Robert Balfour, 6th of Balbirnie


Lieutenant-General Robert Balfour of Balbirnie was a son of John Balfour of Balbirnie and Mary Gordon, daughter of James Gordon of Ellon. He was an officer in the 2nd Dragoons and the Fife Light Horse. His younger brother James was a Member of Parliament and grandfather of Arthur Balfour, Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1903 to 1905.

Military career

Whilst Lieutenant-Colonel of the 2nd Dragoons he was, for the misconstruction of a regulation, subjected to a Court Martial, and sentenced to be cashiered; the Prince Regent confirmed the sentence, but immediately after restored him to the functions of his commission, neither dishonorable or unworthy motives appearing in the charges preferred and established against him.

Balbirnie House and Estate

When not living at his London residence of 14 Carlton House Terrace, General Balfour spent much of his time in Fife, Scotland.
He inherited Balbirnie House in Glenrothes from his father John Balfour and it had been in the family since the 1640s. General Balfour was heavily involved in the adaptation of Balbirnie House in Glenrothes into a grand country mansion. and expansion of its lands including the acquisition of the Forthar estate from Dr David Pitcairn in 1830.
The present mansion is largely unchanged from General Balfour's works in 1815 which incorporated much of the earlier house at its north end. The architect was Richard Crichton who added the new apartments to the south of the old house and designed the two new grand neo-classical facades.
General Balfour extend the landscaped garden and moved the roads on the estate. These improvements were funded partly by increased estate rentals and income from coal mining but also from the General's share of a large inheritance from his aunt which is reputed also to have funded his two brothers' new houses and landscaping at Whittingehame and Newton Don.
The General was succeeded by his son John in 1837 who continued to enlarge the estate.

Family

He married, on 8 August 1808, Eglantyne Katherine Fordyce, who was the daughter of John Fordyce of Ayton. General Balfour had four sons and three daughters: