Tracing Sancho's Scottish Journey: Dalkeith Palace and Bowhill House
In September 2025, the Countertenor team visited Scotland, retracing the footsteps of Ignatius Sancho. We started our visit with a trip to the National Records of Scotland (NRS) to search for Sancho in the archive. You can find out all about our visit to NRS in our guest blog post here: https://blog.nrscotland.gov.uk/2025/10/13/retracing-sanchos-steps-countertenor-visit-to-the-national-records-of-scotland/
Production: Ampersand Film Co, Director: Hishanth Jegathasan, Producer: Oliver FitzGibbon, Creative Director: Will Dolan
As we entered the driveway, it became immediately clear why Dalkeith Palace left such an impact on Ignatius Sancho over 250 years ago. Dalkeith Palace, located just five miles from Edinburgh, continues to stand as one of Scotland's grandest houses. Built between 1702 and 1711 on the site of a medieval castle, the palace was commissioned by Anna, 1st Duchess of Buccleuch, following the execution of her husband, James, Duke of Monmouth (the illegitimate son of Charles II). The palace served as the principal Scottish seat of the Buccleuchs until the early twentieth century, and whilst empty today, continues to boast stunning baroque features and beautiful ancient woodlands.
The Countertenor team visited Dalkeith Palace to learn more about Sancho’s trip here in the early 1770s. Sancho - a senior servant in the household - accompanied his employer, Elizabeth, Duchess of Buccleuch, to Scotland whilst she was pregnant. Sancho’s time in Scotland is vividly described in his published correspondences and the impact of this particular journey to Dalkeith was so profound that Sancho later named one of his country dance compositions after the palace.
‘Cotillions, &c.’
‘Cotiliions, &c.’, dedicated to the Princess Royal, composed by Ignatius Sancho. This collection was found in a private archive in Birmingham thanks to the work of Paul Cooper. It is the first and only known edition to be located of this work. It was bought by Harvard University in 2016. Photo [left] from the Houghton Library, taken by research assistant Liberty Collard.
Reference Info: Cotillions, &c. : humbly dedicated with permission to the Princess Royal Sancho, Ignatius, 1729-1780 / London : Printed for C & S. Thompson, No. 75, St. Paul's Church Yard (1776) HOLLIS No: 990146842430203941
Our research visit began with a house tour led by Charlotte Rostek, Palace Development Lead, which provided essential historical and architectural context for understanding Sancho's eighteenth-century experience of the estate. The afternoon was then devoted to filming interviews with Ampersand Film Co, during which the team reflected on the palace's significance to Sancho's life and particularly his music. We were kindly joined by Professor Brycchan Carey who contributed his rich expertise to our discussions throughout the day, and Sarah Roller from Historic Houses, who helped us to reflect on how projects such as Countertenor can impact the way the public view and visit heritage sites. Dr Craig Thomas, assistant archivist for the Buccleuch collections, provided invaluable support, having helped organise our visit to Scotland, and through offering intriguing archival perspectives that enriched our understanding of Sancho's connection to Dalkeith.
Photo of the team with Dalkeith Palace in the background [left to right…] Craig Thomas, Sarah Roller, Liberty Collard, Brycchan Carey, Tracy Cheung, Reginald Mobley, Ben Park and Charlotte Rostek
The following day, the team travelled to Bowhill House and Gardens in the Scottish Borders, near Selkirk. The present house dates mainly to 1812, beginning as a modest Georgian villa before being greatly expanded throughout the nineteenth century. Today, Bowhill is home to many items from the internationally renowned Buccleuch Collection, accumulated over five centuries and featuring masterworks by Canaletto, Raeburn, Reynolds, and Gainsborough, alongside French furniture, porcelain, and an exceptional collection of portrait miniatures. Bowhill continues to serve as a principal home of the Scotts of Buccleuch.
The Countertenor team were lucky enough to learn all about the extensive and diverse collection at Bowhill through a house tour led by Head Guide, Norman Bowman. The tour helped us to make connections between the collection and Sancho, a regular visitor to many of the Montagu-Buccleuch properties over his decades of service for the family.
The Bowhill Library
A particular highlight of the visit was the library, where some of the books had been bound and sourced by William Sancho, Ignatius's son. This provided a direct material connection between the Sancho family and the Buccleuch collections and underscored their enduring relationship. It also encouraged us to contemplate the legacy that Ignatius left behind.
During our visit to Bowhill we were joined by Hannah Chalklin and Naima Pitts from the Arts and Humanities Research Council (AHRC), our project funders. This was a wonderful opportunity to demonstrate the outcomes of our research in situ, and to thank them for their continued support of the project.
Photo of the team outside Bowhill House and Gardens [left to right..] Tracy Cheung, Naima Pitts, Reginald Mobley, Liberty Collard and Hannah Chalklin.
Our research trips to Dalkeith Palace and Bowhill House proved invaluable in deepening our understanding of Ignatius Sancho's connection to Scotland. Standing in the spaces Sancho himself walked in the 1770s brought a tangible immediacy to our archival research. Our week in Scotland highlighted the longstanding nature of the relationship between the Sancho and Buccleuch families - a connection that extended across generations and left lasting traces in both the creative and material record. As the Countertenor project continues to rediscover and reprofile musical voices from the past, visits like these remind us of the importance of engaging directly with the places and collections that shaped these historical figures, allowing us to bring Sancho to life for contemporary audiences.