Huntershill House is an 18th-century building in Bishopbriggs, East Dunbartonshire, Scotland. It was built around 1765, designed by an unknown architect. From the 1780s it was the family home of the political reformer Thomas Muir, Younger of Huntershill (1765–1799). It is now owned by East Dunbartonshire Council, and is a category B listed building, as well as being listed on the Buildings at Risk Register.
Contents |
Huntershill house was built by a Glasgow merchant named James Martin. It was situated beside the old post road from Glasgow to Stirling (Crowhill Road) which, however, ceased to be a main road during 1790s when the Inchbelly Turnpike trustees built a new road on the present Kirkintilloch Road alignment.
In August 1781 the house was advertised for sale along with other property belonging to Martin, who had recently died. The following year it was purchased by James Muir, father of Thomas, and became the family home for some time afterwards. James Muir advertised the house for sale in December 1798, when it was said to consist of “a Kitchen, nine Fire-rooms, besides Garret-rooms, Closets, and two sunk Cellars”. James Muir died in 1801 and the house was sold by his Trustees to the Gallaway family.
The house passed through the hands of many different occupiers but remained in the ownership of the Gallaway family from 1803 until the 1953 when it was sold by the Gallaway Trustees to Mrs. Olive McGilvray.
In 1969 the newly-formed Bishopbriggs Town Council decided to purchase it to serve as a pavilion for the adjacent recreation ground, then subject to the new development plans. The conversion would involve a total re-modelling of the interior of the house, which had not changed much since Muir’s time, and the construction of a two storey extension. The Council was allowed to carry out these drastic alterations since the house was not listed at the time. The conversion was accomplished during 1969-70 and was formally handed over by the contractor on the 13th November of the latter year.
On 15 May 1975 a small museum of Thomas Muir memorabilia was opened in a room on the upper floor of the house. The museum is now housed in Bishopbriggs Library and includes a magnificent bust of Muir by Scottish artist and sculptor Alexander Stoddart.
A large section of the grounds of Huntershill House are now used as an athletics track and there are three football pitches. Local youth football clubs Rossvale BC and Rossvale Thistle use the pitches and facilities as their home venue. The garden and grounds immediately around the house however are currently over grown and badly neglected.