Carmichael House

Carmichael House, the caput of the barony, was a stately three-story family mansion with beautiful grounds and gardens for over 200 years, but it fell into disrepair in recent generations and is now in ruins. It is pictured above with the inset depicting the Chief’s personal Arms (Ensigns Armorial) displaying the broken spear crest atop the original Carmichael shield featuring a red and blue fess, and sided by a knight in armor and a rearing horse.

The last family member to reside in Carmichael House was Sir Windham Carmichael-Anstruther, the 25th Baron of Carmichael, until the Second World War when it was used as a billet for Polish army forces, the start of its demise. After the war, due to oppressive taxes, it was sold for a nursing home, but that enterprise went bankrupt in 1950 when the house was bought back by Sir Windham. In 1952 he removed the roof to reduce the property taxes, and he held a demolition sale when doors, windows, and furnishings were sold, leaving only the walls still standing.

The design of the house is elegant and quite distinctive, featuring three free-standing buildings with graceful curved gables. A central tower is flanked by two identical wings facing inwards. Originally, covered corridors wide enough to accommodate a carriage connected the two wings and the central tower so that guests could be transported between the buildings to meals and social gatherings.

The architect may have been one of the Adam family who were related through marriage. It was built in 1734 by Sir John Carmichael (‘The Great Earl’), third Earl of Hyndford and fourth Lord Carmichael (1701-1767), to replace the former castle built by William, second Baron of Carmichael, about 1414, and ruined by Cromwell about 1650. The third Earl was a man of great accomplishments including extensive government service as the British Envoy to Prussia and Russia; Knight of the Thistle; member of the King’s Privy Council; Lord of the Bedchamber; and Ambassador to Russia. He was also noted as an agricultural innovator, making large expenditures to plant trees and gardens and to improve the soil at Carmichael Estate.

A curling pond provided winter sport and spectator enjoyment, and one of the finest surviving dovecots in Great Britain provided meat during the harsh Scottish winters. Surrounding sites of historical note include the mausoleum at Kirkhill where generations of former clan chiefs are interred at the site of the original Caer Mychel church dedicated by Queen Margaret in 1068; the “new” Carmichael church which was re-located a mile away in 1750; and the family pet cemetery. Clan Carmichael USA started a Roof Restoration Capital Campaign in 2000 to solicit tax-exempt donations to repair and re-roof the mansion before it collapses. In the summer of 2002 a team of Clan Carmichael USA volunteers traveled to Scotland and built a new roof for the tower, naming it “Helton’s Tower” in honor of their beloved founding member and former President Helton Carmichael who had passed away the previous year. The Capital Campaign will continue until the project is completed. Currently the Chief and his family live in the old butler quarters at West Mains.