Lennoxlove House
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Lennoxlove House is a 14th century historic house set in woodlands half a mile south of Haddington in East Lothian, Scotland.
Constructed originally as a rectangular keep, the house was known for centuries as Lethington. It was the home of the Maitland family, which included prominent members such as the poet Richard Maitland, his son William Maitland of Lethington, Secretary of State to Mary Queen of Scots, and his son James Maitland of Lethington (b.1568). It was then acquired by his uncle, John Maitland, 1st Lord Maitland of Thirlestane, it was said in an underhanded manner. Sir John Scot of Scotstarvet, writing in 1754, commented thus: "Yet the conquest he made of the barony of Liddington [Lethington] from his brother's son, James Maitland, was not thought lawful nor conscientious."
Lethington remained in the Maitland family until after the death of John Maitland, 1st Duke of Lauderdale in 1682.
The house was purchased by the trustees of Frances Teresa Stewart, Duchess of Richmond and Lennox in 1702 for her nephew, Alexander Stewart, Lord Blantyre. The Duchess had stipulated that the house be called "Lennox's Love to Blantyre", and the house subsequently became known as Lennoxlove. It remained in the ownership of the Blantyre-Stewarts for almost two centuries. When the 12th Lord Blantyre died in 1900 without male heirs, the property passed into the ownership of his daughter, Ellen Stewart, and her husband Sir David Baird, 3rd Baronet of Newbyth, Prestonkirk. Their younger son, Major William Baird, commissioned the renowned architect, Sir Robert Lorimer to oversee extensive refurbishment of the house in 1912. Lennoxlove is now the seat of the Dukes of Hamilton, having been purchased by the 14th Duke in 1946.
Lennoxlove is home to one of Scotland's most important collections of portraits, including works by van Dyck, Canaletto, Raeburn, and others. It also houses important pieces of furniture, porcelain and other fine artefacts, many of which came from the now demolished Hamilton Palace in south Lanarkshire. The collections include the Boulle cabinet given to the Duchess by King Charles II and a silver jewellery box that belonged to Mary Queen of Scots with the forged letter purporting to show her complicity in the murder of Lord Darnley, together with her death mask. There is also the map and compass carried by Rudolf Hess, Adolf Hitler's deputy, who flew to Scotland in 1941 on a mission to involve the 14th Duke of Hamilton in helping negotiate peace between Britain and Germany.
Lennoxlove is situated in a wooded estate. It is open for guided tours from Easter Weekend until the end of October. The estate had a pleasant "Garden Cafe" restaurant, unfortunately now closed according to the Official website, but it still accommodates corporate events and weddings.
