Formidable Scottish Castle With Turrets, a Pub and a Helipad Asks £8 Million

An imposing Scottish castle that has only had four owners in its more than 200-year existence has hit the market asking for offers above £8 million (US$10.45 million).

Seton Hall, as it’s known, was built in 1789 by architect Robert Adam using stone from Seton Palace, the since-demolished property that was considered to be Mary Queen of Scots’s preferred retreat, according to Savills, which brought the home to the market last month.

“Seton is an absolutely magical castle—from the moment you approach, to the inner courtyard, to the quality of interior design,” said listing agent Jessica Gwyn.

The castle—roughly 10 miles from Edinburgh—remained in the same family from the late 18th century until 2003, which “served to freeze Seton in a protective time warp,” according to the listing.

Castellated features such as slit windows and turrets can be seen from the outside, and inside “secret staircases, curved doors, curved walls, arched windows and hidden doors add to the charming sophistication of the architecture and design,” the listing said.

But the castle has since been refurbished to meet modern standards, and now also boasts a helipad, a full security system, a gym, a playroom, a silk-lined dining room and a billiards room.

The restoration project saw a team of expert stonemasons rebuild the castle’s many chimneys, turrets and rooftop parapets. Plus, ironwork was restored, the dumbwaiter reinstated and the 10,000-bottle wine cellar was brought back to life, Savills said.

Alongside the seven-bedroom home that forms the core of the castle, there are additional residences across the property, including Darnley Cottage and Bothwell Cottage—named after Mary Queen of Scots’s husbands.

The castle’s stables have been refurbished, too, and are adjacent to the “Stable Bar,” the castle’s private pub.

The owner—who Mansion Global couldn’t identify—“feels their time as custodian of this outstanding building has come to a natural conclusion and it is time for this historic home to be loved and cared for by someone else,” Gwyn said.

This article first appeared on Mansion Global

A historic Barbados estate with a 300-year-old villa and 11 acres overlooking the Caribbean Sea is now for sale with a guide price of $22.5 million.

The seller is Kit Braden, chairman of the U.K. branch of French beauty empire L’Occitane Group, whose family has spent every winter for the last 13 years at the island property, known as Fustic Estate.

“It’s very much a family house,” Braden said. “We love having a lot of people there. It’s a collection point to keep everyone together.”

The main villa dates to 1712, though it’s been reimagined and expanded substantially over the years.

It spans 13,000 square feet and features seven en suite bedrooms across three wings, as well as expansive verandas, stone courtyards and rows of louvered doors in gay Caribbean pastels.

In the 1970s, when the home was owned by Charles Graves—brother of British poet Robert Graves—it was reimagined by stage designer Oliver Messel, one of the foremost theater designers of the last century. Messel expanded the home, added a lagoon pool with a natural waterfall and other theatrical features, according to Braden.

“The whole place is a little bit magical,” he said.

The home sits about 350 feet above the water, and surrounded by lush gardens that slope towards the water.

“We look down through our garden—which is about 12 acres of tropical gardens and palm trees and wonderful old mahogany trees—onto the Caribbean,” Braden said.

He and his wife first saw the property on New Year’s Eve 2013, during a quick trip from where they were staying in Grenada.

The couple spent an hour walking the perimeter, some of it still untouched jungle, in the pouring rain.

“By the time we got back, I had fallen in love with it,” Braden said.

His wife, however, wasn’t so sure. But in Braden’s telling, a second visit in sunnier weather with two of their children brought her around.

“She had to be talked into that it was a jolly good idea; now she absolutely loves it,” he said.

When they bought the property, the edge that runs along the waterfront was a jungle, so they cleared the ridge and transformed it into gardens.

They also bought an additional sea-level parcel with two beach cottages, giving the property direct access to the water and the town below via a five-minute walk.

The property also has a 15-person staff, a reflecting pond, an outdoor pavilion suitable for yoga and a commercial grade kitchen that can serve more than 100 guests, according to a brochure from Knight Frank, which posted the listing in March. They did not provide further comment.

For Braden, the property is special because of its natural beauty, its proximity to the town of Saint Lucy and its history—which dates way way back to when the island of Barbados was first formed via tectonic activity.

“It was basically tectonic plates that collided about a million years ago so the seabed is the top of the hill,” Braden said. “We’re on coral rock.”

As a result, Fustic Estate includes an extensive network of caves that were likely used by the Arawaks, a Venezuelan fishing tribe that followed the fish to these islands about a thousand years ago.

“If the fish were good they’d camp here,” Braden said. “There’s evidence that they stayed there in those caves, they lived there in good winters.”

Now it’s someone else’s turn to live on the land shared by Arawaks, the plantation owners of 1712, Charles Graves and the Braden brood.

Formidable Scottish Castle With Turrets, a Pub and a Helipad Asks £8 Million

Kit Braden, an executive at French beauty empire L’Occitane, has spent every winter for the past 13 years at the stone vacation home.