The Kirna, known locally as Kirna House (previously also as Grangehill), is a Category A listed villa in Walkerburn, Peeblesshire, Scotland. It is one of three villas in Walkerburn designed by Frederick Thomas Pilkington between 1866 and 1869 for the Ballantyne family after Henry Ballantyne first bought land at that location to build a tweed mill in 1846. It is listed as a fine example of a Pilkington mansion retaining original external features, a fine interior, and for its importance as a Ballantyne property.
The Ballantyne family played a leading role in Scotland's textile industry for nearly two hundred years and were substantially responsible for founding the village of Walkerburn.
From its completion in 1867 until 1941, The Kirna was owned and occupied by members of prominent Scottish industrial, professional, and landed families, reflecting its status as a residence associated with the social and economic elite of Walkerburn and the wider Scottish Borders.
The Kirna's proximity to a number of ancient man-made structures, including some dating back to pre-historic times, suggests that this general location along the Tweed valley has been of strategic importance to settlers throughout history.
Design & architecture
The Kirna was designed by British architect Frederick Thomas Pilkington. It retains all of its original 1867 Scots Baronial and Venetian Romanesque design features including an idiosyncratic tower in Ruskinian Gothic style. The heavy oak main staircase features distinctive turned and carved balusters identical to those found in F T Pilkington's own house, Egremont, 38 Dick Place, Edinburgh, and grotesque finials holding shields sporting the initials of George Ballantyne (1836-1924) and his wife Marion ("Minnie") White Aitken (1841-1914). The hallway features a large glass cupola and an artist's studio is housed in the turret room. The dining room ceiling incorporates the initials of Colin Ballantyne (1879-1942) and his wife Isabella Milne Welsh (1881-1969), respectively.
Of special architectural note is the main entrance and heavily decorated (sculpted) elevation featuring a central flight of ashlar steps leading to a polygonal, arcaded loggia entrance area which is supported by two rope-moulded arches. Immediately above the entrance is the first floor with prominent chequered detail between the band courses, and a repeat of the rope moulding around the windows. The second floor features a turret with two finialled dormers. The Kirna shares many of these design elements with another F T Pilkington building originally known as Craigend Park in Edinburgh, designed and built for William Christie between 1867 and 1869, a "Glover and Breeches Maker" (tailor) at 16 George Street who is believed to have sourced much of his material from the Ballantyne mills.
Designs of The Kirna were exhibited at the Royal Scottish Academy in 1867. The subsequent review in The Builder noted that "Pilkington is never commonplace, though frequently wild and eccentric". The Kirna was praised as "a pleasing example of the modern style Gothic as applied to domestic purposes: abundance of light is given, and variety is secured without violent contrast".
Drawings of alterations dated 1903 by James Jerdan (architect at 12 Castle Street, Edinburgh), indicate the addition of a coal chute and "heating chamber" area located beside the main building. The 1903 alterations included the addition of a 'boudoir' (now game room) to the west gable, and a bedroom on the first floor.
The boundary wall and a glass house still survive. The entrance gates were likely removed during the war in 1941 when the government passed an order compulsorily requisitioning all post-1850 iron gates and railings for the war effort. The deed explicitly provided for The Kirna to draw its domestic water from the Kirna Burn until such time as a reservoir was constructed to supply the Estate of Pirn, and to source stone from Purveshill quarries.
Architectural significance The Kirna is recognised as one of the most architecturally significant Victorian villas in Scotland and an important example of the domestic work of Scottish architect Frederick Thomas Pilkington. Designed during the height of Pilkington’s career, the villa demonstrates many of the characteristics for which he became known, including asymmetrical composition, complex rooflines, and the integration of towers and varied projections. These features reflect Pilkington’s distinctive interpretation of the Scottish Baronial style.
The building’s architectural importance is formally recognised through its designation as a Category A listed building by Historic Environment Scotland. The listing highlights the villa’s exceptional architectural quality, its well-preserved original features, and its importance as a representative example of Pilkington’s domestic architecture.
Architectural historians have identified Pilkington as one of the leading Scottish architects of the later nineteenth century, particularly noted for his inventive and highly individual domestic buildings, placing his work among the most distinctive domestic architecture of Victorian Scotland.. His villas were often commissioned by prosperous industrialists and were designed to convey both status and aesthetic refinement. The Kirna reflects these broader architectural and social trends during Scotland’s Victorian industrial expansion. The villa also contributes to the architectural character and historical development of Walkerburn, and its role in the Scottish textile industry. Its scale, design, and prominent setting distinguish it from surrounding buildings and reinforce its status as one of the most important historic residences in the Scottish Border.
Comparative significance The Kirna is a representative example of Frederick Thomas Pilkington’s domestic architecture from the late 1860s and occupies a distinct position within his body of work. The building illustrates Pilkington’s application of Ruskinian Gothic and Venetian Romanesque design principles in a rural setting in the Scottish Borders.
The Kirna’s integration into the Ballantyne family’s coordinated villa development in Walkerburn gives it additional contextual significance. In the broader context of late-19th-century Scottish villa architecture, The Kirna is a well-preserved example of Pilkington’s mature domestic work.
When compared with other villas by Pilkington, The Kirna shows a combination of elements that place it squarely within his stylistic framework while also highlighting meaningful differences:
Craigend Park (Kingston House, Edinburgh, 1867-69) shares the use of a deep entrance loggia, rope-moulded arches, polychrome stone banding, and a corner tower. The Kirna adapts these features to a less formal, rural site, resulting in a more vertical profile that responds to its setting overlooking the Tweed Valley.
Stoneyhill (Walkerburn, 1868), also for the Ballantyne family, forms part of the same planned group of villas in the village. Stoneyhill incorporates early French Gothic and Moorish elements, while The Kirna exhibits a more Ruskinian Gothic style.
Egremont (38 Dick Place, Edinburgh, 1864-70) and Inchglass (Crieff, 1854) reflect earlier iterations of Pilkington’s towered villa form and decorative approach. The Kirna reflects the further development of these concepts, combining Scots Baronial with Venetian Romanesque detailing.
History Construction George Ballantyne (1836-1924), third son of Henry Ballantyne (1802-1865), acquired the site for The Kirna from Alexander Horsburgh (1840-1911) of Horsburgh in September of 1867. The villa was built between 1866 and 1867 by George Wilkie (1821-1892) of Hayfield Villa, Peebles. Curiously, George had started the construction of The Kirna in May of 1866 and had already completed the construction of the house, boundary walls and driveway by the time the site was formally acquired. The deed was extraordinarily specific in terms of prohibited uses of the site - "distillery, brewery, manufactory of soot or blood, candleworks, slaughterhouse, smithy, foundry, steam engine, nor any manufactory or chemical preparation".
Notable Owners George Ballantyne and his family owned and occupied The Kirna between 1867 and 1880 when he sold the property to his brother David Ballantyne (1825-1912). David let The Kirna, fully furnished, until 1888 when he auctioned off the furniture and sold the property to Marian Currie (1830-1903, née Upwood), widow of Charles Currie (1829-1878), son of Sir Frederick Currie, 1st Baronet .
Marion Currie remained at The Kirna until she died in 1903 and the property was sold to Katherine "Kitty" Hamilton Bruce (1863-1928), widow of Robert Thomas Hamilton Bruce (1848-1899), 3rd son of Lt. Col. Walter Hamilton Tyndall Bruce of Grandhill and Falkland (1788-1874). Kitty was the daughter of Simon Somerville (Tae) Laurie (1829-1909), a Scottish educator. Kitty owned The Kirna (named Grangehill at that time) for sixteen years before selling to Colin Ballantyne (1879-1942), son of John Ballantyne (1829-1909), in 1919 upon his return from the 1914-1918 War where he served as a captain with the 8th Battalion, The Royal Scots. Colin Ballantyne continued to own the property until just before his death in 1942. He was the third and final member of the Ballantyne family to have owned The Kirna.
Since 1941 The Kirna has had 9 owners.
George, The Kirna, and New Zealand
Between 1870 and 1872 George secured two personal loans amounting to £800 (£97,000 in 2020) using The Kirna as collateral. George advertised The Kirna for sale in April 1871 after the death of his three-year-old son Henry George Tait (1867-1870), and when it did not sell he advertised it to let, furnished, by the year. In 1874 he mortgaged The Kirna for £1,000 (£116,000 in 2020) through the Scottish Union & National Insurance Co. and used a portion of the proceeds to repay £500 of his outstanding personal loans. In 1878 The Kirna was put up for auction in Peebles but it did not sell. The remainder of his personal loan amount was repaid in 1879.
George sold The Kirna to his brother David in 1880 for £2,100 (£258,000 in 2020), roughly what he originally paid George Wilkie to build it for, when he emigrated to New Zealand, notionally to enter the wool-buying business to supply the requirements of Henry Ballantyne's mills. George did not simply sell privately to David - he put The Kirna up for Public Roup and Sale on 17th March 1880. It was purchased by Charles Henderson, Solicitor, South Court Edinburgh on behalf of David Ballantyne, confirmed in the Minute of Enactment at the Roup. David already owned a property (Sunnybrae) in Walkerburn at that time, suggesting that his purchase of The Kirna was designed to facilitate George's departure and possibly his exit from Henry Ballantyne's business. George used the proceeds of the sale to discharge his £1,000 mortgage.
Coach house
The Kirna includes a separate stable block and coach house rather than a traditional entrance lodge. It is believed that Marian Currie commissioned the coach house some time between 1890 and 1900. An 1877 photograph of The Kirna does not show the coach house, and an 1878 for-sale advertisement makes no mention of a coach house. The 1888 disposition recording the sale of The Kirna to Marian Currie also makes no reference to a second dwelling on the property. The 1891 Census includes a "coachman" named Andrew Newall (1852-1935) residing at Kirna House. The following 1901 Census records Andrew, now "gardener", living in the coach house. And a 1903 advertisement in the Scotsman mentions "stable, coach house, and coachman's house".