House of the Binns

[1] It is set in 200 acres (80 hectares) of parkland, and the house enjoys panoramic views of central Scotland: to the north, across the River Forth to the Highlands, and south over the Pentland Hills.

[2] The house contains a collection of porcelain, furniture, and portraits which trace the family's lives and interests through the centuries.

He bought "the lands of Bynnis and Croceflattis wirth the manor place thereof", and the Dalyell family have lived there ever since.

[6] Between 1621 and 1630, this Thomas Dalyell rebuilt the original house, and parts of the interior still reflect that period; in particular the north-west portion of the present entrance front, and decoration of the High Hall and King's Room (created in the hope of a visit from Charles I, which never came to be).

[7] The house's main historic claim to fame is the occupancy of General Sir Tam Dalyell (1615–1685).

He returned to Scotland at the Restoration of the king, and secured his feared reputation (as "Bluidy Tam") by his violent suppression of the Covenanters from the 1660s.

[1] In 1810, Robert's son, Sir James Dalyell of the Binns, 5th Baronet paid for the architect William Burn (1789–1870) to adapt the building to the Scottish baronial style, adding further towers and mock battlements.

[16] In 1944, the house, its parkland, its contents, and an endowment for its upkeep were given to the National Trust for Scotland by Eleanor Dalyell.

The charter she granted states that the "history, legend and memory of the family of Dalyell of the Binns, shall be preserved ..." for the benefit and enjoyment of the nation.

It was designed by Alexander Allan in 1826, allegedly as the result of a wager placed with the then owner, Sir James Dalyell.

[20] Also near the west drive is the Sergeant's Pond, which was constructed circa 1681 as a watering place for the horses of the Royal Scots Greys by General Dalyell.

[21] In a valley in the south-east corner of the park lies a ruined former mid-19th century chapel that eventually became a farmers cottage.