The first house Around 1540, James Stewart of Doune was made
Commendator of
Inchcolm Abbey, which is located on an island in the Firth of Forth. Donibristle was then a property of the abbey, and James used it as a residence. An inventory of their library includes the ''
L'Astrée'' and a book by the calligrapher
Esther Inglis. Near the house there was a fountain with a bronze figure of
winged Mercury posed on a turtle, possibly the work of
Hubert Le Sueur. The water jet issued from the mouth of the turtle, as Thomas Kirk described in 1677.
The third house A new house was constructed around 1700, and around 1720 L-plan wings of three storeys were added, to the designs of
Alexander McGill. In the late 18th century landscape gardener Thomas White laid out the parkland.
James Gillespie Graham prepared plans for
Jacobean-style remodelling in the earlier 19th century. The main block of the house burned down in 1858. In the late 20th century the wings of Donibristle House and the nearby stable block were restored as housing, and a new apartment building was erected in place of the main block of the house. ==References==