Empty Aberdeenshire mansion finally finds a new owner for £1m

By FRANK URQUHART
Published on 03/08/2012 00:00

A HISTORIC A-listed mansion in the heart of Aberdeenshire has been sold for more than 
£1 million.

Dunecht House, near Westhill, had been lying empty for more than a decade and was put on the market earlier this year by Charles Pearson, the owner of the Dunecht estate and the brother of Viscount Cowdray.

The mansion has been in Mr Pearson’s family for more than 100 years, but he and his family have lived elsewhere since 1998.

A spokesman for the Dunecht Estate said: “We are delighted to confirm the successful sale of Dunecht House, particularly as it has been sold to a local purchaser who intends to use it as a family home. We hope that they enjoy many happy years there.”

Dunecht House was built in 1820 for William Forbes, whose family had owned the Dunecht estate since the 15th century, and was designed by John Smith, then Aberdeen’s most prominent architect. The estate was bought by the first Viscount Cowdray in 1910.

When the sale was announced a spokesman for the estate said: “The Pearson family have other principal houses on the estates, and Dunecht House has proved to be surplus to the family’s requirements over the last decade. The family have now come to the decision that the house deserves a new owner, who has the necessary enthusiasm to exploit the obvious potential that exists.”

Dunecht House boasts 24 bedrooms, a ballroom, 16 bathrooms and its own private chapel.