Historic Fife home with links to wartime prime minister comes on market for £785,000

Newton House, a seven-bedroom property built in 1857 by the Bonthrone family in the picturesque hamlet of Newton of Falkland in Fife is for sale with offers over £785,000.

Rich in history, the property, set in mature gardens, has connections stretching back to the roots of distilling and malting in Fife.

Alexander Bonthrone established Stratheden Distillery in 1829 in nearby Auchtermuchty and advised Liberal MP Herbert Asquith before the country went to war in 1914.

Mr Bontrhone’s brother, John, was one of Scotland’s first commercial maltsters and helped develop the Fife and Kinross Railway while the distillery was at its height before ceasing production in 1926.

In recent years, Newton House – replete with period touches- has operated as a successful holiday /short term rental property.

However, through time, it has also served as a convalescent home and accommodation for Polish airmen across both World Wars.

The property, marketed by Galbraith’s, retains unchanged features which would have been instructed by the Bonthrones at the time of its build in the 19th Century.

Set close to the original site of Newton Brewery, also founded by the family, the home contains the original grand timber staircase and radiators.

Features such as sash and case windows, ornate cornicing, chandeliers and fireplaces, redolent of the Victorian period, also remain while two modern en-suite shower rooms have been added.

While the property retains charming flourishes from an era in which the Bonthrones shaped their industrial and social landscape, the current owner has carefully restored the home.

This includes three spacious reception rooms, two games rooms and an outdoor patio.

The nearby town of Falkland has a few shops and will soon be hones to a modern museum of whisky collections

Falkland Estate and Fife’s main peaks, the Lomond Hills, are also round within easy access.