the journalist’s job was to collect and distribute information to the audience. Technology means that readers can shape a discussion. We look forward to hearing from you on heraldscotland.com
Comments & Moderation
Readers’ comments: You are personally liable for the content of any comments you upload to this website, so please act responsibly. We do not pre-moderate or monitor readers’ comments appearing on our websites, but we do post-moderate in response to complaints we receive or otherwise when a potential problem comes to our attention. You can make a complaint by using the ‘report this post’ link . We may then apply our discretion under the user terms to amend or delete comments.
Post moderation is undertaken full-time 9am-6pm on weekdays, and on a part-time basis outwith those hours.
Read the rules hereComments are closed on this article