Historic Buildings & Monuments

The Crofthouse Museum takes visitors back to a time where life’s essentials were of a bare minimum. The House, barn and byre are all accessible under one roof and everything, from the floors to the kitchen appliances, is made with materials found and collected. 

Built in 1803 as the Sheriff Court this is where Sir Walter Scott, author of such classics as The Heart of Midlothian and Rob Roy, dispensed justice to the people of Selkirkshire.

Explore Scott’s life, his writings and his time as Sheriff.

This fine example of a 16th century bastel house is set in a beautiful garden of pear trees. Displays tell the story of Scotland’s tragic queen through objects, paintings and textiles associated with Mary. One room is dedicated to exhibits relating to the Queen and her visit to Jedburgh in 1566.

Perhaps nowhere else in the world can evoke the power of the romantic past more than Abbotsford.

Visit Hopetoun and discover a place of beauty, tranquility and architectural magnificence dating from the 17th century. It has been home to the Hope Family since the late 1600s and the present Lord Hopetoun and his family still live in Hopetoun House.

The Stonehaven Tolbooth is thought to have been founded by George Keith, 5th Earl Marischal (c. 1553–1623), with the original purpose of the rectangular building being to act as a storehouse during the construction of the nearby Dunnottar Castle. In 1600, an Act of Parliament provided that the building become a tolbooth.

It was in this simple sandstone house in a quiet Dumfries street that Robert Burns, Scotland's national poet, spent the last years of his brilliant life. He died here in 1796 at the age of just thirty seven. The house gives us a picture of how the poet and his family lived in the late eighteenth century. It is now a place of pilgrimage for Burns enthusiasts from around the world.

17th century flour mill and ancillary buildings on riverside site. Exhibitions telling the story of country life from 1800 to the present day. Collection of costume, furnishings and memorabilia.

Originally founded in the mid-13th century as a leprosy and plague hospice, it was remodelled and expanded in the mid-19th century by Patrick Allan-Fraser (1813-90), who served as his own architect. The building draws on mediaeval domestic architecture, resulting in a curious arrangement of Scottish Gothic, yet functional and with spendid, well-preserved interiors.  

The Balmashanner War Memorial was built 1920-1 to a design by architect Thomas R. Soutar to commemorate those fallen in the First World War. Known locally as Boammie, the monument offers fine views over Forfar, the Valley of Strathmore and to the Braes of Angus beyond.

The Tolbooth Museum is one of Aberdeen's oldest buildings and one of the best-preserved 17th century gaols in Scotland. It features displays on local history and the development of crime and punishment through the centuries. The Tolbooth Museum provides a unique experience in the form of its atmospheric 17th and 18th century cells, original doors and barred windows.

A 250-year-old but ‘n ben cottage furnished as a home of about a century ago.

Session Cottage is open by arrangement only.