Mount Stuart, Isle of Bute.

Having visited The Isle of Bute on several occasions previously on charter boats and long distance rail day trips, there was never enough time to visit both the town of Rothesay and Mount Stuart house. However on this occasion as I was based in Ayrshire, the opportunity presented itself to do both, using the regular ferry service from the mainland.

The Bute family have lived on the island for many centuries and descended from the kings of Scotland. You may remember from the previous post (Rothesay) how the ancient family lived at the Castle in town but due to successive raids from invaders, they chose the peace of The Old Mansion House across the street.

This change proved unsuccessful to one of the successive residents and the more roomy grounds of Mount Stuart was chosen as the new permanent home.

The Original Mount Stuart was built in 1716 and has allowed four generations of the Bute family to live here before an accidental fire destroyed the central part of the house in 1877.

The rebuilding programme of the Gothic revivalist structure by the third Marquis of Bute began in 1880 using his family inheritance from South Wales coal money. Work continued for many years and remained incomplete at the time of his death in 1900. Finance of buildings like this in the twentieth century took a hit as the world moved on in many ways but the 6th Marquis of Bute began a programme to complete the building in the 1980's.

Unfortunately he wasn't able to enjoy the finished product as he passed away before completion. It is believed that the house was the first home in the world to have a heated indoor swimming pool and the first in Scotland to have central heating, electric lights, passenger lift and a telephone. Due to the enormity of the task, a temporary railway had to be constructed from Kerrycroy village to the house to transport all the necessary building materials.

On a personal note, some of the internal decor was the most amazing I had ever seen. The standout features were the Gothic church and the main marble hall reaching to the sky or rather 80 ft over several levels. The tower window including studded diamonds reflected light and various colours onto the walls beneath.



The marble hall was constructed from a variety of Sicilian and Italian marble along with Granite and Sandstone, drawing its inspiration from History, Astrology, Art and Mythology  It was a little unfortunate that photography was prohibited but I have copied a link here to give you a flavour as Google image stills don't do it justice.

Whilst the house itself is stunning, so too is much of the 300 acres of grounds in which it sits.

There are many walk ways and avenues throughout the grounds that connect the key features of the site. The Augusta Column in one of the avenues was built in honour Augusta Dowager Princess of Wales in 1772 by The 3rd Earl.

There are three gardens of note namely the Rock Garden, The Wee (small) Garden and The Kitchen Garden, each exhibiting their own unique features.

The Rock Garden behind the house could also be classed as a water garden due to the stream running through it creating a series of ponds.

The designer of the 2 acre Rock Garden, Thomas Mawson, also created a dramatic "Stations of the Cross" garden walk, part of which featured a statue of Christ as a centre piece, which was later removed to the family chapel by the shore.

The Pavilion in The Kitchen Garden was bought by the 6th Marquess of Bute following its exhibition at the 1988 Glasgow Garden Festival and then moved to Mount Stuart. It contains plants from around the world.

The 5 acre Kitchen Garden is unique in its design having only one wall, the other three having been replaced by shelter providing trees. Until very recently it was a traditional Kitchen garden providing fruit and vegetables, but now it is mainly used for decorative purposes with hedges that are used to divide it into further sections.

It was time to return home and back to the 21st century of the exit via the newly built visitor centre. This in itself provided a spectacular photographic moment although not quite a Gothic Revivalist structure externally that you could be thinking of ....

Rothesay, Isle of Bute.

Rothesay is the main town on the Isle of Bute located to the west of the Firth Clyde. It is easily accessible by regular ferries from Wemyss Bay on the south west coast of Scotland.

The town of Rothesay itself sits on a north facing bay sheltered by low hills, it has been visited by an eclectic mix of people groups down through the centuries.

Historically the employment of the town centred around the large cotton mills during the late 18th century, but their final demise came in the 1880s as a result of continuing external competition from the mainland. Conversely at the same time, the herring fishing industry was beginning to thrive.

The close proximity of Bute to the seafaring route from Ireland to Scotland provided a gateway for the early Christian missionaries in the 6th century.  St Blanes church and other historic sites are testament to that fact found in the southern half of the island.
By the 8th century, the invaders were Vikings from Norway who weren't so peaceful or amenable and   kept returning at various times over a 500 year period.
An early simple fort was built by Magnus Barford in 1098 but his stay was short lived due to its destruction by the locals.

Later in the 13th century a stone circular castle and moat was built by The Stewart family which eventually became a royal residence.

The castle saw more Norse battle action, firstly in 1230 and then later in 1263, but despite initially losing the castle in the battles it was later reclaimed after the demise of King Hakon. The invader finally admitted defeat in the nearby Battle of Largs (1263).

The English temporarily took control of Rothesay Castle from 1297 - 1311 during the wars of Independence until Robert The Bruce finally took it back into Scottish hands.

Steps were taken to repair and improve the defences with four towers being added in the 16th century followed by a gatehouse and despite skirmishes with the English (Cromwell's Army 1659) and The Duke of Argyll in 1685, it was never tested again in battle.

Around this time, the Stewart family moved into the more comfortable Old Mansion House across the street. This building is currently being renovated as an educational facility looking at the history of the island.
The second Earl of Bute decided to move the family home again to the out of town and more opulent Mount Stuart in the east of the island leaving the castle derelict for many years.
The Crichton Stewarts restored the castle during the 19th century before being handed over for preservation, overseen and cared for by the organisation Historic Scotland.

Like many other resorts in the 19th century, it became a fashionable destination for those seeking to escape the progressive industrialisation for a weeks holiday, assisted by improved transport arrangements.

Many believed that Hydrotherapy could provide healing properties for body ailments ...

... and Rothesay was keen to replicate the success and marketing of other Spa towns in the UK as a fashionable holiday destination.

Alexander Bannantyne Stewart was a merchant from Glasgow who had an interest in fine arts, sailing and horticulture. Due to his earlier family connections with Rothesay and his later influence as convener of County of Bute, he gave many benefits to the local people including a swimming pool.

The Winter Gardens were built as a result of the thriving music and entertainment business of the resort which had outgrown the bandstand built about 50 years previously. The attraction opened in 1924 at a cost of £7,000 with parts being shipped from Glasgow.

The venue served as a magnet for show business names of the day, many of whom went on to become famous.

Things remained much the same until the 1960's when the cheap European package holiday became more accessible resulting in a decline of the resort.
The Winter Gardens closed and threats of demolition became real in 1982, remaining derelict for some considerable time.

The building was revamped as an exhibition and tourist information centre in 2000.

Whilst Rothesay is synonymous with maritime history, interestingly enough during World War II, many navy personnel were given training on submarines in the bay.

In addition to the newly styled Winter Gardens, the authorities in the town have shown much tenacity in recouping the tourism business by various measures including the upgrade of the pier.

From the archives ... Shipbuilding on The River Clyde provided the constructed Paddle steamers that transported workers for their holidays from Glasgow "Doon The Watter".
Note the hotel transfers 19th century style !!

Hopefully with the amount of shipping transport in those days they didn't have to wait too long ....

And finally there were thankfully no earthquakes today ....