Craigenputtock

Craigenputtock House and Estate
The Craig
Painting by George Moir 1829
Location	Dumfries and Galloway
History
First occupied	15th century
Built	18th century (completed)
Built for	The family of Welsh
Current residents	Carter-Campbell of Possil
Site notes
Area	800 acres (324 ha)
Architectural styleTemplate:Pluralize from text	Georgian

Craigenputtock (usually spelled by the Carlyles as Craigenputtoch) is a farmhouse in Scotland where Thomas Carlyle lived from 1828 to 1834. He wrote several of his early works there, including Sartor Resartus.

The estate's name incorporates the Scots words craig, meaning hill, referring in this case to a whinstone hill, and puttock, or small hawk. Craigenputtock occupies 800 acres (320 hectares) of farmland in the civil parish of Dunscore in Dumfriesshire, within the District Council Region of Dumfries and Galloway. The dwelling on the grounds is a two-storey, four bedroomed Georgian Country House (category B listed). The plot also comprises two cottages, a farmstead, 315 acres (127 ha) of moorland hill rising to 1,000 ft (300 m) above sea level, and 350 acres (140 ha) of inbye ground of which 40 acres (16 ha) is arable, ploughable land and 135 acres (55 ha) is woodland.

It was the property for generations (circa 1500) of the family Welsh, and eventually that of their heiress, Jane Baillie Welsh Carlyle (1801–1866) (descended on the paternal side from Elizabeth, the youngest daughter of John Knox), which the Carlyles made their dwelling-house in 1828, where they remained for seven years (before moving to Carlyle's House in Cheyne Row, London), and where Sartor Resartus was written. The property was bequeathed by Thomas Carlyle to the Edinburgh University on his death in 1881.

It is certain that for living and thinking in, I have never since found in the world a place so favourable. How blessed might poor mortals be in the straitest circumstances if their wisdom and fidelity to heaven and to one another were adequately great!

— Thomas Carlyle on Craigenputtock

Picture gallery

• Front elevation of Craigenputtock House, 2006
  Front elevation of Craigenputtock House, 2006
• Craigenputtock from sketch by G Howard
  Craigenputtock from sketch by G Howard
• Aerial view of Craigenputtock from the north east, taken in 1955
  Aerial view of Craigenputtock from the north east, taken in 1955
• Watercolor by Helen Allingham of the rear view of Craigenputtock in 1891
  Watercolor by Helen Allingham of the rear view of Craigenputtock in 1891
• Photograph of Craigenputtock entrance in 2007
  Photograph of Craigenputtock entrance in 2007
• Craigenputtock moor painted by James Paterson in 1882 in watercolor on paper. Now hangs in the Smith Art Gallery, Stirling. Paterson records in his journal that he stayed at Craigenputtock.
  Craigenputtock moor painted by James Paterson in 1882 in watercolor on paper. Now hangs in the Smith Art Gallery, Stirling. Paterson records in his journal that he stayed at Craigenputtock.
• A sketch of the kitchen at Craigenputtock by James Paterson when he was staying there in 1882 now hangs in the National Portrait Gallery, Edinburgh.
  A sketch of the kitchen at Craigenputtock by James Paterson when he was staying there in 1882 now hangs in the National Portrait Gallery, Edinburgh.
• Craigenputtock drawn by George Moir in 1828 for the frontispiece of Leben Schillers
  Craigenputtock drawn by George Moir in 1828 for the frontispiece of Leben Schillers
• Carlyle, painting by Whistler
  Carlyle, painting by Whistler

James Paterson on Craigenputtock

To a Swallow Building under
Our Eaves at Craigenputtock

Thou too hast travell'd, little fluttering thing—
Hast seen the world, and now thy weary wing
        Thou too must rest.
But much, my little bird, couldst thou but tell,
I 'd give to know why here thou lik'st so well
        To build thy nest.

For thou hast pass'd fair places in thy flight;
A world lay all beneath thee where to light;
        And, strange thy taste,
Of all the varied scenes that met thine eye,
Of all the spots for building 'neath the sky,
        To choose this waste.

Did fortune try thee? was thy little purse
Perchance run low, and thou, afraid of worse,
        Felt here secure?
Ah, no! thou need'st not gold, thou happy one!
Thou know'st it not. Of all God's creatures, man
        Alone is poor.

What was it, then? some mystic turn of thought
Caught under German eaves, and hither brought,
        Marring thine eye
For the world's loveliness, till thou art grown
A sober thing that dost but mope and moan,
        Not knowing why?

Nay, if thy mind be sound, I need not ask,
Since here I see thee working at thy task
        With wing and beak.
A well-laid scheme doth that small head contain,
At which thou work'st, brave bird, with might and main,
        Nor more need'st seek.

In truth, I rather take it thou hast got
By instinct wise much sense about thy lot,
        And hast small care
Whether an Eden or a desert be
Thy home, so thou remainst alive, and free
        To skim the air.

God speed thee, pretty bird; may thy small nest
With little ones all in good time be blest.
        I love thee much;
For well thou managest that life of thine,
While I! Oh, ask not what I do with mine!
        Would I were such!

– Jane Welsh Carlyle 1828

The artist James Paterson (one of the "Glasgow Boys") stayed at Craigenputtock in 1882. The following is his account and sketches of his stay:

See also

• List of country houses in the United Kingdom
• List of places in Dumfries and Galloway
• Writer's home

External links

• Thomas & Jane Carlyle's Craigenputtock
• Historic Houses Association, Scotland
• Visit Scotland: Craigenputtock