The Manse was the residence of the Reverend Reginald Wakefield for nearly fifty years, until his death in 1968. Roger Wakefield MacKenzie grew up there under the guardianship of the Reverend and his housekeeper, Mrs. Graham.
History[]
Designed at the turn of the century,[1] the manse has twelve rooms, which was meant to accommodate ministers with numerous families. The house and land belong to the Parish Council, which used the property until 1970, when the new minister of the church chose not to live there. The Council then leased it to Fiona and Ernie Buchan, who transformed it into a bed-and-breakfast.
On the ground floor, there is a long, narrow hallway that leads to a study with enormous floor-to-ceiling windows in one wall, which let in light advantageous to painting.[2] During the Reverend's tenure, the study contained the Reverend's desk and floor to ceiling bookshelves, with one wall lined with cork that was bedecked with hundreds of bits of paper, from church notices to historical documents to drawings created by his adopted son, Roger.
According to Roger, one can hear the whistle from the evening passenger train to London from the manse on clear nights.[3]
Residents[]
The Reverend began living in the manse in the 1920s, and resided there until his death in 1968. His nephew and adopted son, Roger, came to live with the Reverend in 1945 after the death of his mother left him orphaned. Roger spent nearly two years clearing out the house after the Reverend died, then turned over its keeping to Fiona Graham Buchan, granddaughter of the manse's late former housekeeper, Mrs. Graham.
Trivia[]
- There is a bed-and-breakfast by the name of "The Old Manse" about six miles outside of Inverness, on the banks of Loch Ness.[4]
Outlander TV Series[]
Interiors for the manse were filmed at Hunterston House in West Kilbride, Ayrshire. A different location was used for exterior shots.
Gallery[]
References[]
- ↑ In 1945, Claire guesses that it must be at least 100 years old, though in Drums of Autumn (chapter 36) Roger notes that it was built in the early 1900s.
- ↑ Outlander, chapter 2
- ↑ Dragonfly in Amber, chapter 47
- ↑ The Old Manse, Loch Ness. Accessed 25 July 2016.