Paxton House
Paxton House is a historic
house at Paxton, Berwickshire, in the Scottish Borders, a
few miles south-west of Berwick-upon-Tweed, overlooking
the River Tweed.
It is a country house built for Patrick Home of Billie in
an unsuccessful attempt to woo a Prussian heiress.
Attributed to James Adam (possibly in concert with John
Adam), it was built between 1758 and 1766, under the
supervision of James Nisbet, with extensive interiors
(c1773) by Robert Adam, as well as furniture by Thomas
Chippendale. The East Wing was added in 1812-13 by
architect Robert Reid to house the library and picture
gallery.
Formerly the seat of the Home of Paxton family, who
became Foreman-Home, Milne-Home, and finally
Home-Robertson as the direct male lines failed and the
inheritance progressed through a female. In 1988, the
last laird, John David Home Robertson, a socialist member
of Parliament, placed the house and grounds into the
Paxton House Historic Building Preservation Trust. It is
now open to the public and is a Partner Gallery of the
National Galleries of Scotland.
