A history of hospitality
Kinnaird opened as a hotel in 1990 although the estate has been in the Ward family since the 1920s when the house parties hosted by Sir John and Lady Ward were infamous. The Wards were largely responsible for the house as we see it today, revealing the original 18th century front and adding the wing which contains the Cedar and billiard rooms.
Prior to the Ward's ownership Kinnaird was part of The Duke of Atholl's estate. Amongst the many tenants of the Duke's to live in Kinnaird the Buller family hired the writer Thomas Carlyle as tutor to their son. The writer famously wrote of the silence at Kinnaird which he described as "not to be surpassed above the ground", referring to the House as "an entirely secluded edifice sunk among trees".
However, it was the Edinburgh hatter, Chalmers Izzett, who extended the house during his period of ownership at the turn of the 19th century.