Mansion house in 8 acres of grounds goes on market for £4.5 million

By DAVID McCANN
Published on 04/10/2012 12:29

A MANSION designed by a feted Victorian architect and which housed casualties of the Great War has gone on the market with a multi-million pound price tag.

Beechmount House, an imposing Italianate estate on Corstorphine Road, boasts eight acres of private grounds, a gate lodge and coach house and is billed as “one of Edinburgh’s most impressive properties”.

It was designed at the turn of the 20th century by John Watson, former head of architecture at Edinburgh College of Art, and thought to be valued in the region of £4.5 million.

The private residence of Sir George Anderson, treasurer of the Bank of Scotland from 1889 to 1916, it was his intention that future treasurers would take up home in the mansion, which displays the bank’s coat of arms over the entrance porch.

But after his death, the house was bequeathed to the Royal Infirmary as a convalescent home for officers injured in the First World War and continued to operate as a hospital until the late 1980s, when it returned to private ownership.

It is thought that rental income from the B-listed property could top £61,000 per year, while planning consent has been granted to convert it into a boutique hotel. Permission has also been agreed to enlarge the former coach house and extend the gate lodge.

Property agents orchestrating its sale said there was “nothing of its kind” currently on the market.

David Reid, associate of the land, development and investment department at Rettie, said: “The property is going to appeal to a wide variety of people such as residential developers looking to split up the house or maybe build on the grounds.

“It’s got planning consent for hotel use at the moment but would be a fantastic family home for one lucky person.

“I don’t think there’s anything else like this on the market in Edinburgh – a property this size with this amount of ground. It’s a very exciting property and a unique opportunity. It has all of the original features, including turrets which provide a fantastic view of Murrayfield and Edinburgh towards the Pentlands.”

A spokesperson for Historic Scotland said: “Beechmount House is B-listed in recognition of its regional significance. It is a turn of the century house designed in the Italianate style by the architect John Watson.

“Watson was an assistant to Sir R Rowand Anderson, who designed the Scottish National Portrait Gallery in Queen Street, and he was also head of architecture at Edinburgh College of Art.”