A country home in Angus has echoes of Westminster and Holyrood, being the home to the late Lord Fraser. Lady Fraser tells its political tales and explains why it was the perfect home to raise her family.
A painting hanging on the wall at Slade House, near Carmyllie, shows the
Conservative “class of ‘79” – that year’s new intake of MPs.
John Major is there, as is Matthew Parris, and the late Lord Fraser. Framed and sat on a desk at the other side of the room is Margaret Thatcher’s letter resigning the post of Prime Minister.
Lord Peter Fraser, who passed away four years ago, was an MP from 1979-87, Solicitor General for Scotland, and then Lord Advocate in 1989. He was responsible for the investigation into the Lockerbie bombing and later
spearheaded the public inquiry into the construction costs of the Scottish
Parliament building.
Through all of that his home was Slade House, a country home tucked away up a farm track near the Angus hamlet of Carmyllie.
The couple raised their three children there and one of the highlights was the outdoor pool. At 60 by 25 feet and heated, it’s of commercial size. An outbuilding houses changing rooms and a sauna. “When the children were little all the local boys and girls were free to come and swim,” Lady Fraser, 70, remembers. “It was a joyous place in the summertime.”
The main house is a handsome, five-bedroom stone building with an open plan kitchen/living area with a wood burner at its heart.
Off that is a dining room. “Peter was good friends with (former Home
Secretary) Leon Brittan,” Lady Fraser continues. “They used to sit in here for hours, drinking more than a few whiskies, I’m sure.”
The main drawing room was originally two rooms and has windows at both sides and an original open fire.
The kitchen had a flat roof and in 1999 the Frasers added an extension above it, putting on an en suite
bedroom. They also added a utility room and extended the entrance hallway. Upstairs are three more double bedrooms, including an en suite master with dressing room, and another double bedroom is at ground level.
At the foot of the garden, by the pool, is a large former steading that’s had various guises – from Lord Fraser’s office to a vintage clothing store Lady Fraser once ran – but could easily be converted into a self-contained house.
Spread over several levels with various outbuildings, sections of woodland, areas of lawn and interconnecting paths, the grounds are a delight to explore and Lady Fraser’s three spaniels happily yap their way around them.
“I will miss this place,” she sighs. “But it’s far too big for me now.”
Slade House, Carmyllie, near Arbroath is on sale with Savills for offers over £540,000
