Ardkinglas

{{Short description|Country house in Argyll and Bute, Scotland}} {{Use dmy dates|date=March 2020}} {{Infobox historic site | name = Ardkinglas House | native_name = | native_language = | image =Ardkinglas House, near Cairndow on Loch Fyne - geograph.org.uk - 373750.jpg | caption = | type = | locmapin = | coordinates =  | location = [[Cairndow|near Cairndow]], [[Argyll and Bute]], Scotland | area = | built =1906-1908 | architect =[[Robert Lorimer|Sir Robert Lorimer]]<ref name="Walker2000">{{cite book|last=Walker|first=Frank Arneil|date=2000|title=Argyll and Bute (Pevsner Architectural Guides: Buildings of Scotland)|publisher=Yale University Press|page=115|isbn=0300096704|author-link=Frank Arneil Walker}}</ref> | architecture =[[Scottish baronial style]] | governing_body = | owner = David Sumsion | designation1 = Category A Listed Building | designation1_offname = Ardkinglas House | designation1_date = 20 July 1971 | designation1_number = {{Historic Environment Scotland|num=LB13786|short=yes}} | designation2 = Inventory of Gardens and Designed Landscapes in Scotland | designation2_offname = Ardkinglas and Strone | designation2_date = 1 July 1987 | designation2_number = {{Historic Environment Scotland|num=GDL00022|short=yes}} }}

'''Ardkinglas House''' is a [[Listed buildings in Scotland|Category A listed]] country house on the Ardkinglas Estate in [[Argyll]], Scotland.<ref name=":0">{{Historic Environment Scotland|num=LB13786 |desc=ARDKINGLAS HOUSE|cat=A |access-date=5 March 2019}}</ref> The estate lies on the eastern shore of [[Loch Fyne]], and the house is located close to the village of [[Cairndow]]. Dating back to the 14th century and originally a [[Clan Campbell|Campbell]] property, the estate now covers more than {{convert|12000|acre}} of rolling hills and landscaped parkland. The centre of the estate was Ardkinglas Castle until this was replaced by a new house in the 18th century. This house was itself replaced by the present Ardkinglas House in the early 20th century, designed by [[Robert Lorimer|Sir Robert Lorimer]] for [[Sir Andrew Noble, 1st Baronet|Sir Andrew Noble]].<ref name=":0" /> It remains the property of the Noble family, and is open to the public on a limited basis. The [[woodland garden]]s are open all year round.<ref name="Ardkinglas.com">{{cite web|url=http://www.ardkinglas.com/the-house/ardkinglas-house.html |title=Historic Mansion House and Woodland Gardens Argyll, West Coast of Scotland | Ardkinglas Estate |publisher=Ardkinglas.com |date= |accessdate=2016-12-14}}</ref>

==Estate history== ===Ardkinglas Castle=== Ardkinglas Castle is thought to date from the 14th century. It was built in the form of a quadrangle around an inner courtyard measuring {{convert|98|ft}} in each direction. There were large turrets on three of the corners, to the front there was a large gate tower with two flanking defensive turrets. Ardkinglas became the home of a new line of the Campbell family when Sir Colin Campbell granted it to his son Caileen Oig in 1396 “in all its righteous heaths and marches, or as long as woods shal grow and waters flow”.<ref name=CL>{{cite news |author= |title=Country Homes and Gardens Old & New. Ardkinglas, Argyllshire. A seat of Sir Andrew Noble Bt KCB |url=https://britishnewspaperarchive.co.uk/viewer/BL/9900007/19110527/050/0020 | newspaper=Country Life |location=United Kingdom |date=27 May 1911 |access-date=6 December 2025 |via = [[British Newspaper Archive]] |url-access=subscription }}</ref>

[[James VI of Scotland]] made James Campbell of Ardkinglas [[Comptroller of Scotland|comptroller]] and in February 1584 "general searcher" of customs of the West Sea, with powers to apprehend ships with forbidden cargoes.<ref>[[Gordon Donaldson]], ''Register of the Privy Seal: 1581-84'', vol. 8 (Edinburgh, 1982), p. 313 no. 1862.</ref>

On 23 March 1679, [[Sir Colin Campbell, 1st Baronet, of Ardkinglass|Colin Campbell of Ardkinglas]] was made a [[baronet]]. His son [[Sir James Campbell, 2nd Baronet, of Ardkinglass|Sir James Campbell, 2nd baronet]], (died 1752) sat in the [[Parliament of Scotland]] from 1702 and, following the [[Union of Scotland and England]], in the [[Westminster Parliament]] until 1741.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.historyofparliamentonline.org/volume/1690-1715/member/campbell-james-1666-1752 |title=CAMPBELL, James (c.1666-1752), of Ardkinglas, Argyll |work=The History of Parliament: the House of Commons 1690-1715 |author=Hayton, D. W. |date=2002}}</ref> He purchased the [[Dunderave Castle|Dunderave]] estate around 1700, and was succeeded by his grandson, Lt.Col. Sir James Livingston-Campbell, son of his eldest daughter Helen.

By 1769 the castle was reported destroyed.

===The first Ardkinglas House=== During the 18th century the Campbells commissioned designs for a new house at Ardkinglas from some of the leading architects of the day, including [[Colen Campbell]], [[Robert Adam]] and [[James Playfair (architect)|James Playfair]]. None of these designs were built, and the house constructed in 1795 has been described as "rather dull".<ref name=":1">{{cite web |url=https://canmore.org.uk/site/141356/ardkinglas-house |title=Ardkinglas House |publisher=Historic Environment Scotland |work=Canmore |accessdate=3 May 2017}}</ref> This house was destroyed by fire in 1831 and, despite further designs from architects including [[William Burn]] and Alexander Binning, the family moved into the stable block which was adapted as the main house.<ref name=CL/>

In 1810, when Sir Alexander Livingston-Campbell died, Ardkinglas was inherited by his cousin [[James Campbell (British Army officer, died 1831)|James Callander of Craigforth]], who subsequently changed his name to Campbell and adopted the style of a baronet, although he was not entitled to do so.{{Citation needed|date=December 2017}}

In April 1905 the estate of {{convert|49000|acre|sqmi}} was offered for sale in two lots. Lot 1, the [[Loch Fyne]] section comprised 34,400 acres including the mansion house, deer forest, grouse moors and salmon and sea trout fishing in the Fyne and Kinglas rivers. Lot 2 was the [[Loch Goil]] and [[Loch Long]] section was contained about 14,600 acres and included the village of Lochgoilhead.<ref>{{cite news |author= |title=Argyllshire - Estate of Ardkinglas |url=https://britishnewspaperarchive.co.uk/viewer/bl/0000540/19050429/507/0003 | newspaper=The Scotsman |location=Scotland |date=29 April 1905 |access-date=6 December 2025 |via = [[British Newspaper Archive]] |url-access=subscription }}</ref>

===The present house=== [[File:Ardkinglas House.jpg|thumb|left|The house in 2019]] [[File:Ardkinglas - the entrance front 1911.png|thumb|The entrance front 1911]] [[File:Ardkinglas - In the Saloon 1911.png|thumb|The Saloon 1911]] [[File:Ardkinglas - from loggia to garden 1911.png|thumb|Staircase from loggia to garden 1911]] In 1905 Ardkinglas was purchased by [[Sir Andrew Noble, 1st Baronet|Sir Andrew Noble]], an expert on [[ballistics]] and [[Artillery|gunnery]] who was chairman of [[William George Armstrong, 1st Baron Armstrong|Lord Armstrong's]] artillery works in [[Newcastle upon Tyne|Newcastle]]. Ardkinglas House was designed by architect [[Robert Lorimer|Sir Robert Lorimer]], and construction began in May 1906. Although Noble's deadline for completion of 1 August 1907 was not met, the house was fully completed in 21 months. The house was lit with electricity powered from a [[Hydroelectricity|hydro-electric plant]] on the estate.<ref name=":1" /> A dam was built on the river Kinglas and a building erected nearby to hold the generating equipment.

The house is built of local granite with a greenish hue, patched with gold, sourced locally from the blue whinstone prevelent at the loch side. The dressed quoins were sourced from a quarry at [[Dullatur]], and the slates from [[Caithness]].<ref name=OT>{{cite news |author= |title=The New Ardkinglas Mansion House |url=https://britishnewspaperarchive.co.uk/viewer/BL/9900007/19110527/050/0020 | newspaper=Oban Times and Argyllshire Advertiser |location=Scotland |date=4 July 1908 |access-date=6 December 2025 |via = [[British Newspaper Archive]] |url-access=subscription }}</ref>

Apart from the local granite, all of the building materials had to be transported to site. A new quay was built on the loch side for this purpose.<ref name=CL/>

The ground floor included a porch, lower hall, men’s room for smoking and [[Billiard room|billiards]], and an oval room used by Sir Andrew Noble as an office, servants quarters’ and deer larder. These rooms were grouped around an open courtyard providing light and ventilation. The principal rooms were set on the first floor. For access to the gardens, Lorimer provided an external staircase on the north-west side which leads from the loggia down to the garden level, and another on the south-west. On the first floor, the corridor provided access to the morning-room and great saloon, the fireplace within containing a single granite slab lintel of over 5 tons which was carved by Mr. Morgan of Aberdeen. A panel in the saloon contains a painting of a chariot and rearing horses by [[Roger Fry]]. The great saloon was {{convert|40|ft|m}} by {{convert|30|ft|m}}.<ref name=OT/> In its south-west corner a secret door in the panelling provided access to a lobby leading to a spiral staircase to the garden. The first floor also contained the loggia, dining room and principal bedrooms. A second floor above was entirely devoted to bedrooms. The male servants were quartered on the ground floor in the north west corner, with the female servants on the first floor in the east corner. The great kitchen was only used when the family were in residence, the scullery being adequate when only servants required meals. Outside the dining room were two pantries and a plate safe, with a lift from the kitchen below.<ref name=CL/>

As Sir Andrew Noble was a noted scientist, he installed a complete set of meteorological and electrical recording instruments which connected with apparatus in the castellated tower and in the terrace below.<ref name=OT/>

John Noble inherited the estate in 1972, and began farming oysters in the loch. In 1988 he opened the first [[Loch Fyne Oysters|Loch Fyne Oyster Bar]], now a national chain. The house has been used as a filming location for television series, including [[The Crow Road (TV series)|''The Crow Road'']], ''[[The Diplomat (American TV series)|The Diplomat]]'',<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.netflix.com/tudum/articles/the-diplomat-locations |title=Where is The Diplomat Filmed? Your Guide to the Season 2 Locations |last=Hatchett |first=Keisha |website=[[Netflix]] |date=2 November 2024 |access-date=16 December 2024}}</ref> and films including ''[[The Water Horse: Legend of the Deep]]''.

It is open to the public, although not on a regular basis. The house's original "Butler's Quarters" can be rented out.<ref>{{cite web |author= |date= |title=The Butler's Quarters |url=https://www.ardkinglas.com/self-catering/butlers-quarters.html |website=Ardkinglas |location= |publisher=Ardkinglas |access-date=6 December 2025}}</ref>

==Ardkinglas Gardens== The Woodland Gardens, dating back to the 18th century, are open year-round with views of the exterior of Ardkinglas House and its backdrop onto Loch Fyne. The Arboretum was planted in the 1860s-70s by the Callander family and has some specimens of large trees. One of these trees a [[Abies grandis|Grand Fir]] (Abies grandis) held the record for many years as "The Tallest tree in Britain", another tree a [[Abies alba|Silver Fir]] (Abies alba) is described as the "Mightiest Conifer in Europe" with a trunk girth of over {{Convert|31|ft|m}}.<ref name="Ardkinglas.com"/>

==Ardkinglas Railway== {{Infobox rail |railroad_name=Ardkinglas Railway |gauge={{RailGauge|12 in|lk=on}} |start_year=1866 |end_year=late 1890s |length= 1 mile |locale=Scotland |successor_line=Abandoned }} The '''Ardkinglas Railway''' was a {{RailGauge|12 in|lk=on}} [[Narrow gauge railway|narrow gauge]] [[estate railway]] built to serve the Ardkinglas Estate, former seat of [[Sir James Campbell, 2nd Baronet, of Ardkinglass]], on the shores of [[Loch Fyne]]. The railway ran along the shore of the loch from a boat house at Caspian. The railway was built as a transportation system for the estate and as a garden toy for the estate's 17th Laird, George Livingston-Campbell-Callander. A single [[steam locomotive]] operated the line; rolling stock consisted of a two-seat open passenger carriage and several wagons. The railway had been dismantled by 1897 and the equipment sold. The boiler from the locomotive was still in situ on the beach at [[Tayvallich]] on [[Loch Sween]] until the early 1950s.{{Citation needed|date=December 2017}}

==See also== * [[Ardgoil]] * [[British narrow gauge railways]]

== References == {{reflist}}

* {{cite book |title=The Campbeltown and Machrihanish Light Railway |author=Macmillan, Nigel S.C. |location=Newton Abbot|publisher=David & Charles |year=1970 |isbn=978-0-7153-4919-9}}

{{coord|56.25007|N|4.95062|W|type:landmark_region:GB|display=title|format=dms}}

[[Category:Houses in Argyll and Bute]] [[Category:Category A listed buildings in Argyll and Bute]] [[Category:Highland Estates]] [[Category:Inventory of Gardens and Designed Landscapes in Argyll and Bute]] [[Category:Castles in Argyll and Bute]] [[Category:Former castles in Scotland]] [[Category:Transport in Argyll and Bute]] [[Category:Woodland gardens]] [[Category:Country houses in Argyll and Bute]]