Jane Gordon, (1748-1812), née Maxwell, wife of Alexander Gordon, 4th Duke, known as the 'beautiful Duchess of Gordon' laid out the picturesque designed landscape at Kinrara. She married Gordon in 1767 from whom she became estranged in 1789, having borne him two sons and five daughters. Thereafter, her attention turned to building a country retreat at Kinrara, which became her summer residence from July to November. During the London season she lived at her house in Pall Mall, where she formed a social centre for the Tory party. She was prominent in social and political society, a spirited figure who, amongst her many activities, established the Gordon Highlanders Regiment.
In designing the grounds, the Duchess is said to have been influenced by Uvedale Price's Essay on the Picturesque, first published in 1794 (Stoddart, 1801). Price advocated an appreciation of the practicalities of planting and farming, combined with local circumstances. Design, both in the landscape and architecturally, combined utility with beauty. The picturesque reflected a sense of place and a picturesque landscape was to be lived in, not just looked at. This approach reflected the contemporary background concerns for farming, forestry and a fear of social stability during the period of the Napoleonic Wars. Price considered that the picturesque landscaping of estates should be carried out by the owner and be sensitive to local landscape change. The agrarian character of Kinrara, in contrast to the sporting estate laid out at Glenfiddich by the 4th Duke, was greatly admired in Robertson's General View of the Agriculture of Inverness (1808) where mention is made of the sheltered gardens growing turnips and other crops.
In 1798, Grant described her setting up a 'wooden pavilion', thereafter described in 1801 as a 'mere Highland Morayshire farm' (Grant, 1898; Stoddart, 1801). Initial architectural schemes for embellishing the house were not implemented, nor were plans for an intended model village. Later the house was rebuilt, and the garden, created 'in a hollow of the hill' (Stoddart, 1801), was then extended to include a shrubbery around the house. Seeds and plants were ordered from Dickson's of Perth between 1802-10, the gardener in charge being David Cameron.
By 1835, a description of the Duchess' work 'upwards of 30 years ago' mentions her planting on 'an extensive piece of barren moor, chiefly with Scots firs, mingled with some larch trees that now combine shelter with ornament.' This was situated on the south drive while 'A few years later, she planted, on the north drive, a piece of equally barren ground, and nearly of the same extent, with the same kind of wood which is considerably advanced in growth.' (New Statistical Account, 1835).
After the Duchess' death in London, in 1812, she was buried at Kinrara – as she wished. The estate passed to her eldest son, George Marquis of Huntly (1770-1836) and his wife Elizabeth (1774-1864) who used Kinrara as a summer residence. The Marchioness continued tree planting on 'another piece of ground … between the Spey and the approach to the cottage at Kinrara, with larch, spruce and Scots firs, which are thriving.' (New Statistical Account, 1835).
When George became the 5th Duke in 1827, regular visits thereafter ceased and the estate was let for shooting to Sir George Sitwell, Bt. In 1836, on the 5th Duke's death, Kinrara was inherited by his nephew, Charles, 5th Duke of Richmond and Lennox (1791-1860), who assumed the additional name of Gordon. Robert Roy's plan depicts the pattern of land-use at Kinrara (Roy, 1838). A series of arable fields lay alongside the Spey with a major north-east to south-west route lying along higher ground above the flood plain, and linking the Cottage, Offices and Duchess of Gordon Monument. Elsewhere there was a mosaic of 'Old Grass', presumably unimproved pasture, adjacent to the river at the north-eastern part of the site, and other areas of 'Pasture', including one to the north of the house. Torr Alvie was wooded apart from an area on its south-west slopes.
On his death he was succeeded by his son, the 6th Duke of Richmond and Lennox, created Duke of Gordon and Earl of Kinrara in 1876. The house remained let until the 1930s. In 1939, Lord Bilsland, who purchased the property from Sir Theodore Brinckman, Bt. of Nairnshire in 1937, extended the house. In 1961 the estate was sold and remains in private ownership.