The History of Craigmonie

Welcome to the Craigmonie

In the 18th Century, the Balmacaan estate, on which our home is built, was owned by the Laird Sir James Grant, mainly as a field sports estate. The Lairds family wanted to improve the living conditions for the population of tenants and their families. He built an infrastructure of roads and engineered flood prevention measures for the village of Lewiston. Over the next century the family was instrumental in planting several species of trees, such as oak, spruce, elm, chestnut, beech and larch. The most important of which was the Birch, as it was used for charcoal in the production of iron. As you walk around the village and cycle the many woodland trails above our home, many of these original trees can still whisper words of years gone by, with a blanket of ancient shrubbery of bluebells and dog’s mercury bloom.