Glen House Garden, Innerleithen, Open on 1st July

Gardens Open

Glen House

This coming Sunday, 1st. July, for the first time for more than 50 years the gardens at  Glen House, Innerleithen, Peeblesshire, will be open to the public. This is part of the Gardens Open Day and a must for all with an interest in gardens or stately homes.

The gardens are open  from 1.30 pm until 5 pm. Admission is £4 (children free).

Homemade tea, coffee, sandwiches, cakes, scones etc. will be there to enjoy and the catering is being organized by Society Secretary, Davina Smart who did such a fine job arranging catering at our conference in 2101 and at the Jedburgh Coffee morning last week. A percentage of the profits from the catering  will accrue to the Society; so we hope you will support.

In recent months the Society has been very much involved in recording and indexing the estate records at the Glen. These records date back to the 18th. century and the then owner Alexander Allan and comprise such things as wage books, estate accounts, hiring books, payments to staff, receipts from local tradesmen, details of works and those employed. Until now been lying more or less forgotten in a basement storeroom. The work is being carried out by Society member Gwen Stein assisted by Evelyn Baird under the guidance of Scottish Borders Archives, the Heritage Hub in Hawick.

In all the records give an fascinating account of life on an estate and also 'below stairs' and are a treasure house for any whose ancestor might have had a connection with the estate. The present owners hope in due course to create an archive room to which the public will be able to gain access by arrangement.

While there is evidence of a property on the site of the present house as far back as 1296 when Sarra of the Glen swore allegiance to King Edward 1 of England, the estate was later split up and in the 18th. century comprised the two estates of Easter and Wester Glen.

In 1796 the two were reunited under the ownership of Edinburgh banker Alexander Allan and in 1829 his son William Allan who was Lord Provost of Edinburgh commissioned the renowned architect William Henry Playfair to embellish the house existing on the site at that time. The current Scots Baronial mansion was built in 1855 to David Bryce’s design.