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The Pineapple

Pgds 20080708 143821 The Pineapple 6
Pgds 20080708 144533 The Pineapple 30
Pgds 20080708 141705 The Pineapple 16

Introduction

The Pineapple is an 18th-century walled garden in two sections, one of which contains an ornamental canal. There is an orchard of crab apple trees in the other section. The site also features a small loch and woodland walks.

The following is from the Historic Environment Scotland Gardens and Designed Landscapes Inventory. For the most up-to-date Inventory entry, please visit the Historic Environment Scotland website:

http://portal.historic-scotland.gov.uk/hes/web/f?p=PORTAL:DESIGNATIONS:0

Location and Setting

The Pineapple was built as a garden retreat in the north wall of the walled garden at Dunmore Park (q.v.). It is approximately 8 miles (7km) from Stirling and about 1 mile north of Airth village. It was designed to have extensive views out and particularly across the Firth of Forth but is sheltered and screened by woodland today.

The ornamental gardens extend around The Pineapple over some 10 acres (4ha), including the walled garden. The walled garden is surrounded by woodland and shrubbery, with a small loch to the west of the walls feeding into the canal.

Landscape Components

Architectural Features

The Pineapple is listed category A; the designer is unknown. It is a two-storey building with a circular chamber facing the garden, capped by a Pineapple shaped in stonework. It is 45' high on its south side and 37' high from the north. The walls of the garden are also listed A, and are of Scottish design, with a double flued wall to enable heating. The chimneys are disguised by ornamental vases. There were glasshouses along the north wall, but these have now gone. The 1st edition map of 1863 shows that a sundial was placed in the middle of the west section of the garden, and a broken sundial remains on site, in front of the Garden Cottage to the west of the garden.

The Gardens

The area to the north of the walled garden was planted as a shrubbery, and species of yew, ash and Rhododendron remain today, but all are overgrown and have obscured the views out to the north and east.Walled Garden

This is a large walled garden which was divided into two main sections. The larger western section was subdivided into ten compartments possibly partly by hedges, and in the southern compartment is an ornamental pond or canal fed from a small loch to the west of the garden by the garden cottage. Both these water features are silted and overgrown today. The eastern section of the garden was shown in the 1863 map as an orchard; it is divided into two compartments, the southern end has now been planted with trees. The east wall of the west garden is in need of restoration.

Visitor Access, Directions & Contacts

Telephone

0844 493 2100

Website

http://www.nts.org.uk/

Access contact details

The site is open daily throughout the year, from 9.30 am to sunset.

Directions

The Pineapple is 7 miles east of Stirling and 1 mile west of Airth. For details see: http://www.nts.org.uk/Property/The-Pineapple/Getting-there/

Owners

The National Trust for Scotland

Other Websites

History

The following is from the Historic Environment Scotland Gardens and Designed Landscapes Inventory. For the most up-to-date Inventory entry, please visit the Historic Environment Scotland website:

http://portal.historic-scotland.gov.uk/hes/web/f?p=PORTAL:DESIGNATIONS:0

Reason for Inclusion

An extraordinary architectural folly built as a garden retreat in 1761 after the introduction of the pineapple into Scotland. There is a walled garden beside the folly.

Site History

The Pineapple was built in 1761 for the 4th Earl of Dunmore as a folly and garden retreat; it forms the central pavilion feature of the north garden wall. The first pineapples grown in Scotland were introduced by James Justice at Crichton near Pathhead in Midlothian c.1732. The portico is dated 1761; however, evidence uncovered during the building's repair in the early 1970s suggests a slightly later imposition of the Pineapple on the portico. Early photographs show the folly closely flanked by glasshouses on both sides. By 1970 after the break-up of the Dunmore estate, the building and garden were in a derelict condition. They were purchased by the Earl and Countess of Perth and gifted to The National Trust for Scotland in 1974. The Pineapple itself has been restored by The Landmark Trust with grants from the Historic Buildings Council and the Scottish Tourist Board and is now in use for holiday lets. The walled garden is being restored by the National Trust for Scotland.

Period

  • 18th Century
  • Late 18th Century
Features & Designations

Designations

  • Historic Environment Scotland An Inventory of Gardens and Designed Landscapes in Scotland

Features

  • Heated Wall
  • Description: The south wall of the walled garden is double flued for heating.
  • Ornamental Canal
  • Folly (featured building)
  • Description: The Pineapple may originally have been a single-storey pavilion, which gained an eccentric dome after 1777.
  • Earliest Date:
  • Latest Date:
  • Orchard
  • Lake
  • Description: A small loch.
  • Walk
  • Description: Woodland walks.
Key Information

Type

Estate

Purpose

Ornamental

Period

18th Century

Survival

Extant

Hectares

4

Open to the public

Yes

References

References

Contributors

  • Historic Scotland