Country house for sale in Anstruther KY10

Inner Gellie House, Anstruther, Fife, KY10 3JP

Anstruther 1.5 miles, St Andrews 10 miles, Perth 39 miles, Edinburgh 49 miles

A stunning a-listed country house of architectural significance close to St Andrews on the Fife coast, including a gate lodge, former stable block and walled garden set in about 35 acres.

Ground floor
Entrance lobby | W.C.| Snug | Kitchen | Reception hall | Dining room Drawing room

First floor
Galleried landing | Principal bedroom | Dressing room | Double bedroom with en suite bathroom | Double bedroom with en suite bathroom Laundry room

Second floor
Upstairs sitting room | Double bedroom | Double bedroom | Family bathroom

Basement
Former kitchen | Three cellars | Three store room

Attractive Gate Lodge with 1 bedroom | Range of outbuildings, including a former stable block with lapsed planning consent to construct a house Formal gardens | Walled garden | Pond | Tree-lined driveway | 17th century dovecot | Fields extending to about 31 acres

About 35.94 Acres in all.

Situation Inner Gellie House sits on the edge of Kilrenny village with rural views to the East Neuk of Fife, just 1.5 miles from the attractive coastal town of Anstruther. The East Neuk of Fife stretches from Largo Bay around to St Andrews and boasts a number of traditional fishing villages, sandy beaches, and fertile farmland.

The charming village of Anstruther provides local services, including shops, supermarkets, highly regarded restaurants, a primary school, and Waid Academy, one of the top-performing secondary schools in the country. There is also a working harbour, home to the rnli, with excellent facilities for pleasure boats as well as sightseeing and wildlife trips to the Isle of May, to the UK’s largest puffin colony. Other attractions include the Scottish Fisheries Museum and The Secret Bunker. More extensive services can be found in the historic University town of St Andrews (10 miles), renowned globally for being the home of golf. The cities of Dundee (23 miles) and Perth (39 miles) are both within easy reach. There is a train station at Leuchars (15 miles) with regular direct trains to Edinburgh and London.

State schooling is available locally, and there is a plentiful supply of independent schools, including St Leonards and the High School of Dundee.

Edinburgh Airport is 51 miles away and provides flights to various domestic and international destinations, and Dundee Airport (25 miles) has flights to London Heathrow.

The Fife coastal path is on the doorstep, providing a spectacular 117 mile trail round the coastline. For the golfers, there are many highly regarded courses in the area, including the Old Course and several local courses at Kingsbarns, Crail, Lundin Links, Ladybank, Leven, and Elie. There are numerous stunning sandy beaches nearby at St Andrews, Kingsbarns, and Elie, while the other attractive fishing villages of St Monans, Crail, and Pittenweem are all worth a visit. Additional points of interest in the area include Falkland Palace and Kellie Castle, both run by the National Trust.

Historical Note
The first recorded ownership of Inner Gellie was when a grant by King David I to the then Archdeacon of St Andrews was confirmed on 8th April 1153. At one point in the fourteenth century, it was part of the dowry of Annabella Drummond, wife of King Robert III. In the mid-15th Century, Inner Gellie was granted to Archbishop James Kennedy, founder of St Salvator’s College, University of St. Andrews. The estate remained associated with the archdiocese and the University until the Reformation. In 1481 the estate was rented to John Lumisdaine of Ardaray. Thus, an association with the Lumisdaine (Lumsden) family began, which was to last for almost half a millennium. In 1610, Inner Gellie was purchased by the Earl of Mar. It was soon after conveyed to William Barclay, who received a charter dated 4th December 1623 from Charles I constituting Inner Gellie as a Barony. He married Margaret Borthwick in 1619. In 1642, Sir James Lumsden (spelling was pretty inconsistent in the old days) purchased the property that his family had tenanted for 150 years. He had achieved renown in the service of Gustavus Adolphus, King of Sweden, at the head of unit of Scots troops, which took part in the capture of Frankfurt and Leipzig during the Thirty Years’ War.

The wealth collected – doubtless as the spoils of war – enabled the then Colonel James to return to Scotland a rich man. In 1644, he fought for Charles I at Marston Moor. The family also fought in the last – and, in casualties, costliest Anglo-Scots war, the Cromwellian invasion of 1650-51. Defeated at Dunbar by Cromwell in 1650, Sir James retired to Inner Gellie, perhaps spared by Cromwell because he had fought for the Protestant cause in Europe. His brother Sir Robert, fared less well. As governor of Dundee in 1651, he was shamefully killed on its surrender to General Monck.

It is believed to have been Sir Robert’s grandson who was responsible for the building in 1740 of the present frontage. The current house retains elements, possibly from the 15th and 16th centuries, of an older tower house, such as the tower itself (later topped in Venetian style), the cellars, and the stone spiral staircase designed to enable a right-handed owner to wield his sword while advancing or retiring. Note also the heraldic panel of 1650 above the entrance. The Royal Commission of the Ancient and Historical Monuments of Scotland have, during 2004 recorded the house’s features in detail.

When William Lumsdaine, an officer in the East India Company, died unmarried in 1830, the barony and estate passed to his sister Mary Lillias Lumsdaine (1785-1864), who in 1816 had married Rev. Edwin Sandys, a scion of the ancient family of Sandys of Cumberland and descendant of Queen Elizabeth’s Archbishop of York of the same name, not to mention three Tudor Kings of England. He assumed the name of Sandys-Lumsdaine. Part of the land, including the barony, was split off from the mansion house in 1923.

In 1970, the Sandys-Lumsdaine family sold the house with the remaining land to Margaret, second wife of Sir Donald MacLean Skiffington, under whose direction the great ocean liners of the 20th century, the first Queen Mary and the first Queen Elizabeth were built at Clydebank. Sir Donald died in Glasgow in 1963. Lady Skiffington, who collected antique furniture, paintings, and ceramics suitable for a house of this vintage, died in 2004, aged 93. She bequeathed her estate to a charitable trust which benefitted the blind in East Fife.

The current owner purchased the property in 2005.

The Property
The a-listed property is approached via an attractive tree-lined driveway with ample parking to the front. The property retains many period features, including decorative cornice, original fireplaces, and timber sash-and-case windows. On the ground floor, there is a large reception hall/dining with a gallery above (across which is written Verse 8 from the Book of Proverbs, Chapter 27), a large drawing room with Corinthian pilasters at the open fireplace, and the sideboard recess and sitting room with open fireplace. The ground floor is completed with a dining kitchen and W.C. The first-floor benefits from three well-proportioned bedrooms (two en suites), which offer fine views across the grounds. The 2nd floor offers a further bedroom, sitting room/bedroom with tower room off, bathroom and a former kitchen. This floor requires refurbishment. There is stair access from here onto a flat central section of the roof with far-reaching coastal views. The property also has a basement level, which includes the former kitchen, various store rooms, and cellars. Requiring refurbishment, this floor could be converted into a self-contained apartment. The property has been partly plumbed for gas central heating but has not been connected. Full details of the accommodation are shown on the floorplans.

Gate Lodge
At the entrance, there is an attractive Gate Lodge. The accommodation includes: Sitting room, bedroom, kitchen, and bathroom. There is an enclosed courtyard to the rear and a garden area. The Gate Lodge is currently let.

Former Stables
At the back of the property is a derelict stable block next to the attractive Kilrenny Common, which was made into a local amenity ground by the local council to mark the Diamond Jubilee of Queen Victoria in 1897. The stable block received full planning consent in 2005 (now lapsed) to be converted and extended into a residential house. See Planning for further details.

Gardens and policies
The formal gardens are to the east and south of the house. An attractive walled garden to the west includes four vaulted cellars and fragments of 17th century sculpted animals. Either side of the driveway are two blocks of grazing split into various paddocks of pasture. There are about 31 acres of pasture. The current owner has bred championship winning sheep at Inner Gellie since 2005 and the ground is suitable for a variety of uses including for equestrian purposes and for other livestock. The land at Inner Gellie extends to about 35.94 acres in total.

General

Planning
The Stable block received full planning and listed building consent (ref no. 05/02850/ efull) in 2005 to reconstruct/alter/extend the redundant stable building to form a dwellinghouse. The consent was renewed in 2012 (ref no. 11/04429/full) and lapsed in May 2015. Further details can be accessed via the online planning portal for Fife Council using the planning reference numbers above.

Basic Payment Scheme
All of the farmland is registered by the Agricultural, Food and Rural Committee in Rural Payments and Inspections Directorate (afrc-rpid) under the Location Code 78/425/0005.

Services
Electricity: Mains
Water: Mains
Drainage: Private/Public
Drainage (The private drainage at this property may not comply with the relevant regulations. Further information is being sought.)

Inner Gellie House Heating: Electric
Gate Lodge: Mains Gas

Council Tax Inner Gellie House Band H
Gate Lodge Band C

Local Authority Fife Council

Moveables Fitted carpets are included in the sale.

Epc-g

Listings/Environmental Designations
Inner Gellie has the following designations:

• It sits within the Kilrenny Conservation area.
• Inner Gellie House is category A listed.
• Inner Gellie Gate Lodge and gate piers are B Listed.
• The former stables are b-listed.
• The Walled Garden is b-listed.

Timber and Mineral Rights All standing and fallen timber and the mineral rights are included in the sale insofar as they are owned.

Health and Safety Given the hazards of a rural property we ask you to be as vigilant as possible when making your inspections, for your own personal safety.

Viewing Strictly by appointment through Strutt & Parker: Edinburgh Office: Perth Office: Access There is access to the Stable Block (currently with a barrier) from Kilrenny Common.