One thousand two hundred babies!

This is the backdoor of Haddo House.

The Gordons, who later became the Earls of Aberdeen and Marquesses of Aberdeen, have lived on the site for over 500 years. Haddo House, dating from 1732, sits in or near the site of the old Kellie Castle, the family's previous dwelling which was burnt down by the Covenanters in the 1640s; it was designed by William Adam in the neo-classical Palladian style.

During the second world war the property functioned as an emergency maternity hospital, catering for local women alongside the evacuees from Glasgow for whom it was set up to aid. Between 1939 and 1945 nearly 1200 babies were born in the safety of the house. They have been nicknamed the "Haddo Babies" in light of their unusual birthplace.