Photo: Kim Traynor / Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-SA 3.0)
Hill of Tarvit is a Category A listed historic building in Fife, cared for by the National Trust for Scotland. Read about its history, architecture and gardens, plus how to visit and what's nearby.
About Hill of Tarvit
Sir Robert Lorimer rebuilt Hill of Tarvit in 1906 around an older house, Wemyss Hall, in rural Fife, turning it into an Edwardian mansion to display Frederick Sharp's art collection.
Sharp was a Dundee industrialist whose family had made their fortune in the jute industry before diversifying into venture capital and transport.
The National Trust for Scotland has cared for the property since Sharp's family gave it to them in 1949.
Visitors can see both the formal rooms upstairs and the working kitchens and servants' quarters below, a rare chance to see a country house run from both ends.
The surrounding gardens, also laid out by Lorimer, step down the hillside in terraces.
Read more on WikipediaHistory of Hill of Tarvit
The house began as Wemyss Hall, a 17th-century property that stood on the site long before the present mansion. Frederick Sharp, a Dundee industrialist whose family fortune came from the jute industry before diversifying into venture capital and transport, bought the estate in 1904 and commissioned Robert Lorimer to remodel it almost entirely as a showcase for his growing collection of paintings and furniture. Sharp's family gave the house and its contents to the National Trust for Scotland in 1949.
Architecture of Hill of Tarvit
Lorimer's 1906 rebuilding kept elements of the older 17th-century house but recast the mansion in an Edwardian interpretation of Scots classical style, with formal symmetry outside and richly detailed reception rooms within.
Worth knowing
The house holds Sharp's personal collection of Dutch paintings, Chippendale furniture and Chinese porcelain, gathered specifically to furnish the rooms Lorimer designed around them. The servants' hall and kitchens survive largely as they were, giving visitors an unusually complete picture of life below stairs alongside the family rooms above.
Gardens & grounds at Hill of Tarvit
Lorimer laid out the gardens in a series of terraces stepping down the hillside, designed to be seen from the house's principal windows.
Facilities
Plan your visit to Hill of Tarvit
Address: KY15 5PB
Nearest station: Cupar Rail Station (1.5 miles)
Places to visit near Hill of Tarvit
Scotstarvit Tower
View Scotstarvit Tower on heritage mapSt Andrews West Port
View St Andrews West Port on heritage mapSt Peters Church And Parish Cross
View St Peters Church And Parish Cross on heritage mapBlackfriars Chapel
View Blackfriars Chapel on heritage mapHistoric places nearby
Within 5 miles of Hill of Tarvit (KY15) there are 1 historic properties, including 1 tower.
Within 10 miles of Hill of Tarvit (KY15) there are 8 historic properties, including 3 churchs and 3 castles, across Historic Environment Scotland and National Trust for Scotland sites.
Within 20 miles of Hill of Tarvit (KY15) there are 32 historic properties, including 9 castles, 7 historic houses and 5 historic sites, across Historic Environment Scotland, Historic Houses and National Trust for Scotland sites.
Facts
An Edwardian mansion built around one industrialist's art collection, with its servants' quarters as intact as the state rooms.
- Type
- historic building
- Location
- Fife, Scotland
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