The Georgian House
Enlightenment House – A Play in Five Rooms is running from Wednesday 14 November until Saturday 5 January. Please see our Events page for further details and to book.
Admire the architectural grandeur of Edinburgh’s New Town.
Discover paintings by Scottish artists, including Sir Henry Raeburn, Allan Ramsay and Alexander Nasmyth.
Explore the drawing room and dining room, designed to entertain and impress guests.
Watch the informative introductory film, Living in a Grand Design.
Bring history to life by dressing up in our costumes (for children and adults!)
Entry prices
- Adult
- £8.00
- Family
- £17.50
- One adult family
- £12.50
- Concession
- £6.00
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Exterior view of the Georgian House on a sunny day
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Period furnishings in the drawing room of the Georgian House
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Antique writing desk with period stationery in the Georgian House
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A young girl dresses up in replica costume in the Georgian House’s Activity Room
About this place
The Georgian era produced some of Scotland’s most distinctive architecture. In the late 1700s, this grand townhouse was at the heart of Edinburgh’s New Town development. The house was designed by acclaimed architect Robert Adam and was a true statement of luxury in an era of enlightenment, for those who could afford it.
It cost the first owner John Lamont (18th Chief of the Clan Lamont) £1,800 in 1796, and he went on to splash out on silver, finery and lavish entertainment for his family. He also employed numerous servants. Lamont died in 1816 in financial difficulties, and his son, also John, sold the house for £3,000 a year later to Catherine Farquharson of Invercauld.
The house has been magnificently restored to show a typical Edinburgh New Town house of the late 18th and early 19th century. The fine collections of period furniture, porcelain, silver and glass reflect the Lamonts’ lifestyle and the social and economic context of the time. The kitchen and servants’ room give a glimpse of the arduous 'below stairs’ life of the servants, who made the Lamonts’ elegant lifestyle possible.
