When we began planning our trip to Scotland, we knew we wanted to visit Banff, my mother’s family’s historic hometown. Banff was one goal, but we also wanted to see or experience something during our trip. Thanks to an already purchased Historic Scotland Explorer Pass, the Duff House became a desirable destination in Banff.
The front of the Duff House. We felt quite bougie being able to park next door to this Georgian-style mansion.
The Duff House was built from 1735 to 1740 and is a Georgian-style mansion on the outskirts of town. The house’s construction caused a major falling-out between the owner, William Duff, 1st Earl Fife, and the designer, William Adam, leading to a major court case that was resolved only shortly before Adam’s death. Overall, the house served the Duff family for generations, until it was turned over to the Banff in 1903. The house served as a hotel, a sanatorium, a hotel again, and, during World War II, a prisoner-of-war camp, and later as a headquarters for free Norwegian and Polish forces. In 1940, during World War II, the house was bombed, resulting in eight deaths and damage to the building. Eventually, the state took over the house, which now serves as a historic home and art museum.
The Prince of Wales Bedroom was named because the future King Edward VII stayed here in November 1883. One thing that can be surprising to a first-time visitor to Europe is how many places are named simply because royalty visited.
If you visit the home, a nearby car park is shared with the Banff Rugby Grounds and a playground. The historic grounds also include a golf course. Blue-badge parking was right beside the house, so we parked in the driveway beside an Aston Martin, and we felt rather fancy and well-to-do. We used our Historic Scotland Explorer Pass, but if you pay separately, the cost (in 2026) is £10 per adult, £8 per concession, and £6 for children 7-15. After arriving, we recommend the opening video, as it does a great job explaining the house’s history. The house has several floors of exhibits, and an elevator is available for people with limited mobility. Guests can walk through the house and see some of the historic rooms and displayed artwork.
This lead statue titled ‘Minerva’ is attributed to Jan Van Nost and is one of six Roman gods and goddesses originally displayed outside the home. Today, this statue has been restored and is on display in the home.
The artwork is probably the most immersive part of the Duff House experience. It was great to see artwork that fits in well with the Georgian mansion. Art lovers will find a few pieces they enjoy, and I was glad to add a few pieces to my growing gallery of Famous Works of Art on the blog site.
‘Sir Walter Scott, Bart.’ is a portrait of the famous Scottish Novelist and Poet by Sir Francis Grant. Scots today revere Sir Walter Scott and consider him one of the country’s greatest writers. ChatGPT enhanced this image only because I asked it to remove the reflected glare.‘Sir William Erskine of Torrie and his Family’ dates from 1788 and features a typical upper class family from this time period. David Allan was commissioned for this scene, and he was famous for painting lively Scottish scenes. ChatGPT enhanced this image only because I asked it to remove the reflected glare.A temporary exhibit on Alfred Beckham featured many of his famous photographs, including this one titled ‘Edinburgh.’ Beckham typically combined three images into one: a photo of the sky, a landmark, and an airplane in flight. Beckham would also use various tricks during the exposure process to make the photos lighter or darker, and he resorted to the old fashioned form of photoshop. Photos have been enhanced and modified since the invention of the camera, but Beckham was a master of this art form.Another work by Alfred Beckham, ‘Morning over the Moorfoots’ was made in the Moorfoot Hills south of Edinburgh. Beckham wanted to take more photos of cities, but dense smoke engulfed them, making clear photographs impossible. Fortunately, the skylines of both Edinburgh and Glasgow are much cleaner in the 21st century.‘The Pergula’ by John Lavery paints a scene in his villa in Tangier, Morocco. Originally shown in a 1908 Paris show of up-and-coming artists, the painting has been publicly displayed at the Duff House for the first time since the 1940s. Lavery’s work is as impressive as many from the time period and style, but it is surprising who is remembered and who is not as great in their field.‘James, 2nd Earl of Fife’ is actually a copy of a portrait by English painter Francis Cotes. I was not expecting a North Carolina connection to this painting, but I found out the original is in the North Carolina Museum of Art.Frans Snyders’s ‘Mischievous Monkeys’ is a great example of blending still life with animal behavior. When Snyder painted his scene in the 17th century, monkeys often represented “excess and greed.”
As we left, we made a couple of great buys at the gift shop. Several very Scottish snacks, such as Tunnock’s and Irn-Bru, were on sale, so we gathered provisions for the rest of our road trip around the country. Overall, the gift shops at many historic sites around Scotland carried a wide range of locally sourced merchandise.
Irn-Bru has a higher consumption rate in Scotland than Coca-Cola. Be sure to try it out on a visit, although for me, it was more of an acquired taste.
I’m glad we visited the Duff House, as it was a great mix of local history and displayed artwork. Banff was a meaningful destination because of familial ties, but this town, much like Forres and Elgin, is a great place to get a feel for small-town Scotland. I would definitely return to the Duff House on a future trip.
Germans bombed the Duff House on July 22, 1940 and eight total soldiers lost their lives, two British and six German POWs. War always causes horrible tragedies, and when you see the names with the locations and realize that these eight men did not get to live full lives, it has caused me to ponder more as I have gotten older.
