Charlotte Square was designed by Robert Adam, in 1791, as the splendid culmination of Edinburgh's first New Town. Adam died in 1792, and his completed designs were realised by others; Bute House was completed in 1805. It was bought in 1922 by the 4th Marquess of Bute – the great–great–great–grandson of John Stuart, Earl of Bute, who was Prime Minister for just over ten months in 1762–3. The 4th Marquess had acquired No. 5 Charlotte Square in 1903, and went on to buy No. 7 five years later. In 1966, all three houses were accepted by the Treasury in lieu of death duties on the estate of the 5th Marquess of Bute, and became the property of the National Trust for Scotland. No. 6 was the official residence of the Secretary of State for Scotland from 1970 until 1999, since when it's been the official residence of the First Minister.
© Haydn Thompson 2017