tail had worn off by constant siting’ – Darwin later achieved fame for the same theory of evolution, published in 1859 in On The Origin of Species.


Robert Burns was a frequent visitor to Lord Monboddo’s Edinburgh home, but also visited the castle, where his father was a tenant. Burns held a deep affection for Lord Monboddo’s young daughter Eliza Burnet, and is understood to have writen many poems about her beauty and grace. Eliza died from consumption at the age of 24 – he penned ‘Elegy On The Late Miss Burnet of Monboddo’ in memory of his beloved Eliza.


James Boswell, 9th Laird of Auchinleck, and Dr Samuel Johnson also visited Monboddo in August 1773 while on their 83-day tour of the Highlands and Islands. The pair famously recorded their observations of social, economic and religious change within Scotland at the time.


It was not until 1866 that the Burnet family significantly extended Monboddo – for the princely sum of £2,000, to a design by James Mathews of Aberdeen. While three generations of Burnets served in India, the property frequently lay empty, until James Malcolm Burnet came


46 February 2016


home to farm here in 1939. Aſter the Second World War he returned to Africa and Monboddo fell into disrepair.


In 1977 the castle was fully restored, with the 19th Century addition being removed. When Louise and Harry bought Monboddo in 2009 the castle was in good condition, but hadn’t been touched for 32 years so again needed updating.


Burns held a deep affection for Lord Monboddo’s young daughter Eliza Burnett.


“Before the house was restored in the 1970s there was a house sale and prety much everything was stripped out – oak panelling, staircases and so on,” says Louise. “Prior to that, I believe there were cows and hens living in it.


“Generally we tried to restore the property based on some original plans we got from the Royal Commission on the


Page 1  |  Page 2  |  Page 3  |  Page 4  |  Page 5  |  Page 6  |  Page 7  |  Page 8  |  Page 9  |  Page 10  |  Page 11  |  Page 12  |  Page 13  |  Page 14  |  Page 15  |  Page 16  |  Page 17  |  Page 18  |  Page 19  |  Page 20  |  Page 21  |  Page 22  |  Page 23  |  Page 24  |  Page 25  |  Page 26  |  Page 27  |  Page 28  |  Page 29  |  Page 30  |  Page 31  |  Page 32  |  Page 33  |  Page 34  |  Page 35  |  Page 36  |  Page 37  |  Page 38  |  Page 39  |  Page 40  |  Page 41  |  Page 42  |  Page 43  |  Page 44  |  Page 45  |  Page 46  |  Page 47  |  Page 48  |  Page 49  |  Page 50  |  Page 51  |  Page 52  |  Page 53  |  Page 54  |  Page 55  |  Page 56  |  Page 57  |  Page 58  |  Page 59  |  Page 60  |  Page 61  |  Page 62  |  Page 63  |  Page 64  |  Page 65  |  Page 66  |  Page 67  |  Page 68  |  Page 69  |  Page 70  |  Page 71  |  Page 72  |  Page 73  |  Page 74  |  Page 75  |  Page 76  |  Page 77  |  Page 78  |  Page 79  |  Page 80  |  Page 81  |  Page 82  |  Page 83  |  Page 84  |  Page 85  |  Page 86  |  Page 87  |  Page 88  |  Page 89  |  Page 90  |  Page 91  |  Page 92  |  Page 93  |  Page 94  |  Page 95  |  Page 96  |  Page 97  |  Page 98  |  Page 99  |  Page 100