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Auchtertool House’s remarkable furniture collection goes up for auction

Auchtertool House near Kirkcaldy, which was lovingly restored by Peter Nicholson, including all the fixtures and fittings.
Auchtertool House near Kirkcaldy, which was lovingly restored by Peter Nicholson, including all the fixtures and fittings.

One of the largest collections of Scottish furniture, arms and armour to come to sale in recent years will be put up for auction on Wednesday.

The contents of Auchtertool House near Kirkcaldy will be sold by auctioneers Lyon and Turnbull in Edinburgh.

The home belonged to the late Peter Nicholson, a leading light in Scottish castle and tower house restoration.

As well as restoring Auchtertool House, his projects included Edinample Castle, the House of the Binns, Fordell Tower House, the Bank of Scotland headquarters on The Mound in Edinburgh, Argyll Lodgings in Stirling Castle and Pitcullo Castle.

Trevor Kyle, director of Lyon and Turnbull, said: “Peter was unique in that he took on both the restoration of the building and all the fixtures and fittings within the building, including the furniture.

“He was passionate about old buildings, Scottish furniture and arms and armour.

“He was also tireless with incredible attention to detail and many of the great houses and castles in Scotland contain furniture restored or made by him.”

Mr Nicholson bought Auchtertool House as a ruin in the 1960s after running a successful antiques business in Edinburgh.

Lori Nicholson, Peter’s wife, said: “It was a labour of love. It took most of Peter’s lifetime to restore Auchtertool.

“He was so busy restoring other people’s castles and tower houses that Auchtertool was often used as a storeroom and workshop for furniture for other projects.”

One of Peter’s greatest projects was the restoration of the ruins of Fordell Castle which was purchased by the lawyer and Conservative politician Sir Nicholas Fairbairn for £100.