Banchory and Leggart Estates forms the largest landholding in the parish of Banchory-Devenick in Aberdeenshire.
The parish itself is divided into two parts by the River Dee – the smaller portion lies to the north of the river and includes the former estates of Pitfodels, Cults, Murtle and Countess Wells, while, to the south, the Kincardineshire portion includes Banchory and Leggart, Ardoe, Findon, Portlethen and Auchorthies.
The word Banchory, according to the Diocese of Aberdeen, signifies the ‘white choir’ or ‘beautiful church’ – some believe that it was derived from the Gaelic and means ‘the hollow between two hills’.
Devenick, meanwhile, was the name of the tutelar saint of the parish, sent north by Columba to Christianise the country.
The lands of Banchory-Devenick were granted by Alexander II in 1244 to the Abbot of Arbroath, who held it until the mid-14th century. It was subsequently passed to the Meldrums, then to the Gardens (1555), then to the Forbes (1623), and, after 1682, to a series of merchant families based in Aberdeen.
The estates of Banchory and Leggart have been owned by the Stewart and Lumsden families since 1872.
The estate is bisected by the historically important Causey Mounth Road, which was the main road into Aberdeen from the south from the early 12th century. It was supplemented by a military road to the east (roughly on the line of the present A90), constructed some time in the early 1740s.
It was the Causey Mounth Road that the Marquis of Montrose and his large Covenanter Army of 9000 men took to reach Aberdeen in 1644. They camped on the northern side of the Tollohill on Banchory and Leggart Estates the night before taking the city at the Battle of Aberdeen.
(In 1787 Robert Burns, on leaving Aberdeen after a short visit and pausing
on the Causey Mounth at Tollohill, looked back on Aberdeen lying in its
sleepy hollow in the September sunshine and later noted in his journal
that it was a ‘lazy town’. Probably he was right, although
even a genius could scarcely hope to discover all of the sparkle and
wit of Aberdeen in the course of a three-hour visit.)
The main house on the estate, Banchory House, dates back to the mid-17th
century. It was extensively remodelled in the 1840s, to plans drawn up
by the renowned Aberdeen architect ‘Tudor Johnnie’ Smith.
Prince Albert stayed at Banchory House in September 1859 whilst attending a conference in Aberdeen, and a monument was erected on the Tollohill to commemorate his visit. This monument and the network of woodland paths leading to it were restored and upgraded by the estate in 2005 as part of the Forestry Commissions WIAT (Woodlands In and Around Town) Initiative. A small car park was also created off the Causey Mounth Road to permit easy public access. This project has proved a very popular attraction and offers visitors spectacular views northwards over the city to the dramatic coastline and rolling countryside beyond.
Banchory House is presently home to Camphill Beannachar, a Camphill Community providing training for young adults with special needs.
The estate currently comprises an in-hand farm, four let farms, commercial and amenity woodland, rented residential and commercial property and salmon fishings on the River Dee.
