Achnagairn House has ancient origins. The word Achnagairn means field of the cairns (piles of stones used as ancient landmarks) and there has been a house on the site for the past 400 years. A date stone which is now incorporated into the fireplace in the library within the existing estate house proudly reads: 1663. The house as it now stands was built circa 1812. There is a crest on the exterior wall outside the reception hall, it bears the Latin inscription ‘peaceful but prepared for battle’.
The original part of the house was built to three storeys with fabulous architectural features such as the conical main entrance tower and the two bell-shaped towers that overlook the garden. Other typically ‘Scottish’ features are the crow-stepped gables. Additions and alterations to the house were made by Ross and Joass (Inverness architects) in 1864 and substantial redesigns and extensions in the Arts and Crafts style, were probably made between 1905 and 1910. A different architect, W. L. Carruthers in 1912, added the ballroom and rear service quarters with inner court.
The breathtaking ballroom with its timber braced ceiling and magnificent oak panelling was a 21st birthday present from a previous owner to his daughter. The enormous fireplace in the room bears the date 1912. Throughout its development, the house has acquired unique and superb examples of architecture and interior design features. For this reason, Achnagairn is currently a listed heritage building with Grade B classification. The original plans of the house and the extensions are held in the National Archive in Edinburgh.
The house has been historically linked to the Frasers of Achnagairn ( a clan datying back to the 1500s), in particular to the branch of the family of James Fraser, who was born in 1621. Achnagairn has also been linked to other important Scottish clans, as the Frasers married into families such as the Mackenzie, Mackintosh and local Lovat family, who have ancestral royal connections.
Around 1901, the owner of Achnagairn became Thomas Ogden. His tobacco company was the first to be bought in Great Britain in 1901 by the American Tobacco Company (ATC). When Ogden’s were bought out, the remaining British family-run tobacco producers together formed Imperial Tobacco and resisted further takeovers from ATC. Imperial Tobacco remained resilient against the ensuing price war and ATC surrendered Ogden’s of Liverpool back to Imperial Tobacco in 1902 in a deal to keep Imperial Tobacco out of America. This deal led to the formation of British American Tobacco, today a global name in the tobacco industry.
In the second world war, Achnagairn was used as a military hospital, with the glorious ballroom transformed into a massive dormitory for the wounded men. One of those soldiers, Bill Grant, who was only 16 at the time, recently came back to Achnagairn and told the present owners how the ballroom had always been referred to as “the jungle” because there had been heads of wild animals adorning the walls. Apparently, there was no better sport, as the men recovered their energy, than to steal each others’ pyjamas and throw them onto the rhino’s horn, far up on the wall. The offending item would then remain there for days!
In the last decade Achnagairn passed from owner to owner, changing hands frequently. It was placed on the “at risk” register of important houses.
The current owners, Gillian and Michael Lacey-Solymar, have lovingly restored the house, so it now rivals its formal glory. The journey has been a long one, but even on a short visit, guests get a strong sense of the history which still emanates from the mansion’s wood-panelled walls.
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