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Mansion house, built in circa 1650 by James Leith on the site of the medieval Peill Castle, and extended in the 18th, 19th and 20th Centuries, set in a 286 acre estate with scenic gardens (NJ52NW0068). The earliest part, which dates to 1650, is a simple rectangular block of three storeys with angle turrets at all four corners. The east wing dates to 1756 (when the stables were also re-sited to a new curved block to the north) and the south wing, containing the fine principal rooms, was built circa 1797 by General Alexander Leith-Hay. These apartments, as normal, on the first floor, are lit by flush-pedimented Venetian windows. The drum towers date from 1868. Home to the Leith family, later the Leith-Hays, from 1650 until 1945 when the Hall was gifted to the National Trust for Scotland. The Leith family became the Leith-Hays at the end of the 18th Century, when the last of the Hays of Rannes died without heirs, and the Hay family estates were left to Alexander Leith, 5th Laird of Leith Hall, on condition he also take on the Hay name. The initial connection between the two families dates back to the marriage in 1730 of John Leith, 2nd Laird of Leith Hall, to Mary Hay, daughter of Charles Hay of Rannes, and in 1745, Andrew Hay of Rannes hid at Leith Hall after the Battle of Culloden where he fought for Bonnie Prince Charlie, later escaping to France. During World War I the house was used by the Red Cross as an officer's hospital with associated army offices. A collection of prehistoric artefacts is on display in the house. A watching brief was carried out by M. K. Greig in 1989 during the laying of pipes to install a central heating system recorded. No archaeological deposits were evident. In March 2002 a watching brief was undertaken by MAS to report on findings during the excavation of a culvert and the installation of drainage pipe along the short road between Leith Hall and the stable block. Four trenches were excavated. Three of the trenches demonstrated that poor drainage had been a recurring problem - each trench had several field drains either cutting across them or running along their length. The fourth trench cut across the road and showed its construction to be a single hard clay-bonded stone and pebble metalled surface. There were no other archaeological features or artefacts discovered. A watching brief was carried out by MAS in 2003 during the installation of a new water filtration system to the north side of the north wing of the Hall. No archaeological features or artefacts revealed and ground disturbance to the north side of Hall was revealed to be quite extensive. In 2007 traces of an earlier entrance were located when gardeners noted stones and other marks in the grass. Murray Archaeology Services excavated the area and uncovered the footings of a building which may have been a porter's lodge or a garden pavilion. It is thought to be the west pavilion shown on an estate map of 1758. A watching brief was carried out by MAS in July 2013 during hand excavation of a cable trench around the south and east sides of the interior of the courtyard. With the exception of a small portion of a possible wall foundation at the west end on the south side of the courtyard, no features or artefacts were recorded.A watching brief was carried out by MAS in 2015 during installation of a new fire water main where it crossed the lawn to the north of the hall in an area for which there is documentary evidence for the former existence of 17th century gardens. Preliminary test pits had been dug in October 2013. Five test trenches were also dug in 2015 across the main west drive to assess a proposed route for the main. Only one of the five trenches contained evidence for an earlier road surface, which could not be dated. Three features of interest were uncovered on the north lawn. One was a wide pathway around the building which is first shown on the 1797 plan, and also on an 1858 Estate plan and the 1st and 2nd edition OS maps, but which appears to have been grassed over in the later 20th century. An edging or wall may have been the edging of a possible garden bed on the 19th century maps. A feature circa 18m north of the wall of the hall could not be identified with any features on the 1797 map, and it may have been a bedding trench for a hedge.
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Historic Environment Records (HER)