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House Exterior
House Exterior
Sitting Room

5 bedroom detached house

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Detached house
5 bed
3 bath
EPC rating: D*
5.37 acre(s)

Key information

Tenure: Freehold
Service charge: £0 per annum
Council tax: Band G
Broadband: Ultra-fast 1000Mbps *
Mobile signal: 
EE O2 Three Vodafone
Water: Ask agent
Heating: Ask agent
Electricity: Ask agent
Sewerage: Ask agent
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Property description & features

  • Tenure: Freehold
  • A fabulous mix of old and new, attractively and very conveniently located
  • Beautifully restored, with a stunning modern extension
  • Two bedroom cottage and lovely gardens and grounds with grazing
  • Further land for grazing may be available to rent or buy in addition
  • Home report valuation £1.2 million
  • Viewing video available online
  • EPC Rating = D
Charming fortified laird’s house, recently fully refurbished and extended with a dramatic modern wing.

Description

Mergie House is a fabulous blend of old and new in a lovely wooded but accessible position, with Banchory, Deeside, and the A90 and A92 at Stonehaven all within easy reach. The sellers acquired the property in 2015 an ambitious programme of refurbishment retained its historic features and character. A hugely imaginative wing was added with an impressive hall and galleried landing, linking the two parts as well as a fabulous kitchen, informal dining / breakfast room and everyday living room, with the principal bedroom suite above. An adjacent cottage was built at that time and is used for holiday letting, but could be ancillary or staff accommodation if required.

The renovations in the earlier part of the house included rewiring and replumbing, insulation, new central heating, new floors and underfloor heating on the lower level. There is also underfloor heating on the lower level of the modern extension, as well as double glazing. The overall effect of the fully restored house and its modern wing is quite stunning. The original part is harled with a slate roof and two turrets, and retains its original panelling. The new wing is again mainly harled with a slate roof, but linked by a zinc roofed hall, with extensive glass. Large windows, with zinc surrounds, are also fitted into the principal bedroom, en suite, living and the breakfast rooms. The new wing overlooks a tributary of the Cowie Water, while the original house looks onto the substantial gardens laid out around a mound, believed to be the remains of the earlier Motte.

A tarred drive leads up to the house and cottage. A glazed entrance door opens to the dramatic new hall, with an oak staircase with glass side panels. Within the old part is a cosy snug which has a beamed ceiling and a large raised wood burning stove with a stone arch. A hallway has the original front door and staircase to the floors above. A study with a beamed ceiling, has access to the garden and the double aspect dining room, also has a beamed ceiling. In the modern part of the house, off the hall, is a walk in cupboard and a partially tiled WC with washbasin and vanity unit. The sitting room is double aspect, wall mounted Sony TV, engineered wood flooring and a raised double sided wood burning stove, which also serves the adjoining breakfast room with engineered wood flooring. This opens through to the hugely impressive fitted German kitchen, spectacularly lit by large triple aspect windows. As well as granite worktops it has fitted NEFF appliances including a dishwasher, microwave, two ovens, coffee machine, and American style fridge freezer with water and ice dispenser, along with a two oven electric AGA and Belfast sink. An island unit has a sink with a boiling water tap and a NEFF induction hob. The utility room has fitted units with a sink, Bosch washing machine and dryer, tiled floor, cupboard and back door to the garden.

The spacious galleried landing provides study and seating spaces. The principal bedroom suite has a wall mounted Sony TV, a stunning partially tiled en suite with a freestanding bath, shower cubicle, washbasin and WC with vanity unit, together with a dressing room with fitted wardrobes. A further partially tiled bathroom has a bath, shower cubicle, washbasin and WC. Off a landing in the original part of the house is bedroom two, with a cast iron fireplace, period panelled walls with built in cupboards, and window shutters. A music room also has panelled walls with cupboards, stairs up to bedroom three and links through to a fine upstairs sitting room with fireplace with wood burning stove and panelled walls with a cupboard. The stairs continue up to the second floor where there is a partially tiled shower room with washbasin and WC with vanity unit. Bedroom three has a fitted wardrobe and a wall mounted Sony TV, while bedroom four has a cast iron fireplace and a built in cupboard, and bedroom five has a fitted wardrobe. Stairs continue up to the floored roof space.

Surrounding the house are paved seating areas. The lovely gardens include lawns, flower and shrub borders and a rotating octagonal summer house. Trees, including some good beech, provide shelter and privacy. A wooded bank leads down to the burn.

Adjacent to the house is the cottage, overlooking the burn below. Harled with a slate roof this has large picture windows making the most of its position. The accommodation includes an open plan living room / kitchen, with a warming wood burning stove, and fitted units with washing machine, dishwasher, oven, hob and under counter fridge. There are two bedrooms with hanging wardrobes and a partially tiled shower room with washbasin with vanity unit.

Location

Mergie House is very attractively situated some 6 miles northwest of Stonehaven, in the lower reaches of the Fetteresso Forest, off the A957 (Slug Road) which links to Banchory and Royal Deeside. Stonehaven is a charming fishing port and traditional holiday resort. Just to the south are the dramatic ruins of Dunnottar Castle. Sheltering beneath the cliffs is the town’s pretty harbour, where there is a museum and a seafood restaurant set in a 16th century jail, as well as the historic Ship Inn. Along the bay is an award winning fish and chip shop and an Olympic-sized Art Deco open air swimming pool. The Victorian town hall hosts gigs and cinema screenings, and there is a cliff top golf course and yacht club. Stonehaven hosts its world famous Hogmanay fire ball procession and a music event on New Year's Eve in the town centre. Within Stonehaven there is a good range of services and amenities, including shops, restaurants, medical centre and supermarket. Nursery, primary and secondary education are well catered for. Lathallan School is conveniently located at Johnshaven. The Western Peripheral Route, highly accessible from Stonehaven, allows for excellent commuting to the north side of Aberdeen and the airport. Deeside is very easily reached.

Aberdeen lies some 20 miles away. The international airport offers regular flights to London and other UK and European cities. There are regular train services from Aberdeen, including a sleeper to King’s Cross, London. Aberdeen provides all the services of a major city, including business, leisure and health facilities, theatres and cinemas, restaurants and a wide range of shopping. There is private schooling at Robert Gordon’s School, St Margaret’s, and Albyn School as well as the International School at Pitfodels. There are two universities and two colleges of further education.

Square Footage: 6,086 sq ft


Acreage: 5.37 Acres

Directions

From the north or south take the A90 / A92 to Stonehaven. Then take the B957 (signposted Banchory). Proceed for 3.6 miles passing through Rickarton, and after a further 0.9 miles, turn left signposted Swanley. Continue for 0.5 miles and at a left hand bend continue straight on, signposted Mergie. Continue on the private tarred road and the turning into Mergie House will be seen on the left.

Additional Info

Historical Note - Mergie House is a delightful laird’s house, dating from the 17th century with earlier origins, and altered in the 19th century. It was fully renovated and extended in 2016, with the addition of a modern, but interlinking wing, thereby mixing the best of the old and the new. Joseph Sharples, David Walker and Matthew Woodworth in the Pevsener Architectural Guide – Aberdeenshire: South and Aberdeen (Yale University Press, 2015) describes the original Mergie House, as a “T-plan house, characteristic of the mid-later 17th century… enlarged with Gothic windows… a small turret is formed at second floor… three apartments can be dated to the 18th century by their fine timber panelling with bolection-moulded fireplaces and simple but elegant door surrounds and cornices. Mergie stands on or near the site of a fortalice recorded in 1590 and may even incorporate some of its fabric; a mound to the west of the house has the appearance of a medieval motte”.

Jane Geddes in Deeside and the Mearns, an Illustrated Architectural Guide (Rutland Press 2001) describes Mergie as “hidden in the braes near the Slug road… the bonnet laird’s house, an unusual style, miniature in scale but high in presumption.”

Nigel Tranter in The Queen's Scotland, The Eastern Counties (Hodder and Stoughton) relates how “still in the Cowie Water valley but now high amongst the Fetteresso Forest foothills, and quite hard to find, is the old mansion of Mergie, …, standing picturesquely in woodland originally the mansion of a large estate.”

Environmental Stipulations - Mergie House is Listed Category B.

Outgoings - Aberdeenshire Council tax band G.

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    Broadband availability and predicted speed: obtained from Ofcom on August 19, 2022

    Broadband speed is measured in megabits per second, with the number returned showing how fast the connection is. Each reading is based on the highest predicted speed of any major broadband network for services that deliver the download speeds. The following are the different readings that we may display:

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    Mobile phone signal availability and predicted strength: obtained from Ofcom on August 19, 2022

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    Amber: Two bars, may experience problems with connectivity
    Green: Three bars, likely to have good coverage and receive a data rate to support basic web services
    Enhanced: Full bars, likely to have good coverage indoors and to receive an enhanced data rate to support multimedia services

    Energy Performance data and Internal floor area: obtained on August 4, 2022 from The Energy Performance of Buildings (Certificates and Inspections) (England and Wales) Regulations 2007 or the Home Report if in relation to a residential property in Scotland.

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