Kemnay House
# Kemnay House

Kemnay House is a 17th-century tower house, now incorporated in a later house, about 5.5 miles (8.9 km) south and west of Inverurie, Aberdeenshire, Scotland, and 0.5 miles (0.80 km) south of Kemnay, to the south of the River Don.

## History

During the 16th century, Kemnay was a property of the Douglases of Glenbervie. It was acquired by the Crombie family, who built the present house. In 1682 George Nicolson of Clunypurchased the Kemnay House and estate from Alexander Strachan of Glenkindie. On 5 July 1682 he was created a Senator of the College of Justice and adopted the title Lord Kemnay. Thomas Burnett of Leys purchased it from him in 1688; Thomas was subsequently imprisoned in the Bastille, Paris, at the instigation of Jacobite enemies.

Alterations, including the extension of the wings, took place in 1833. The house is still occupied.

## Structure

The original tower house was a tall L-plan building. The entrance in the reentrant angle, above which a stair turret arises this from the second floor, has been replaced. There is a vaulted basement, with the kitchen in the wing. The cream-washed walls are pierced by small windows. The three-storey wing, which has a bell gable, was an addition in 1688. There are traces of a curtain wall. The porch on the west front, and a granite water tower, were additions in 1833.

