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Paxton

Near the village stands the impressive Paxton House, “the most perfect example in Scotland of the style now known as neo-Palladianism”. A melancholy tale is attached to this gracious house, designed by the Edinburgh brothers John and James Adam in the 1750s. It was commissioned by Patrick Home, later the 13th Laird of Wedderburn, a rich and personable young man who while visiting Berlin on his Grand Tour of Europe bedazzled the court of King Frederick the Great of Prussia. The king’s only acknowledged child, Charlotte de Brandt, became besotted with the smooth-talking Scotsman. She absolutely rejected her father’s long-laid plans for a politically more useful dynastic connection with a plump and terminally boring Silesian prince. The king, surprisingly, finally agreed to her marriage with the wealthy, handsome but politically insignificant Scottish laird. Patrick gleefully returned to Scotland and spent lavishly on building a noble house at Paxton worthy of his intended quasi-royal bride. But Charlotte never entered its stately portals or passed through its sublimely decorated rooms. The only hint that she was the inspiration for its building is the pair of chamois leather gloves she gave Patrick as a token at their last meeting. These are now on display in the house.

Extraordinarily, the sad story of Patrick and Charlotte was to be duplicated a few years later when Patrick became engaged to Jane Graham of Dugaldstone. Their marriage did indeed take place, in Naples in 1771, and the couple spent three years touring Europe. Once again, Patrick commissioned Robert Adam to design and build a new marital home, Wedderburn Castle. He returned to it alone; Jane stayed in Europe with a new lover.

No wonder the striking portrait of Patrick Home by John Hoppner, on display in the house, depicts an elderly man with a choleric complexion, a set jaw and a sour expression. It is part of a large collection which Patrick bequeathed to his nephew George who was then 77 years old. Despite his age, George enthusiastically set about building what is still the largest private picture gallery of any country house in Scotland. A rich collection of other paintings on display here are on loan from the National Galleries of Scotland (for whom Paxton House is an outstation) and are changed frequently.

Paxton House is also notable for its outstanding collection of furniture by Chippendale, more than 60 pieces ranging from the entire furnishing of the dining room (not just tables and chairs but window-seats, wine-coolers and knife boxes); pier tables with marvellous parquetry inlays; desks and secretaries; mahogany armchairs and sofas.

The house stands in 80 acres of grounds within a great loop of the River Tweed and were designed in the style of ‘Capability’ Brown by Robert Robinson in the 18th century. There are nature trails, woodland walks and a “Paxton Ted” teddy bear trail. From the award-winning red squirrel hide you can catch glimpses of what is rapidly becoming one of Scotland’s rarest mammals. There is also a tearoom and shop, and in the Victorian boathouse on the banks of the Tweed is a museum dedicated to salmon net fishing.

Close to Paxton lies the Union Suspension Bridge across the Tweed, connecting Scotland and England, between Horncliffe in  Northumberland and Fishwick in the Borders. It was built in 1820 by Sir Samuel Browne, who also invented the wrought-iron chain links used in its construction. It is 480 feet long and was Britain’s first major suspension bridge to carry vehicular traffic as well as pedestrians.