 Dunrobin Castle
Remotely situated among the wildest scenery of the Scottish Highlands, the gleaming
eccentricity of Dunrobin Castle is both welcoming and appealing. As home
to the Earls and Dukes of Sutherland for some 700 years, this huge French-style
chateau overlooks a deserted stretch of North Sea coastline. Regarded
as one of the seven most ancient Earldoms of Scotland, Sutherland has
an interestingly complex line of succession to the present heiress,
the Countess of Sutherland. It began in the middle of the 13th
century when Alexander II created the first Earl of Sutherland and,
through judicious matrimonial alliances, they became one of the most
powerful families in Britain. During the 19th century, the
3rd Duke was thought to be the largest landowner in Western Europe.
Dunrobin Castle was first mentioned as the family stronghold in 1401, but parts of the building
certainly date from at least 100 years earlier than that. Most of the
rooms seen today are a combination of the Victorian extension designed
by Sir Charles Barry, and the remodelling carried out by Sir Robert Lorimer
after a serious fire in 1915. When the 2nd Duke of Sutherland
inherited the ancestral home in 1839 he wanted to change his Scottish
fortress into a palatial, turreted residence.
Barry, who was making a name for himself as architect for the new Houses of Parliament, was commissioned
to enlarge Dunrobin Castle and lay out the gardens. Although the fire destroyed
a lot of Barry's internal arrangements, the picturesque gardens remain
very much as originally designed by him, based on those at the Palace
of Versailles.
As an ancestral home for more than 20 generations, Dunrobin Castle is full of family portraits, dress
regalia and armorial devices which, between them, help uncover some of
the complicated history combining the Sutherland and Stafford families,
and throw some light on the connection with Stafford House in London.
All the rooms are tastefully furnished showing a diverse appreciation
of styles ranging from the classical Italian influence to the elegant
French renaissance, but most having strong undertones of traditional Scottish
simplicity. This clever intermingling of different textiles and periods
makes for an extremely fascinating investigation of what is essentially
a late 'Victorian' castle.
Castles are often associated with nasty deeds and unscrupulous goings-on throughout history and a suitably
gruesome background provides the perfect atmosphere for ghostly tales.
In this Dunrobin Castle is no exception, knowing many periods of ruthless behaviour
among family members in their struggle for wealth and superiority. Inevitably,
this romantically beautiful castle harbours certain 'skeletons' in its
closet. Back in the 15th century a young girl supposedly fell
to her death at the hands of the Earl, and is said to be heard sobbing
in the little room next to the night nursery. More recently, a man has
been seen walking through a closed door off the landing but no known incident
has to come to light to place him among the legends. |
