#mount stuart

[climbhighsleeplow]

Bivouac site on Mount Stuart

[lahilden]

Mount Stuart

Mount Stuart is located on the east coast of the Isle of Bute in Scotland. The Gothic Revival country house was built in the 19th century. The house was built upon an earlier 18th century home severely damaged by a fire in 1877. The Georgian wings and much of the contents survived the fire and were incorporated into the new castle by the 3rd Marquess of Bute. The opulent interior boasts carved paneling, painted mirrors, a spiral staircase, a chapel, and much more. The Marble Hall has a map of stars on the ceiling and 12 stained glass windows depicting the signs of the zodiac moving through the seasons on the walls. The Gallery’s ceiling is decorated with winding branches from the Tree of Life, which frame the classical heads of 128 goddesses from ancient myth and legend. The house has collections of art and artifacts, including works by Ramsey, Reynolds, Gainsborough, as well as books, furniture, silverwork, porcelain, and Shakespeare’s First Folio. The estate has 300 acres of gardens that include a rock garden, a kitchen garden, an arboretum, and pinetums. The castle is used as a venue for weddings and corporate events. Mount Stuart can accommodate 37 guests in 22 separate areas around the house. There is a visitor center, a shop, and the Courtyard Café and Bakehouse.

[willygood]

Mount Stuart is the dreamiest

9.18.24

[eopederson2]

Mount Stuart From Ingall's Pass, Wenatchee National Forest, Washington, 2002.

[scotianostra]

On December 3rd 1877 Mount Stuart on the Isle of Bute was badly damaged by fire.

Mount Stuart’s architectural journey is a story in itself. The original house was built from 1719, but was severely damaged by fire in 1877. Most of the contents survived, along with the Georgian wings of the building. These were retained as part of the new Mount Stuart, which the 3rd Marquess of Bute built in the late 19th century.

Wishing to bring the house up to date, the 3rd Marquess had already commissioned a significant restructure before the fire took place. Following the fire, the new build was led by Scottish architect Robert Rowand Anderson. The result was a spectacular architectural feat – a building that surpassed its predecessor in grandeur, scale, and ingenuity. A hugely impressive neo-gothic mansion . Mount Stuart was the first house in Scotland to be wired for electricity, had a lift, a heated indoor swimming pool and central heating system. All still working today!

And, with the Georgian architecture of the wings contrasting with the Victorian design, the house displayed a completely unique architectural blend.

I’m not a great fan of these stately home type properties, I have no wish to see ho the other half live, but Mount Stuart is one of the most beautiful buildings in Scotland, and we are lucky the Marquess of Bute spent the time restoring and rebuilding the place, many would have left it to rot, like so many classical buildings before and after this. No expense was spared and the result must be one of the architect’s finest creations, with the external appearance of a Venetian palace in red sandstone. The cost was astronomical for the time, said to have reached £600,000 (over £50 million today), the most expensive house built in Scotland at the time. Even more remarkably, what we see today represents only the northern wing of what was once intended. A glass-domed ballroom was planned to link this to an equally-enormous southern wing.

John Crichton-Stuart, the 4th Marquess of Bute, offered his family home, Mount Stuart House, to the Admiralty. It then became a naval hospital from 1914 to 1918. Lady Bute attended the Scottish General Hospital at Stobhill for nursing training. Patients arrived from the clearing hospital in Edinburgh and the Isle of Bute proved a suitable location for the trains from Glasgow. It also proved a peaceful Isle for the patients. As were the hospital grounds with its stunning scenery, many trees, grassed areas and gardens. An operating theatre was set up and there was x-ray facilities. The Dining Room became a 22 bed Medical Ward as seen in the third photo below. Other rooms, like the Marble Hall, became the Middle Ward with 50 beds. There were 2060 operations which included 38 appendectomies, 14 amputations, 28 bones plated together and the removal of 2 testicles. The surgeon was Sir William McEwen who was a pioneer of brain surgery. 2120 men were admitted to the hospital and 13 died at the house.

[guidedsailor]

My happy spot.

[winstons-and-enochs]

[howshegoing]

18.11.2017_1:47 PM