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1 April to 31 October ~ Open
11am to 5pm ~ Daily
(1 Nov to 31 Mar ~ Thu to Sun
11am-4pm)
Admission to Galleries
Full Price £6.20, Concession
£5.20, Family £16.70
Admission to Shop and Tearoom on the ground floor is free
Duff House
Duff House is a treasure house
and cultural arts centre operated by a unique partnership of
Historic Scotland, the
National Galleries of Scotland and
Aberdeenshire Council. Story-tellers, musicians and artists
are at home here and Duff House organises a regular artistic
programme of exhibitions, music and lectures.
Duff House was designed by William Adam and built between
1735 and 1740 as the seat of the Earls Fife. There have been
an astonishing variety of occupants and visitors to the
House over the two and half centuries since it was built.
There were the Duffs themselves, an ambitious family who
acquired great wealth, power and status but were seldom
lucky in love. One unhappy Countess Fife even attempted to
murder her husband within the walls of Duff House! An army
of servants kept the House and policies running smoothly,
and in the twentieth century Duff House was in turn a palm
court hotel, a sanatorium and a prisoner of war camp. Opened
as a country house gallery after extensive restoration in
1995, Duff House now enjoys 5-star visitor attraction status
from Aberdeen & Grampian Tourist Board.
With extensive grounds and woodland walks by the river
Deveron you will find a day is not enough. More information
on things to do and see in the area:
The Towns of Banff
and Macduff
The Macduff Marine Aquarium
Grampian Transport Museum
Museum of Scottish Lighthouses
Aden Country Park
Archaeolink Prehistory Park
The Dunimarle Library
The Dunimarle Library was
collected by the Erskines of Torrie in the latter half of
the 18th and the early part of the 19th century. Many such
libraries existed in the houses of wealthier Scots of the
age but few remain reasonably intact. Here, at Duff House,
in over 4000 volumes, we have a snapshot of the interests of
various members of the family and of the times in which they
lived.
The catalogue for the library was prepared over four years
by volunteers from the Friends of Duff House. The collection
is now open to researchers by appointment only. Please call
on 01261 818181.
Throughout 2008, Duff House is celebrating ‘500 Years of
Printing in Scotland’ by displaying each month an item from
the Dunimarle Library. Every month we will highlight a
different aspect of what a closer study of the books can
tell us - about the people who owned the books and the times
they lived in. Some will be beautiful, some at first sight
will be items easily dismissed as dull, but we hope to prove
that you really should “never judge a book by its cover”….
To find out more
There are a number of interesting websites at the moment,
highlighting both the history of Scottish printing and
events to celebrate the 500 years since it began:
www.nls.uk/firstscottishbooks/index.html
www.sapphire.ac.uk
http://www.nas.gov.uk/about/070914.asp
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