# Crawford Priory, Cupar



## escortmad79 (Mar 15, 2009)

My first written report on here for a while, but this place is very much worth putting up!

*Crawford Priory:*

Built on the Southern bank of the River Eden to replace Crawford Lodge, a Palladian Villa built by the 21st Earl of Crawford in 1758.

Crawford Lodge was substantially enlarged by Lady Mary Lindsay Crawford who enlisted architects David Hamilton in 1809 & 2 years later James Gillespie Graham to redesign the building in a Gothic style, adding buttresses, turrets & pinnacles to give it the look of a Priory, although the building has no Religious history.

Crawford Priory was unrivalled among early neo-gothic mansions in Scotland due to the lavishness of its interior with its great hall decorated with fan vaulting & canopied gothic niches, of which only a small section remains in situ, the rest being lost with the collapse of the upper floors.

In 1869 Crawford was inherited by the 6th Earl of Glasgow who renovated Crawford, doubling the accommodation & constructing a tall gothic tower which was demolished in the 1970s due to its precarious condition.
In 1871 he enlisted architect William Little to design a large private Episcopal chapel on the first floor adjacent to the tower.

The house passed to the 7th Earl of Glasgow who was forced to sell due to huge debts & it was purchased by politician Thomas Cochrane, son in law of the 6th Earl of Glasgow.

Further remodelling was undertaken in the 1920s including moving the porte cochere to the west front by Reginald Fairlie.

With the death of the 2nd Baron Cochrane of Cults in 1968, the building was in need of major restoration so was abandoned.

Crawford has been described as “perhaps the most important Gothic Priory House in Scotland”, which makes it even more of a pity that it’s been allowed to deteriorate as far as it has, especially in such a short amount of time (The upper floors were still standing during the late 1980s)

Crawford House was coal heated & would use 100 tonnes of coal per year to heat the house. In todays market (March 2009) with the price of coal at a price of circa £275 per tonne would mean a cost of £27500 a year just to heat the property!

*Pics:*



















































Precarious window:




Detail of stonework:




The view past the front door!




The staircase:




Tiles:




Only remaining plasterwork:




Close up detail, shame this could be lost very soon as the house continues to deteriorate!




Shotgun cartridge:




Stables detail:




Sundial:





Rest of pictures here:
Crawford Priory: http://derelictionaddiction.fotopic.net/c1667454.html
Crawford Stables, Doocot & Sundial: http://derelictionaddiction.fotopic.net/c1667469.html

Thanks for looking


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## Neosea (Mar 15, 2009)

That Garorse is excellent.


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## E30Elaine (Mar 19, 2009)

OMG - that place is gorgeous! Some parts look almost Gaudi like. Whats that steel structure in picture 7? It looks like a lift


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## Black Shuck (Mar 19, 2009)

Wow what a place. I love the gothic style of it. If you have ever seen the film with Catherine Zeta Jones starring in it. The Haunting I think. The building in that reminds me of this a lot. Lovely find.


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## foz101 (Mar 19, 2009)

E30Elaine said:


> OMG - that place is gorgeous! Some parts look almost Gaudi like. Whats that steel structure in picture 7? It looks like a lift



Spot on. Have a cigar


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## Foxylady (Mar 19, 2009)

I love seeing pics of this building. So many delightful details.
Really nice photos too, escort.


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## lost (Mar 19, 2009)

escortmad79 said:


> Crawford House was coal heated & would use 100 tonnes of coal per year to heat the house. In todays market (March 2009) with the price of coal at a price of circa £275 per tonne would mean a cost of £27500 a year just to heat the property!



Is coal that much now? I got a ton of coal for the scrap value of a car a couple of years ago.
I know of some big houses which need £400's worth of heating oil a week, so a ton of coal a week sounds like quite a bargain... more effort though.
Great write-up and photos by the way.


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## carlosthejackal (Mar 19, 2009)

simply stunning architecture!
i could look at this all night 
great report n pics,thanks for sharing


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## E30Elaine (Mar 20, 2009)

foz101 said:


> Spot on. Have a cigar



Cheers but I stopped a year ago  Hmmm - I was just intrigued - wondering would a lift have gone in as part of the renovations in 1869, it looks rather high up, but i suppose everything else round about it has disintegrated. Now this has left me pondering about the history of lifts in old buildings.....I wonder if they were the must have mod con...... im off to find out


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