Abbotsford, the Seat of Sir Walter Scott, Bart

This print presents a front view of Abbotsford House, Scottish Borders. When Scott bought the 110-acre Cartley Hole Farm in 1811 he renamed it Abbotsford. He bought up neighbouring properties until in 1825 the estate had expanded to ten times its original size. By 1821, the residence that he had built between 1812 and 1818 had become too small for the estate and for the constant stream of visitors that he received. A two-storey manor house (portrayed here) was built in its stead. Abbotsford proved immensely influential on nineteenth-century building styles, sparking the Victorian revival of Scots-Baronial architecture. The architects were William Atkinson and Edward Blore, with assistance from Scott himself. This print is engraved by Thomas Barber after a drawing by Thomas Hosmer Shepherd.

University of Edinburgh, Corson Collection: Coll-1022/CCWS/ILL/P.1590