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Remains of a walled garden and designed landscape of Freefield House (NJ63SE0039). There are documentary references to Thriefeidell in 1625, and to Thriefield on early maps of Aberdeenshire, appearing on the mid 18th century Roy map of Scotland as 'Freefield'. This map shows a single dwelling house in the centre of five walled and tree-lined enclosures with small plantations to the northeast and east. This house on this map may be an earlier tower hose or laird's house as the present mansion is said to have been built in 1754. More extensive planting in the later 18th and early 19th century is evidenced by accounts for purchasing of plants. On the Taylor and Skinner map of 1776 Freefield is shown as a mansion house with associated planting to the east of the Aberdeen to Huntly road. The OS 1st edition map shows the house with Home Farm and kennels to the north, walled garden a short distance to the west, and a long avenue to the south to the South Lodge entrance, East of the house is a small pond. The walled garden has a gardener's cottage at its southwest corner, and a piggery on the north side. The designed landscape is essentially unchanged on the OS 2nd edition map, although it does also show three small glasshouses and some cold frames in the walled garden with an associated boiler house. Also within the garden are a pump at the centre and a sundial within the north-east quarter. The estate appears to have been sold in 1924 after being in the ownership of the Leiths for over two centuries. In the first half of the 20th century the walled garden was used as a market garden. Field assessment of the designed landscape was carried out in March 2019. The most striking features is the straight half-mile long avenue, the remainder of the designed landscape formed by a series of narrow belts planted with mostly broadleaved trees. The walls of the walled garden are a mix of whinstone and slaty sandstone with a stone coping, standing circa 4m high, the main entrance in the south side. No trace of the original internal path network remains.
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Historic Environment Records (HER)