Winton House

Winton House (17th Century)
©2022 Gazetteer for Scotland

Winton House (17th Century)

Located a half-mile (1 km) north northwest of Pencaitland, Winton House is a fine Jacobean L-plan mansion, with stone barley-twist chimneys. It has at its core a 15th Century tower house known as Wintoun Castle, owned by the Seton family, but this was destroyed by the Earl of Hertford during the 'Rough Wooing' (1544). Reconstructed and extended in 1619 by architect William Wallace (d.1631), the Master Mason to King James VI, for George Seton, 8th Earl of Seton and 3rd Earl of Winton, whose main seat was at Seton Palace behind Port Seton. Winton was extended to the north and west in the Gothic-baronial style by architect John Paterson in 1805. This extension contrasts somewhat bizarrely with the rest of the house, so much so that its demolition has been seriously contemplated.

Several of the rooms feature fine ceilings and the house includes paintings by many of Scotland's notable artists, fine furniture and an exhibition of family costumes and photographs.

Today, Winton House is still a family home, and despite the 19th Century extensions, remains an important example of Anglo-Scots Renaissance architecture, a fact reflected by the number of grants awarded for its protection over the years. On the southern aspect of the house is a fine terraced garden and the estate includes the interesting castellated North Lodge and various specimen trees.


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