For the first time since its construction in 1792, the ancestral home of the Bruce family (the Earls of Elgin and Kincardine) is open as an exclusive venue for private events, in collaboration with Wild Thyme luxury catering, chauffeur service Little?s and The Balmoral Hotel in Edinburgh. Charlotte Davies journeys to the Kingdom of Fife, Scotland to dine with Lord Charles Bruce surrounded by the portraits and antiques of his ancestors.

Entering Broomhall House rivals walking into the British Museum; the original casts of the Elgin marbles line the walls of the entrance hall, a Roman sarcophagus stands by the fireplace and flanking the doorway are a pair of 4th-century marble columns from Diocletian?s Palace in Split, Croatia – the Bruces certainly know how to make a memorable first impression. What sets Broomhall House apart from other stately homes offering private events is that it is still very much a family home. It feels lived in, as it has been, Lord Bruce proudly informs me, by thirteen generations of Bruces. Over 70 children have been born and brought up within the historic walls.
Walking from entrance hall to drawing room, Lord Bruce recounts the first hundred years of the family?s history, illustrating the heroic lives behind t...