16th Century Edinburgh pile set on fire by order of Henry VIII on market for £2.45m

A 16th Century house once set on fire under orders from Henry VIII has come on the market.

Old Craig, a five-bedroomed house in Morningside, which has been lived in by the great of the good of Edinburgh and has witnessed some key moments in Scottish history, has gone up for sale for £2.45m.

The oldest part of the original house, the vaulted ground floor room, dates from 1528 when the Abbot of Newbotle - or Newbattle - granted a charter for good services rendered to Hugh Douglas, Burgess of Edinburgh and his wife Mariona Brown.

This room is all that remained after the house was set ablaze by English army, ordered by Henry VIII, who crossed the Jordan Burn and set fire to most of Edinburgh.

The property sits within open lawn and mature woodlands and enjoys “outstanding views” of the capital’s skyline with Edinburgh Castle, Arthur’s Seat, the Pentland Hills and the Firth of Forth in the eyeline of the house.

Old Craig has been converted by Qmile Group, the company behind the £150m Craighouse development which surrounds the property, in consultation with Historic Scotland and Scottish National Heritage.

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The Burning of Edinburgh was part of Henry’s campaign to secure the marriage of his son to Mary Queen of Scots. Later rebuilt, it passed into ownership one of her allies, Sir Stephen Bruntsfield, who was murdered due to his association with the doomed monarch.

Other past owners include Sir Thomas Elphinstone, a former Governor of Maryland; the royal portrait painter George Porteous and John Hill Burton, Historiographer Royal in Scotland.

Jan Welsh, of Edinburgh-based Qmile Group, which has led the Craighouse development, said: “Old Craig has played its part in Edinburgh’s rich history, so we feel privileged to have been able to carefully convert the property into an outstanding new home.

“Everything has been done to our exacting standards to ensure Old Craig combines the best of today’s design excellence whilst retaining the historic character and features which make the home truly unique.

“We have also left the open plan kitchen, dining and family space on the first floor as a blank canvas to allow Old Craig’s new owners to be involved in the kitchen design and able to personalise those areas.

“Old Craig’s extraordinary charm and outstanding quality has to be seen at first-hand to be truly appreciated. We are providing qualified prospective buyers with a tour of the property.”

Ms Welsh said Old Craig had attracted both local and international interest from prospective buyers “as you would expect with a property of this rarity”.

Old Craig is “regarded as an exceptional example of the Scottish Baronial architectural style of that era,” Ms Welsh added.

The property has undergone an extensive refurbishment with the building retaining its “original charm” and a variety of period features.

A barrel-vaulted sitting room with two stone fireplaces at either end is on the ground floor, along with a further wood-panelled room with the original fireplace.

Upstairs, a formal drawing room is located on the first floor which has a decorative wall frieze. On the same floor, there is a wood-panelled dining room with a large fireplace with an intricately carved wood inscription.

The first floor is completed by a large open-plan kitchen, dining and family space. This has access to the property’s original stone terrace offering panoramic views across Blackford Hill and the Edinburgh skyline.

Five of Old Craig’s bedrooms, which come with ensuite bathrooms, are on the second and third floors. with potential to create a sixth bedroom on the ground floor.

The property is set within a south-facing walled garden with around one acre of ground included in the sale. A large driveway provides private parking suitable for a number of vehicles. There are also two large outbuildings for storage or potential as hobby rooms or a gym.

In the 19th century, renowned architect Sydney Mitchell was appointed to add additional buildings to the Craighouse site and made further alterations to Old Craig, adding more windows and remodelling the veranda and entrance porch. Internally, cornices and friezes were added.

In 1878, Craig House was bought and adapted for ‘higher-class’ patients by the Commissioners of Edinburgh Lunatic Asylum. It then became known as Old Craig House.

In later years, it was refurbished in 1996 and served as a campus for Edinburgh Napier University until 2013.

The building sits within the footprint of the 52-acre Craighouse development which, once complete, will be home to 144 new build and conversion apartments, duplexes, penthouses and townhouses.