The untold story of Lady Grisell Baillie – Mistress of Mellerstain – has been brought together in what Flora Fraser calls ‘a spellbinding portrait of a captivating women’.

The biography tells the story of Lady Grisell Baillie née Hume who is credited with rebuilding Mellerstain House, a stunning stately home in the Scottish Borders, at the turn of the 17th century.

‘Lady Grisell Baillie- Mistress of Mellerstain’ was written by Lesley Abernethy a tour guide at Mellerstain who draws skilfully on Baillie family papers, including Lady Grisell’s household accounts and letters to create a detailed account of Lady Grisell’s long and eventful life.

In this second section we look at further Mellerstain stories which we have shared on our Facebook and Instagram pages.

Stories include: Midnight Meals for the Borders General Hospital; Flowers from the Gardens; Sir Jackie Stewart OBE on canvas?; and A Window on Scotland.

In this article, we take you on a fascinating visual journey of the Baillies of Mellerstain through some of the family portraits which hang side by side on the walls of the house to this day.

For 500 years Britain has been a nation of portrait lovers but portraiture as an art form can be traced back to ancient Egypt, where it flourished more than 5,000 years ago. Long before the invention of photography, a painted, sculpted or drawn portrait was the only way to record the appearance of someone. Portraits were mostly reserved for those deemed important enough to be honoured with a work of art bearing their likeness, with Royalty, nobility and important religious and historic figures being the most common subjects.

Our visitors to Mellerstain come from far and wide but we also have a loyal following from much closer to home.

None more so than Beth Duff from Earlston in the Scottish Borders who is unquestionably our most frequent and loyal visitor. Beth’s love of Mellerstain started around 5 years ago when she came to visit the house for the first time and after running out of time, she decided to come back to view the gardens with her Border Collie Jess.

Introducing Tour Guide Heather Skerven

Heather joined the team at Mellerstain in 2017. It was at a meeting of the ‘Chatty Crafters’ knitting group at Heiton Village Hall near Kelso that Heather got chatting to fellow guide Gill Harrop which led to the role.

Introducing Tour Guide Dean Skerven

This Adam masterpiece with its perfectly proportioned rooms and its enchanting view from the Italianate terrace mean that Mellerstain is one of the most beautiful houses imaginable. But whether its sweeping vistas, grand architectural statements, unmissable gardens or intricate details; photographers are in their absolute element here.

Your photography could win you a season pass. Read on for more details.

With a whole host of exciting new developments being launched at Mellerstain this year, there’s never been a better time to visit this Adam masterpiece, Operations Manager Stephen McLean tells you why.

One of the lovely things about a visit to Mellerstain is the fact that this great house never changes! You can literally walk in the footsteps of Adam and the Baillie family and discover for yourself a masterpiece both inside and out. And whilst the beauty of a visit to Mellerstain is that the house has changed very little over the centuries, we are proud that we are able to make improvements to make your visit even more enjoyable and rewarding.

The whole team have been working hard really over the winter to introduce some lovely new features which will undoubtedly enhance your experience this year and beyond, ensuring that this remains a special place that you will want to return to time and time again.

There was a welcome new addition to Mellerstain this summer in the shape of a lovely new retail space which showcases some of the finest artists and craftworkers in the Borders. Located in an old cart shed in the East Courtyard, which until not so long ago was used to house a family horse carriage plus an accumulation of junk!

Always keen to improve our overall visitor experience, we recognise that our visitors are people with an appreciation of fine art and decorative art. It seemed natural therefore, that not only should we create a new Mellerstain shop but that it would celebrate the talented artists and craftworkers who live and work in this special part of the country.

As a music teacher, fluent Gaelic and French speaker, dressmaker and genealogist, there is no doubt that Tour Guide Lesley Abernethy is an absolute mine of information on a wide range of subjects, with the knowledge and passion to provide visitors with a fascinating insight into the history of Mellerstain.

When first asked about any special interests, it quickly became very clear that Lesley has many strings to her bow! Let’s start at the beginning.

When long serving Head Gardener Gordon Low retired at the end of last year, experienced gardener Daryl Pearce took up the reins here in the magnificent Gardens at Mellerstain.
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For gardener and visitor alike, the Gardens here are very special and Daryl relished the opportunity of being able to work in such a beautiful and historically interesting setting. Since joining the team in March, Daryl has been busy maintaining the gardens and getting them ready for his first season as Head Gardener at Mellerstain.

There has always been a rich appreciation of music by the family at Mellerstain across the centuries, but certainly none greater than that of Sarah, Countess of Haddington (1903 -1995) who was a driving force behind the first Edinburgh International Festival.

For gardeners and non-gardeners alike, the month of May heralds the arrival of the wonderfully colourful spectacle that is the Chelsea Flower Show. Undoubtedly the world’s most prestigious horticultural show is an event which inspires millions and leads the way in innovative garden design, so we thought it would be interesting to shine a light on our own fascinating story of garden design.

The highly anticipated second season of Borders Sculpture Park at Mellerstain has just been launched with The Messenger, a series of newly commissioned artworks by British artist Hilary Jack.

Jack’s exciting new project is the second commission by Borders Sculpture Park, which brings innovative and reflective contemporary art to the Scottish Borders, within the classical setting of the House and Gardens here at Mellerstain.

As we prepare to open the House and Gardens for the Easter weekend, we thought that we would give you little preview of what’s on offer this spring and beyond here at Mellerstain.

Easter is of course a very special time of year, it also heralds the arrival of Spring and our whole team; from the Gardeners to the house staff to the Tour Guides and the team at the Hoebridge Café, are all busy making preparations to ensure that everything is ship shape and ready to welcome the first visitors of the year.

Our team of wonderful Tour Guides at Mellerstain are an absolute mine of information and in this article, we are delighted to introduce you to Tour Guide of seven years, Gill Harrop.

Originally born in Dumfries, it wasn’t until many years later that Gill was to return to Scotland and set up home in the country of her birth. Following an incredibly busy career which has included working as a policewoman, a sub-post mistress, a Trainer with RBS and laterally as an event organiser at Doncaster College, Gill and her husband decided to move to the Scottish Borders.

We are delighted to announce the recent appointment of tourism and events expert Stephen McLean as our new Operations Manager.

Stephen’s background includes tourism, events, strategic marketing and communications and development in both the private and public sectors.

Not quite how the song goes and thankfully not something that you can do here at Mellerstain but nevertheless we do have a room dedicated to the most poisonous tree in the world!

As you enter our glorious Manchineel Room on the south front of the house, you will be struck by the splendid beauty of the Manchineel furniture after which the room is named but you might be a little more surprised to discover its origins.

If you have visited many of the finest stately homes throughout Britain, it is inevitable that you will be familiar with the name of the great Scottish architect Robert Adam.

Mellerstain is of course synonymous with Adam and in this article we look at the career of this remarkable Scotsman who had so much influence on Georgian architecture and art throughout Great Britain.

Mellerstain exemplifies fine architecture and good taste but is also the perfect place to get up close with nature as you will see in this article.

The House and Gardens at Mellerstain are in the most perfect setting imaginable and this is a wonderful place to call home, but we are delighted that the estate is also home to a rich abundance of wildlife, plant life and birds too.

The view from the Italianate terraces over the lake to the Cheviot Hills is quite enchanting but when you look back from the lawn to the main building designed by Robert Adam, you will see how well the building also complements the designed landscape. This article takes you through the fascinating history behind the spectacular gardens that we enjoy at Mellerstain to this day.