Artistic Interest
- Level of interest
- High
There are no known designers of Naughton but past records and the development of the enclosed garden in the Castle ruins gives it high value in this category.
Historical
- Level of interest
- Outstanding
There are good estate plans and planting records at Naughton and despite several changes in ownership its history has been well recorded.
Horticultural
- Level of interest
- High
The arboretum at Naughton and the collection of New Zealand species give it high Horticultural value.
Architectural
- Level of interest
- Outstanding
The house, Castle and many architectural features in the park give it outstanding Architectural value.
Archaeological
- Level of interest
- Not Assessed
Scenic
- Level of interest
- Outstanding
The layout of the designed landscape at Naughton is very significant in the views from the south and gives it outstanding Scenic value.
Nature Conservation
- Level of interest
- High
There is an SSSI on the estate but it is outwith the designed landscape. However, the woodland and riverside habitats give it high value for Nature Conservation.
Site History
The architect of the house and designer of the layout of the landscape at Naughton are unknown. There are estate plans at the house, dating back to 1832 and drawings of Naughton Castle dated 1760.
Naughton Castle is reputed to have been built by Robert de Lundin, a natural son of William the Lion, in the early 13th century. It passed into the hands of the family of Hay who owned it until after the death of Sir James Hay at Flodden in 1513. His heiress, Janet, married Sir Peter Crichton, a prominent leader during the time of James V, and it is thought that he made additions to the castle. During the next century there were several changes of ownership, and eventually it passed to another branch of the Hay family until 1737 when it was sold to William Morison, the Bailie of Dundee. A drawing of the castle by John Kinloch in 1760 shows a traditional fortified tower house with an enclosure of trees in the foreground. Until 1793 the Morisons spent the winters in Belfield House in Cupar, and the summers in the two-storey house on Naughton Castle Rock. The mansion house was built from 1793 onwards by William's grandson, James Morison, and the parks and woodlands were laid out at this time.
James' daughter, Isabel, succeeded in 1816; she married William Bethune and assumed the name Bethune-Morison after his death. Her only daughter died and Isabel left Naughton in 1850 to Adam Alexander Duncan, grandson of Viscount Duncan, and son of her daughter's former fiancee. The arboretum was started in the 1850s by the Duncans who planted trees from all over the world. Adam was succeeded in 1855 by his daughter Ada Morison-Duncan, later Mrs Anstruther- Duncan, who left Naughton to her cousin, Brigadier Henry Crawford, in 1932, subject to a friend's life tenancy. Brigadier Crawford took up residence at Naughton House in 1963. The property and house are now occupied by his elder son Captain J.H.D. Crawford.
Landscape Components
Architectural Features
Naughton House was built in 1793; it is a three-storey Georgian mansion with bow- front and a handsome balustraded double staircase to the principal floor. The rear wings were altered by Sydney Mitchell between 1887-1901, and there is a north tower with ogee-shaped roof. Naughton House is listed B. Naughton Castle, the remains of the 16th century tower house, lies to the north-west of the mansion. It was repaired in 1928 and now encloses a flower garden. A 1625 panel to Petrie Hay has been mounted in its north-east corner. There is a bridge linking the Castle with the house; it is of cast and wrought-iron and was made at the Durie foundry, Fife, in 1818.
The Summerhouse is mid-19th century, thatched and is listed B. A sundial west of the summerhouse is marked 1785, Cupar. The Lodge and Gatepiers are also listed B for the group. They are shown on the early maps to the west of the drive, and were moved to their present position south of the entrance in 1901. The Doocot is lectern- style, dated 1750, and is included in the B group listing. The Gardener's Cottage, the Laundry and the Game Larder are all listed C. There are many bronze-age graves on the estate, and in 1976 a bronze-age statue was dug up and is placed in the grounds; it is cup marked and lined on both sides. The gates to the walled garden are ornamental and bear the Anstruther and Duncan arms.
Parkland
The parklands are grazed; they still contain many individual parkland trees, although the clump shown on early plans in the south-east of the park has since been lost. Some of the beech and lime trees date from the original late 18th century planting but most date from the mid-19th century or later. There are more ornamental plantings of maple and specimen conifers, eg Libocedrus decurrens, to the south of the house and the lawn is carpeted with daffodils in spring. The estate is bounded on the north by a two and a half mile stretch of the estuary of the River Tay.
Woodland
The structure of the woodland design has remained similar since the 1832 plan, although much of the woodland has been replanted since that time. The woodland areas to the north of the house are now managed primarily for commercial purposes, although deciduous strips are retained for shelter and game cover. The woodlands and arboretum to the south of the house are managed primarily for amenity purposes. The estate suffered badly from the 1968 gale and much replanting has been undertaken since then, particularly of hybrid larch. The 1st edition OS map shows two summerhouses along walks in the woodlands, one by the Flagstaff and one nearer to the house, but these have since been lost.
The Gardens
The shell of the old Castle now encloses a flower garden as laid out in the 1920s by Brigadier Crawford's father, a cousin of Mrs Anstruther-Duncan. The lawn covers the site of the former two-storey house lived in by the Morisons in the 18th century. Rockeries and shrub beds are laid out between flagged paths and are planted with shrub roses and a number of species from New Zealand including Hebes, Manuka and Matapo. Photographs dating back to 1860 show the gardens in their infancy and show young yew trees, which remain today. The Castle Well remains within the garden.
Walled Gardens
The walled garden was constructed in 1901 for the Anstruther-Duncans and the adjacent tennis courts were put in in 1908. The garden was run as a market garden from c.1950 until EEC competition made it uneconomical to keep up. It is now used for growing potato crops and for pheasant rearing. The walls still support fruit trees including peaches, and there are some box-hedge edged paths within it.
Arboretum
The arboretum was started in the 1850s by the Duncans and many of the older specimen conifers and copper beech date from this period. The Crawfords have continued to plant unusual trees, particularly New Zealand species such as Pittosporum (Brigadier Crawford was born in New Zealand). Some of the Matapos unfortunately have been frosted in the last three years. Other specimen trees include Monkey puzzles, Ginkgos, a Camperdown elm, Corsican pine, Thuja, Cryptomeria japonica, and a young Tulip Tree, Liriodendron tulipifera. Many of the arboretum trees were blown down in the 1968 gale, and the northern section has been replanted as coniferous woodland. There are the remnants of a circular design at the eastern end of the path through the arboretum, south of Flagstaff Wood, which was once laid out as a garden with Fuchsia and other ornamental shrubs.