- Classical design and set within a fabulous walled garden
- Superb Arts and Crafts antique furnishings
- Ideal for couple looking to raise a family in the Scottish countryside
The new year is a traditional moment to start searching for a new home – and upmarket properties in the Scottish countryside are in greater demand than ever.
So the prospect of a fully-serviced designer residence at the very heart of the Marchmont Estate in The Scottish Borders sounds especially enticing.
And, astonishingly, it can be yours absolutely free. But you need to be a barn owl to qualify.
Known as the Owl Temple, the five-metre tall marble structure was handmade by the highly renowned stone carver Michelle de Bruin (one of a number of artists with studios at Marchmont) in 2021.
Erected after the breeding season it has never been occupied and but hopes are high that the perfect tenants will swoop in during 2022.
Key points are:
- Large entry and exit
- Generous internal space that’s perfect for raising a young family
- Wide parapet where owlets can exercise before they learn to fly
- A perch created from an Arts & Crafts chair leg made in the Marchmont Workshops.
Other advantages include that the property will be serviced each year (at times when it’s unoccupied) by Shaun Adams, estate gardener and bee keeper, who looks after around 170 bird boxes across the Marchmont Estate.
Indeed, if potential residents are birds of a feather and wish to stick together, there are 18 other owl boxes in the neighbourhood and several of them were used to raise young families over the past year.
Shaun said: “The area is perfect for owls, with just the kind of landscape that they love to hunt in. We’ve got a really successful programme for attracting birds of all kinds to the estate, but it’s one of the most magical things when barn owls take up residence and you get to see them in flight.”
The Owl Temple is located in the walled garden of Marchmont House, which is superbly planted and contains a magnificent collection of contemporary sculptures.
Human visitors will have the chance to see it during a series of organised tours of Marchmont, its garden, grounds and outstanding collection of sculptures that are being planned for 2022.
Hugo Burge, Marchmont’s Director, who commissioned the temple said: “The Owl Temple brings together art and nature in way that we love to try to explore at Marchmont. We all hope that the extraordinary craftsmanship of Michelle’s art will attract owls that will enjoy it.
“We get excited by art projects that help to explore and bring balance between humanity and the natural environment, so this very much fits in with that theme.
“This is a real ‘des res’ for owls – and we very much hope that it will prove as successful as some of the other initiatives we have been taking to encourage wildlife on the estate.
“We look forward to sharing all that Marchmont has to offer with the public and will soon be unveiling a programme of events, sculpture tours and activities for 2022.”
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Notes for Editors
For more about Michelle de Bruin – https://www.artist.org.uk
About Marchmont
- Marchmont House is a 1750 Palladian mansion near Greenlaw in the Scottish Borders.
- It was awarded the 2018 Historic Houses/Sotheby’s Award following a seven-year restoration, which was described by the jury as “stunning”.
- The house has one of the finest Georgian and Arts & Crafts interiors in Scotland.
- It is open to the public for a limited number of days each year, for tours and special events.
- The Marchmont team is dedicated to bringing the house alive as a home for makers and creators, celebrating innovation, creativity and entrepreneurship
- The Creative Spaces project is entirely privately funded by Marchmont Farms Limited and has not called on grants from the public sector or charities – which are facing immense demands for their limited resources.
- The studios and workshops have been created by the conversion of a series of 19th-century outbuildings round a courtyard near the house and its spectacular walled garden.
- The project’s value has already been demonstrated by the establishing of The Marchmont Workshop, which has saved the great 19th-century tradition of Arts & Crafts rush seated ladder back chairs for a new chapter in the Scottish Borders.
- Visit www.marchmonthouse.com for more information.
- For information about The Marchmont Workshop see https://themarchmontworkshop.com.
About Hugo Burge
- Director of Marchmont Ventures which is building sustainable creativity in the arts, crafts and purpose driven business.
- Director of Marchmont Farms Ltd., which operates Marchmont Estate, with a focus on restoring Marchmont House and bringing it back to life after a period of institutional usage.
- Chairman of Motorway.co.uk, the UK’s fastest growing digital marketplace for selling your car from the comfort of your home.
- Former CEO of the Momondo Group which powers pioneering brands that shape and inspire global travel search.
For media information contact Matthew Shelley at [email protected] or 07786 704299.