text: pitfour estate the pitfour estate , in the buchan area of north - east scotland , was an ancient barony encompassing most of the extensive longside parish , stretching from st fergus to new pitsligo . it was purchased in 1700 by james ferguson of badifurrow , who became the first laird of pitfour . the estate was substantially renovated by ferguson and the following two generations of his family . at the height of its development in the 18th and 19th centuries the 50 - square - mile ( 130 km2 ) property had several extravagant features including a two - mile racecourse , an artificial lake and an observatory . the original mansion house was extended before being rebuilt . the surrounding parklands were landscaped , major renovations were undertaken , and follies such as a small replica temple of theseus were constructed , in which george ferguson , the fifth laird , was thought to keep alligators in a cold bath . the first three lairds transformed the estate into a valuable asset . lord pitfour , the second laird , purchased additional lands including deer abbey and inverugie castle . pitfour 's son , james ferguson , who became the third laird , continued to improve and expand the estate by adding the lake and bridges , and establishing planned villages . the third laird died a bachelor with no children , so the estate passed to the elderly george ferguson , who was only in possession of the property for a few months . george was already a wealthy man , owning lands in trinidad and tobago , but despite not directly improving the pitfour estate he added considerable value to the inheritance passed to his illegitimate son . the extravagant lifestyles of the fifth and sixth lairds led to the sequestration of the estate , which was sold off piecemeal to pay their debts . what remained of the estate was sold after the first world war . the mansion house was demolished in about 1926 , and its stone used to build council houses in aberdeen . in more recent times some of the remaining buildings , including the temple , the bridges and the stables , have been classified as at high risk by historic scotland because their condition has become poor . the chapel was fully renovated and converted to a private residence in 2003 ; the observatory was purchased and restored by banff & buchan district council ( now aberdeenshire council ) and can be accessed by the public . the racecourse has been forested since 1926 , and the lake is used by members of a private fishing club . early history the pitfour estate in mintlaw extended from st fergus to new pitsligo and encompassed most of the extensive longside parish . the meaning of pitfour is given in the 1895 records of the clan fergusson as " cold croft " , but the historian john milne breaks the name into two parts and indicates the meaning as pit being place and or being grass . the pitfour estate is shown on old maps as petfouir or petfour . it was formerly one of scotland 's largest and best - appointed estates and was referred to as " the blenheim of buchan " , " the blenheim of the north " and " the ascot of the north " by the architectural historian charles mckean . scant early records exist of the lands but alexander stewart ( ) , the natural son of king robert ii of scotland , was given the pitfour lands together with those of lunan by his father in 1383 . however , writing in 1887 cadenhead states the lands were sold to stewart by ricardus , also known as richard . during the next three centuries the lands had several different owners . transactions show it passed to a burgess of aberdeen in 1477 from egidia stewart ; walter innes of gained feudal superiority to all pitfour lands in 1493 ; and in 1506 the land was purchased by thomas innes , who died the following year . his son , john , inherited the property . it remained in the possession of the innes family until at least 1581 , when it was owned by james innes and his wife agnes urquhart . between 1581 and 1667 the lands were bought by george morrison . his son william inherited the property in 1700 , and immediately sold the estate to james ferguson , who became the first laird of pitfour . the lands purchased by ferguson were recorded in 1667 in a charter granted by charles ii and were stated as encompassing " the lands and barony of toux and pitfour in the parish of old deer and sheriffdom of aberdeen including the towns and lands of mintlaw , longmuir , in the parish of longside , and county of aberdeen . " several other lands , including " the barony of aden with the tower , , mains and manor place therof and of the same called , mill thereof , croft brewerie , and " were individually listed . state papers from the reign of queen anne in the 18th century record the lands in favour of james ferguson . lairds and subsequent development 1st laird james ferguson — known as the sheriff , reflecting the post he held , recognised by the society of advocates — bought the pitfour estate after selling the lands of badifurrow . he had inherited badifurrow after demanding that his uncle robert ferguson should appear in court if he wished to contest the inheritance . robert , nicknamed the plotter , was in hiding to avoid charges of treachery , and after his non - appearance in court james ferguson 's inheritance was confirmed in mid - june 1700 . at that time the estate contained only a small country house . 2nd laird james was laird until his death in 1734 , after which the estate passed to his eldest son , also called james , who was born at pitfour soon after it was purchased . a solicitor like his father , he was promoted to the bench in 1764 and became lord pitfour . he continued to expand and improve the estate until his death in 1777 , and set up the planned village of fetterangus in 1752 . lord pitfour purchased the lands of the last earl marischal , george keith , which were adjacent to pitfour , in 1766 . they were considered the earl marischal 's most significant property and had been forfeited when the earl marischal fell out of favour . he had bought it back from the york buildings company for £ 31 , 000 , but pitfour only paid £ 15 , 000 for it . the 8 , 000 acres ( 32 square kilometres ) of land included deer abbey and inverugie castle , but consisted predominantly of peat bogs , woods and uncultivated land . this addition made the pitfour estate the largest in the area , at more than 30 , 000 acres ( 120 square kilometres ) stretching from buchanhaven to maud along the course of the river ugie . 3rd laird the third laird , also named james , inherited the estate in 1777 ; he was usually referred to as the member to differentiate him from previous generations . like his forebears , he was an advocate but also became a member of parliament . he too continued to expand and improve the estate ; he constructed a lake and a canal , and built the new mansion . he also expanded and altered longside at the start of the 1800s , founded mintlaw in 1813 , assisted in the extension of new deer and extended buchanhaven . the member died unmarried , childless and intestate in 1820 . in normal circumstances his brother patrick would have been his heir , but he died in battle in october 1780 . 4th laird in 1820 the estate was inherited by the member 's younger brother , george ferguson , who was by then in his seventies . he was known as the governor , reflecting his appointment as lieutenant governor of tobago . he was laird from september 1820 , but died in december that year . the governor had spent most of his life in trinidad and tobago , where he was a principal landowner , and had inherited the castara estate on tobago from patrick . george was appointed lieutenant governor of tobago in 1779 , and after a battle with the french in 1781 surrendered the island to the french on 2 june . the governor returned to britain , although the terms of the surrender meant he still owned the castara estate and all the slaves who worked on it . george had illegitimate children with an unknown woman . he continued to buy estates in the caribbean and returned there in 1793 , staying until 1810 . 5th laird the estate started to deteriorate after it was inherited by the governor 's illegitimate son george ferguson , known as the admiral because of his naval career . he was already heavily in debt when he became the fifth laird in 1821 , but he still enjoyed a lavish lifestyle and undertook much extravagant construction on the estate , including the erection of follies . to cover his substantial gambling debts , he began to sell parcels of estate land , and upon inheriting pitfour he began selling furniture , books , farm equipment and other items , realising more than £ 9 , 000 . 6th laird after the admiral 's death in march 1867 , the estate passed to his son , george arthur ferguson , the sixth and final laird . he served in the grenadier guards and eventually became a captain . he married nina maria hood , the eldest daughter of alexander nelson hood , 1st viscount bridport , in february 1861 . later that year captain ferguson was posted to canada , where he was promoted to lieutenant colonel and where his first two sons , arthur and francis william , were born . his eldest son , arthur , became inspector of constabulary for scotland . returning to britain in 1864 , the family had a nomadic lifestyle , but the sixth laird and his wife were extravagant and habitual gamblers . in june 1909 , a trust deed was registered , and what remained of the estate was put on the market . after large parts of the land had been sold under the ownership of the sixth laird the estate was listed by bateman in 1883 as being just over 23 , 000 acres ( 93 square kilometres ) with an income of £ 19 , 938 ; at the height of its development the estate had occupied 50 square miles ( 130 square kilometres ) , and was valued at £ 30 million . the last laird died in 1924 and is buried in luton . following its 20th - century decline the estate changed hands several times until local farmer hamish watson purchased it in december 2010 . the local historian alex buchan summed up the demise of the estate : " they thought the estate was here to provide them with money , to gamble , to travel , to simply fritter away and very quickly , within a couple of decades , they had wasted the whole lot . " he added , " eccentricity amounted to just squandering money . " mansion house the original small country house was first altered during the early 18th century . in 1809 the sheriff 's grandson james ferguson , the third laird , employed the architect john smith to design new accommodation . the resulting three - storey house , 98 feet ( 30 metres ) square and 33 feet ( 10 metres ) high , is reputed to have had 365 windows . when the fourth laird , george ( the governor ) , died in 1820 , the estate was worth £ 300 , 000 with almost £ 35 , 000 of moveable assets . george ferguson , the fifth laird ( the admiral ) added a large , glazed gallery when he inherited the house . the admiral had a lavish lifestyle and despite having a healthy income incurred heavy debts . when the admiral died after 46 years of managing the estate it was mortgaged for £ 250 , 000 , despite the sale of a number of the lands originally included in it . the house fell into disrepair under the ownership of george arthur , the sixth and final laird , who had inherited his father 's lifestyle . the entire estate was put on the market in september 1909 but remained unsold until after the first world war ; the house and what remained of the estate were finally purchased by a speculator , edgar fairweather , from london in 1926 . fairweather bought several other scottish estates , including those nearby at and strichen ; he habitually reduced the estates into smaller holdings that he then sold on or rented out . the house was sold to an aberdeen building company and was demolished sometime between 1927 and 1930 . after demolition , the mansion 's veranda was installed at the front of kinloch farmhouse in st fergus . other remains from the mansion have been discovered at the farmhouse , including a crest above the conservatory door and tiles inscribed with the ferguson of pitfour family crest . the stone from the mansion was transported to aberdeen and used in the construction of council houses . chapels the fergusons were episcopalian , and in 1766 , the second laird , lord pitfour had a small qualified chapel built on the estate at waulkmill . it was a large , plain building that could accommodate up to 500 people . saplinbrae , a house that was initially used as a coaching inn after it was built under instruction from lord pitfour in 1756 , was used as the minister 's manse for the first chapel . a more modern chapel was built in 1850 after the admiral had an argument with the reverend arthur ranken , the minister at old deer . this was a small , private chapel for the use of the pitfour estate . it was built in the gothic style from rubble but was recast in 1871 . a 60 - foot ( 18 - metre ) tower with a battlemented top is at its western end . the chapel fell into disrepair , and by the 1980s it was a roofless ruin . in 1990 historic scotland said that kinloch farmhouse , in st fergus featured a bench and chair salvaged from the pitfour chapel . in 2003 , the second chapel was renovated and converted to a private residence . the chapel restoration won a " highly commended " award for craftsmanship from aberdeenshire council in 2010 ; the council said the craftsmanship " allowed for the retention of the ecclesiastical spirit and integrity to remain prevalent both internally and externally . " it was also " highly commended " in the conservation category . stables and riding school the stables were built in 1820 , during the early part of the admiral 's ownership of the estate , based on a design by john smith ; the buildings are sited to the rear of the mansion house . built in a horseshoe - shape , neo - classical design , the two - storey building was constructed in pinned rubble with granite dressings ; grey granite was used for the parapet and quoins . the main buildings were originally harled . a corrugated asbestos hipped roof was at some point substituted for the original slate roof . it features a columned rotunda above a timber clock tower , which has a finial and domed copper roof . the pedimented centrepiece of the symmetrical front elevation is a segmental arch and has three panels set back between columns . each side is bordered by wings of three bays with single - bay pavilions . the stables are connected to an adjoining two - storey house . they provided accommodation for ten horses and included four loose boxes , a harness room and a coachman 's house ; six bedrooms above were for servants . two coach houses were later used as garages . the stables building was marketed in 1997 for approximately £ 70 , 000 . charles mckean describes the stables as " straddling the skyline like a palace " . the stables are listed by historic scotland as being at very high risk , and were described in 1997 sale literature as unused and dilapidated . an indoor riding school slightly to the north - west of the stables measured 98 feet ( 30 metres ) by 49 feet ( 15 metres ) . it was used to entertain guests when the facilities at the mansion house were not large enough . more than two hundred local farmers and other landowners celebrated the wedding of george arthur , the sixth laird , in the riding school in 1861 . in 1883 it was again used to entertain ; on that occasion it was decorated with flags and chinese lanterns , and pine flooring was laid . later , it was used as indoor tennis courts before being demolished . canal and lake james ferguson , the third laird , owned the estate during the industrial revolution in britain . he began work on a canal between pitfour and peterhead in 1797 , despite fierce opposition from adjoining landowners . the canal was proposed to cover about ten miles following the course of the river ugie . pitfour 's canal is sometimes called the st fergus and river ugie canal . ferguson had thought about building the canal since 1793 , but it was never completed because of " difficulties in effecting the necessary arrangements with neighbouring heritors . " objections were raised by the merchant maiden hospital , which owned the land on the south side of the ugie . despite being advised to take out an interdict to prevent the work , in january 1797 the hospital thought its case was not strong enough . the hospital applied for an interdict four months later however , when two miles ( 3 . 2 km ) of the canal had been dug to the point where the north and south ugie joined ; it was granted in july 1797 . a few years after starting work on the canal , ferguson had a lake built on flat land to the front of the mansion house . the landscape gardener william s. gilpin was carrying out work on the adjacent strichen estate at about the same time , and it is assumed he helped with the work at pitfour . the lake extends to almost 50 acres ( 20 hectares ) and is 174 feet ( 53 metres ) above sea level . designed in the same style as the lake in windsor great park , the lake was stocked with trout , both rainbow and brown ; there were three bridges and four islands . the siting of the lake meant the driveway had to be moved , and ornate bridges were constructed to cross the water . built from granite , the northern bridge has three arches with ashlar starlings , the southern bridge has a single arch and the third , smaller bridge crosses a large stream that drains into the lake . the neighbouring russell family of aden were concerned their land would be flooded when the lake was built , and their animosity was fully demonstrated when a bridge had to be jointly constructed by the two landowners over the river ugie . it was wide enough for carriages on the pitfour side but too narrow on the russell 's half . theseus temple alongside the lake was a six - bay greek doric temple , a small replica styled after the temple of theseus . its exact date of construction is unknown ; it may have been built during the time of james ferguson , the third laird , or under the instruction of george ferguson , the fifth laird . the local historian alex buchan attributes it to james , the third laird ; according to historic scotland , it was built " probably circa 1835 " . like the mansion house , the temple is credited to the architect john smith . measuring 8 metres ( 26 ft ) by 16 metres ( 52 ft ) , it has six columns at both ends and thirteen columns down each side . it had a flat roof with an ornate wooden entablature and contained a cold - water bath in which george , the fifth laird was believed to have kept alligators . as of 2013 the temple is in a ruinous state ; it has been held up by scaffolding since 1992 and is listed by historic scotland as being in critical condition . racecourse and observatory george ferguson ( the admiral ) had a racecourse about 2 . 2 miles ( 3 . 5 kilometres ) long and 52 feet ( 16 metres ) wide built near white cow woods , an area which is quite flat . this led to the estate being called the " ascot of the north " . in 1845 the admiral had an observatory built , again designed by the architect john smith . it is an octagonal tower with a crenellated parapet and is symmetrical in design . the observatory stands at the top of a hill 396 feet ( 121 m ) above sea level . the tower is 50 feet ( 15 m ) high and is more than half a mile ( 1 kilometre ) from the racecourse . it has three storeys with square windows on the upper floor , and was fully renovated by banff & buchan district council ( now aberdeenshire council ) in 1983 . twentieth century sales of country estates became common around the 1920s . the annual tax payable had spiralled and was twenty times greater than in 1870 resulting in the break - up of many larger land - holdings . pitfour was no exception and the dispersal of the estate continued piecemeal after the sequestration of george arthur , the sixth laird . the main estate policies including the lake and other land were purchased by bernard drake in november 1926 when he bought saplinbrae , the former minister 's house . drake was a partner in the electrical engineering company , drake and gorham . sixty years later , in 1986 the bbc domesday project does not give any ownership details but indicates many of the buildings are in poor condition . other surviving structures are used for storage by a farmer who also " manages the land " . recent times at the end of 2012 aberdeenshire council gave the go - ahead for the present owner 's planned restoration work on the temple and bridges , which he hoped would enhance existing facilities at nearby wood surrounding the observatory , white cow woods and aden country park . the lake is used regularly by local fishermen , and a fishing club with about 120 members was established in 2011 . the rest of the estate is seldom used by local residents , many of whom are completely unaware of it .