ONE of Scotland’s oldest families have put their £4.5m castle on the market for the first time in 300 years – following a string of blistering attacks on the SNP.
Hatton Castle, an imposing grade A listed property near Turriff in Aberdeenshire, is one of the most impressive in the country.
It has been in the Duff family since 1709 and is currently owned by David James-Duff and his wife Jayne.
But in the months leading up to Hatton Estate going on the market, Mrs Duff accused the SNP of being “bent on ruining Scotland” in a series of letters to her local paper.
Mrs Duff yesterday declined to comment on whether the decision to sell the 848-acre estate was linked to electoral success of the SNP.
But in her most recent letter, published just before the General Election, Mrs Duff claimed that the record of the SNP in government in Scotland was “lamentable”.
She added: “What we can be sure of is that, given the opportunity, it will impose higher taxes on hardworking people here to spend more in the central belt, where its support is greatest.”
Mrs Duff claimed that the party “now seems bent on ruining Scotland and its people by ignoring all the truths about the effects of full fiscal autonomy”.
And in September last year, the day before the referendum, she said was “horrified” by the possibility of independence”.
Asked yesterday if putting Hatton Castle on the market was connected to her concerns about the SNP, Mrs Duff said: “I have nothing to say.”
The keen gardener is well known for her work in the stunning walled garden in the grounds of the estate.
But she and her family are selling up after three centuries of Duff family ownership.
The asking price includes a five-storey mansion with nine bedrooms.
There are ten other properties on the estate including a two-storey red sandstone chauffeur’s house.
Being marketed by Savills for offers over £4.5m the particulars state: “Hatton Castle has been in the Duff family since 1709 when the first Alexander Duff of Hatton bought the dilapidated Place of Balquholly from the Mowat family who had been in residence since the early 1300s.”
It adds: “Hatton Castle is a comfortable and charming family home. A large hall with a sweeping stone staircase, elegantly positioned in the middle of three pillared arch ways with a glass cupola above, provides a bright welcome reflected throughout the interior.”
