A STUNNING Scottish estate where Adam Smith spent much of his childhood and was reputedly kidnapped is on sale for £1.1m.
Strathenry House was owned by the grandfather and then the uncle of Smith, who would go on to write The Wealth of Nations and become known as the Father of Capitalism.
Smith’s own home was in Kirkcaldy, Fife, but the boy, whose father died before he was born, sought the companionship of his uncle, Robert Douglas, at Strathenry.
And it was here, in 1726, that he was reputedly seized by a Gypsy woman and rescued in the nick of time either by his uncle or estate workers.
Almost three centuries on, the Georgian family home looks barely any different to how it would have appeared in Smith’s time.
The property, near Leslie, and on sale for offers over £1.125m, boasts seven bedrooms, three bathrooms and three reception rooms.
The exquisite three tiered building is surrounded by a rolling garden, patio with planted borders and a vegetable patch.
The property has been listed due to historical importance with a stable and two paddocks also in the grounds with a greenhouse and fruit garden.
The property is only 29 miles from Edinburgh airport and only two miles from Glenrothes.
Strathenry House also comes with 8.2 acres of land that have an incredible view of the Fife countryside
According to sellers Knight and Frank: “Strathenry House lies on the southern slopes of the Lomond Hills, with dramatic views over the Fife countryside and a panoramic view overlooking the Forth Estuary from the Bass Rock and Berwick Law to Edinburgh and the Lammermuir Hills beyond.
“The gardens at Strathenry are very special. They include expansive lawns surrounding the house, interspersed with specimen trees, shrubs, rhododendrons, azaleas, planted borders and are flanked by mature woodland.”
Adam Smith, who was born in Kirkcaldy around 1723 and died in Edinburgh in 1790, was taken regularly by his mother to visit Robert Douglas.
When he was three and while playing in the grounds of the house, Smith is said to have been seized by a passing group of “gypsies”.
The alarm was quickly raised and scouts sent out to find the boy. A witness said he had seen a woman carrying the child on a nearby road.
According to the tale, the woman was found in Leslie wood. Smith was released and returned to his mother.
Whatever the truth of this story, Smith went on to become a highly influential philosopher and economist, credited with the creation of GDP (Gross Domestic Product) and modern free trade.
