The real Dower’s House

 Margaret Bain, who came to Australia, was born at Highfield. This was once a large estate owned by the Mackenzie’s, the local big wigs. Alexander probably worked there briefly, but two daughters would live their entire lives very close to the main house.

The big house burned down in 1947, but the Dowager Countess was able to live in a house that survived, and it became known as the Dower House. Now Hugh has been doing tours for years, and has often pointed out a house on this road which is ‘like a gingerbread house’ and the sign does say Dowers House. I got out to have a look, it is a private residence now, but it looked way too small for a countess. 

I knew that one of Margaret’s sisters was married in the Highfield Gate Lodge, which had also survived the fire. I strode down the seemingly private gravel track? Driveway? Just far enough to see that there was another big house, with a sign saying Dowers House, surrounded by magnificent huge trees, and I decided not to go any closer. In my mind the building on the road was the Gate Lodge - just where a gate lodge should be.

Another building he points out to people is the old school, also now a private residence, barely 50m further back, well of course that’s where the children would have gone to school! Back to have a look; although now I think about it, the family had moved on by the time she would have gone to school.

Most of Margaret’s siblings were born at Ferintosh, in a place now called Corntown. Only about a mile away. Here we found a very old, very large agricultural shed, with large coach-sized doors and a door on the first floor for bring up or dropping down hay or grain. Many of Alexander and Catherine’s children were born here over a 10-year period, again he is a farm grieve, so he must have worked around this building.

We had three census addresses to find:

1841    Teanahann - now under a primary school

1851    Moniack House - a 16th century century castle of the Fraser Clan, the Lovatt branch. This is now behind a big high wall with no line of sight any more. The tea rooms of yesteryear went with the stringent health and safety rules of the European Union. It is now very private.

1861   ”small cottage at road side of Muirfield Farm” which I believe we found described on “touring with Hugh”.

And this is what Monica’s Castle/House looked like.