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History

Home > About > History

Hospitalfield’s name goes back to medieval days when pilgrims journeying to Arbroath Abbey were accommodated by monks on the site of the current house, but the site has been occupied since Neolithic times.

For well over 150 years Hospitalfield has played a role in education and the arts and can claim to be Scotland’s first school of fine art. The man responsible for this vision for Hospitalfield was Patrick Allan-Fraser an influential artist and promoter of the arts who married into the family and estate of the Frasers of Hospitalfield, taking his wife’s name.

He redesigned the house in the middle of the 19th century, using his own craftsmen and creating a prototype for the Scottish Arts and Crafts Movement. From his network of old associates and friends, Patrick furnished Hospitalfield with a superb collection of contemporary art and sculpture which have become part of Hospitalfield’s rich and unique heritage.  On his death in 1890 the house was left in trust as a residential centre for professional education in the arts. Since then Hospitalfield has continued to build an international reputation as a residency for artists – a place of inspiration  where creativity can find the space and time to flourish.

A programme of individual residencies, summer schools, masterclasses and workshops continues the vision into the 21st century.  Among those who have benefited from  Hospitalfield are prominent Scottish painters: Joan Eardley, James Cowie, Henderson Blyth, Ian Fleming, Joyce Cairns, Will Maclean, Peter Howson and most recently 2009 Aspect Prize winner Patricia Cain.

The Fraser of Hospitalfield Memorial Chapel

The Mortuary or Memorial Chapel in the Western Cemetery, Arbroath was designed by Patrick Allan-Fraser with the, typically, dual purpose of serving as a memorial to the Fraser family who had contributed so much to Arbroath for generations, and also as a non-denominational mortuary chapel for the local population. At that time (1873) conditions in Arbroath were not of the most sanitary, with an overcrowded population often forced to live alongside their dead until burial could be arranged.

The building combined historical, architectural, local and natural history references. It is built entirely of stone quarried from the Hospitalfield estates by Patrick’s own workmen. The head mason and carver James Peters started as an apprentice at Hospitalfield in the 1850s and was still working on the carving in the early 20th century. It houses two family vaults and is noted for its elaborate roof line with exuberant carving and complex design and is acclaimed as one of the most important funerary structures in Europe. It was gifted by Patrick to the Town Council in 1886, and is protected by Historic Scotland as a Grade 1 listed building.

The Memorial Chapel has been used as an exhibiton space and as a venue for events including musical recitals.

 

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