Craigend Castle
Encyclopedia
Milngavie
Milngavie , is a town in East Dunbartonshire, Scotland. It is on the Allander Water, at the northwestern edge of Greater Glasgow, and about from Glasgow city centre. It neighbours Bearsden....
, in East Dunbartonshire
East Dunbartonshire
This article is about the East Dunbartonshire council area of Scotland. See also East Dunbartonshire .East Dunbartonshire is one of the 32 council areas of Scotland. It borders onto the north-west of the City of Glasgow. It contains many of the suburbs of Glasgow as well as containing many of...
, central Scotland
Scotland
Scotland is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Occupying the northern third of the island of Great Britain, it shares a border with England to the south and is bounded by the North Sea to the east, the Atlantic Ocean to the north and west, and the North Channel and Irish Sea to the...
.
The lands of Craigend were part of the Barony of Mugdock
Mugdock Castle
Mugdock Castle was the stronghold of the Clan Graham from the middle of the 13th century. Its ruins are located in Mugdock Country Park, just west of the village of Mugdock in the parish of Strathblane...
in medieval times, but the estate was sold in the mid-17th century to the Smith family. John Smith (1724–1812) was born at Craigend and became a merchant and the founder, in 1751, of booksellers John Smith & Son. John Smith built a plain house on the estate, but after his death his son, James Smith, incorporated that house in a much more ornate mansion. It was designed by Alexander Ramsay
Alexander Ramsay (architect)
Alexander Ramsay was a Scottish builder and architect, born in Edinburgh. He rebuilt Craigend Castle, near Milngavie, for James Smith of Craigend, in a Gothic revival style. Craigend was built on land that Smith's father had purchased from the Duke of Montrose, and which formerly formed part of...
, in what is described as Regency Gothic style
Gothic Revival architecture
The Gothic Revival is an architectural movement that began in the 1740s in England...
.
Glasgow businessman William Wilson and his son opened a zoo at Craigend in 1949 with various exotic animals but it failed to attract significant visitors and closed in 1954.
The grounds became part of Mugdock Country Park
Mugdock Country Park
Mugdock Country Park is a country park and historical site located partly in East Dunbartonshire and partly in Stirling, in the former county of Stirlingshire, Scotland...
and the house has become a ruin. The stable block, located to the north of the house, now serves as the country park visitor centre.