Tour Scotland Autumn photograph of Ballathie House, Perthshire, Scotland. A 19th century Scottish mansion in in Perthshire, Scotland. It is located around 9 miles north of Perth, close to the River Tay. The present house was built in 1886, and for the past thirty years has operated as a Scottish country house hotel. The Drummond family, the Earls of Perth, owned the Ballathie lands in the 17th century, selling to the Robertson family.General Richardson Robertson's nephew, Colonel Edmund Robert F. Richardson took over the house, selling it in 1910 to Sir Stewart Coates, from Paisley near Glasgow. The house was enlarged by alterations to the servants quarters and a new entrance porch. Central heating and electric lighting were also installed. An army hut was erected for use as a dance hall after the World War I and dances were held for staff and locals. A 9- ole golf course was laid out by professional golfer Ben Sayers but this was ploughed up as part of the campaign to provide more food during World War II. Ballathie's fame as a sporting estate led to many famous guests coming to stay during this period. These included: Duke Michael of Russia and his wife, Natalia, Princess Brassova, John Wolfe-Barry, civil engineer whose most famous projects included Tower Bridge and the District Line in London, Arthur Winnington-Ingram, Bishop of London from 1901 to 1939, The Prince of Wales, later King Edward VIII, Hugh Grosvenor, 2nd Duke of Westminster. In 1936, the estate was sold to Colonel Stephen Hardie, a chartered accountant in Glasgow and founder member of the British Oxygen Company. Hardie died in 1969 and the house was sold, and converted into a hotel in 1972 by the Maxwell family from the west of Scotland.
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