After our last day on Barra and Vatersay, we had to catch the 7am ferry from Castlebay to Oban on the Scottish mainland. The voyage last 4 hours and 40 minutes arriving in Oban at 11.40am.
The voyage to Oban goes through some of the islands of the Inner Hebrides so the last hour or so of the voyage is very picturesque.
We passed Duart Castle on the way to Oban. It is situated on the Isle of Mull and is the home of the Clan MacLean.
Oban was busy with tourists when we arrived off the ferry so we moved on to our next overnight destination, Dumfries House.
Dumfries House is set in 2,000 acres of land and the 18th century house boasts an unrivalled collection of original furniture. We had seen it on the television and thought it would be a good place to stop on our long journey home.
It was saved from dereliction with intervention of (the then) Prince Charles, Duke of Rothesay, in 2007. Dumfries House combines the neoclassical architecture of Robert Adam with the furniture of Thomas Chippendale and leading 18th-century Scottish cabinet makers.
The history of the current house starts when William Crichton-Dalrymple, 5th Earl of Dumfries, resigned his army commission in 1743 and retired to his Ayrshire Estate. He was made a member of the Most Ancient and Most Noble Order of the Thistle in 1752, a very prestigious award granted directly by the Sovereign. Desirous of a grander house, the Earl asked the Adam brothers, Robert, John and James, to submit a design. Their completed drawings were presented in 1754 and a contract was agreed to build a new house to be called Leifnorris House. It was only when the foundation stone was laid on the 18th of July 1754 that his lordship decided the name should be changed to Dumfries House in line with his title. The house was completed on time and on budget in 1759.
A year after the build had begun, Lord Dumfries’s wife, Lady Anne Gordon, died but he did not abandon the project. He set out to furnish the house, drawing largely on the Rococo style, with a vision of an elegant interior. He spent considerable sums to realise his plan. In addition to a large commission from the talented Scottish wrights Alexander Peter, Francis Brodie and William Mathie, the Earl hand-picked the finest furniture from the workshop of Thomas Chippendale. He was hopeful that his new, richly furnished, Palladian house may help attract a new wife and produce his much-desired heir. The Earl’s plan appeared to work, as in June 1762 he married Anne Duff, a distant cousin. However, the marriage did not produce an heir. Six years later the 5th Earl died. His widow left Dumfries House for Edinburgh and later remarried.
Following the death of the 5th Earl, the estate passed to his nephew, Patrick Macdouall (1726-1803), who became Lord Dumfries and 6th Earl. In 1771 he married Margaret Crauford and for the next 35 years they lived at Dumfries House. It is Margaret who is credited with making improvements to the productivity of the land on the estate. They demolished the original house and Leifnorris Tower, which still stood nearby, and in November 1772 the couple’s daughter, Lady Elisabeth Penelope, was born; she was the mother of the 2nd Marquess of Bute.
One of the most important figures is John Patrick Crichton-Stuart (1847-1900), 3rd Marquess of Bute, who inherited the estate at the age of six months. In 1889 he became aware of a Scottish architect, Robert Weir Shultz, who was engaged to add sympathetic extensions to the east and west wings of Dumfries House. By building upwards and backwards from the original Georgian pavilion, the extensions sit harmoniously with the original building. The 3rd Marquess died at Dumfries House but never saw the extensions completed.
Dumfries House remained a family home from 1760-1993, when the last full-time occupant, Lady Eileen, Dowager Marchioness of Bute, passed away. The house remained in the hands of the 7th Marquess of Bute, Johnny Dumfries (the racing driver), who ensured that it was maintained, although it was not used as his primary residence.
He subsequently offered it for sale and two auctions dates were set aside in July 2007. However, a consortium led by HRH The Prince of Wales succeeded in purchasing the house and contents and, in doing so, saved Dumfries House and one of the most important collections of Georgian Scottish and English furniture for the nation.
The House employs many local people not least in the 5 star Lodge where there are some very nice rooms and a very good restaurant for breakfast and your evening meal. We stayed for two nights so that we could visit the house on a guided tour the next day and see the marvellous interiors and furniture.
The Lodge built in 1750 is situated very close to the main House and the various buildings have had different uses, such as the Garden Cottage which was the Factor’s House from the 18th Century. The Lodge has some very nice gardens situated between it and the main House.
If you are in the Dumfries area, the Lodge is a lovely place to stay and the food, both breakfast and evening meal, was a delight.
Words and photos: Copyright John Cruse 2025