Glencripesdale Estate
Encyclopedia
Glencripesdale Estate is situated along the south side of Loch Sunart
, a sea loch in the west highlands of Scotland.
Today, the Isle of Càrna
is the last remaining part of the once huge 35,000 acre
deer forest and grousemoor based Glencripesdale Estate, which was bought in 1870 by the three Newton brothers T.H.Goodwin, William III, and Canon Horace Newton
of Barrells Hall
and Holmwood, Redditch
, ancestors of the current family, who are also of direct Milward's Needles descent.
The Glencripesdale Estate once stretched for 20 miles (32.2 km) along the entire south side of Loch Sunart, and the entire east side of Loch Teacuis. The estate comprised the smaller estates of Glencripesdale and Laudale (25,000 acres) and also Rahoy (10,000 acres). The total estate measured 41 square miles (106.2 km²), with waterside access to over 20 miles (32.2 km) of coastline.
In 1904 the estate had 9,000 sheep grazing its land, and had 4 separate working farms, with 2,500 deer in the forest.
In the 1920s the Estate was put up for sale by the family, and sold for a distressed low price due to its vast size and the general worldwide economic downturn. The 600 acres (2.4 km²) Isle of Càrna
at the mouth of Loch Sunart was bought back by the family from the sale, and still remains within the family as a monument to the once great estate.
style rooms. The house is believed to be the first in Scotland to be built of the as then state of the art material, Concrete
. Materials had to be floated along the loch due to the lack of access to the site from nearby roads, mainly by steam ship.
Because the house was largely served by sea, due to the remote nature, the house featured its own private Dock for steam ships of up to 100 tonnes.
The Factors house, or Land Agent
as he would be known in England, situated a few miles East up the coast at Laudale, still exists and is a substantial dwelling in its own right having been built with 9 bedrooms, and has been enlarged further over the years.
ed walls, Gothic
windows and a large tower which resembled a lift-shaft crowned with crowstep gables.
The house was a blend of new building methods, “traditional” Scottish Baronial elements and a general appearance suggestive, perhaps, of a monastery
in parts. Whilst unconventional in style, the result was considered pleasing. With two of the three Newton brothers being clergymen, some have remarked that the ecclesiastical flavour of much of the building is perhaps attributable to their career choice. There is a suggestion that they actually designed the house themselves using a church plan as a basis. Another suggestion is that the architect Temple Lushington Moore
may have helped design the property, having already designed a large country house Holmwood, Redditch
for Canon Horace Newton
.
A guest of the family Elizabeth Inglis noted on a visit to Glencripesdale approximately ten years after the house was built that the approach route from the loch was suitably atmospheric:-
, specifically the Commando
units, who needed extreme countryside to practice manoeuvres on.
The Newtons returned at the end of the war to find large amounts of their belongings had been stolen, and the property and outbuildings severely damaged by the troops, requiring large sums to repair, which was not uncommon at the time.
This, combined with the fact that like many large houses who relied on large numbers of staff to run, meant that the house was not occupied again, and slowly fell into disrepair.
After World War II, a new owner bought the House, and stripped its lead off the roof, leaving the buildings shell exposed, because he was able to sell the lead for more than he had bought the property for, according to local legend.
The estate with the shell of the house was sold to the Forestry Commission
next, who slowly planted up the woodland with conifers and then sold off the estate in chunks throughout the 1990s.
In 1966 the house was blown up by the Army as part of an exercise, and due to the unique construction, being built of reinforced concrete
, required two attempts to blow up. The first time the Army used a normal amount of explosive for the size of the building, however once the dust had cleared the building still stood.
The ruins still remain on the original site, however the land has become very overgrown.
Loch Sunart
Loch Sunart is a sea loch on the west coast of Scotland. Loch Sunart runs west from the sea, bounded to the north by the Sunart district of Ardnamurchan and to the south by the Morvern district. An inlet from Loch Sunart, Loch Teacuis, runs south-easterly into Morvern.At it is the longest sea...
, a sea loch in the west highlands of Scotland.
Today, the Isle of Càrna
Càrna
Càrna is an island in Loch Sunart, an arm of the sea, close to the Ardnamurchan peninsula, on the west coast of Scotland.-Geography:Càrna lies across the mouth of Loch Teacuis, forming two narrow kyles which provide some of the trickiest rock-dodging for yachtsmen anywhere on the west coast...
is the last remaining part of the once huge 35,000 acre
Acre
The acre is a unit of area in a number of different systems, including the imperial and U.S. customary systems. The most commonly used acres today are the international acre and, in the United States, the survey acre. The most common use of the acre is to measure tracts of land.The acre is related...
deer forest and grousemoor based Glencripesdale Estate, which was bought in 1870 by the three Newton brothers T.H.Goodwin, William III, and Canon Horace Newton
Canon Horace Newton
Canon Horace Newton was a well-respected priest within the Church of England, philanthropist, and country landowner.-His life:...
of Barrells Hall
Barrells Hall
Barrells Hall is a small stately home in the Warwickshire countyside near Henley-in-Arden. The nearest village is Ullenhall, which for many years was the estate village, large parts of it having been built by the owners of Barrells Hall, the Newtons of Glencripesdale Estate...
and Holmwood, Redditch
Holmwood, Redditch
Holmwood House near Redditch, Worcestershire is a country house built for Canon Horace Newton of Glencripesdale Estate and Barrells Hall in 1893 by the famed Victorian architect Temple Lushington Moore, who was a vague relative of the Newton family...
, ancestors of the current family, who are also of direct Milward's Needles descent.
The Glencripesdale Estate once stretched for 20 miles (32.2 km) along the entire south side of Loch Sunart, and the entire east side of Loch Teacuis. The estate comprised the smaller estates of Glencripesdale and Laudale (25,000 acres) and also Rahoy (10,000 acres). The total estate measured 41 square miles (106.2 km²), with waterside access to over 20 miles (32.2 km) of coastline.
In 1904 the estate had 9,000 sheep grazing its land, and had 4 separate working farms, with 2,500 deer in the forest.
In the 1920s the Estate was put up for sale by the family, and sold for a distressed low price due to its vast size and the general worldwide economic downturn. The 600 acres (2.4 km²) Isle of Càrna
Càrna
Càrna is an island in Loch Sunart, an arm of the sea, close to the Ardnamurchan peninsula, on the west coast of Scotland.-Geography:Càrna lies across the mouth of Loch Teacuis, forming two narrow kyles which provide some of the trickiest rock-dodging for yachtsmen anywhere on the west coast...
at the mouth of Loch Sunart was bought back by the family from the sale, and still remains within the family as a monument to the once great estate.
Glencripesdale House
Glencripesdale House (or Glencripesdale Castle as it was sometimes referred to) was a grand house built for, and uniquely, designed by, the Newton brothers in 1874, and featured 28 bedrooms. 20 of these bedrooms were for the use of family and guests, and eight were for servants quarters, featuring multiple beds within, some in dormitoryDormitory
A dormitory, often shortened to dorm, in the United States is a residence hall consisting of sleeping quarters or entire buildings primarily providing sleeping and residential quarters for large numbers of people, often boarding school, college or university students...
style rooms. The house is believed to be the first in Scotland to be built of the as then state of the art material, Concrete
Concrete
Concrete is a composite construction material, composed of cement and other cementitious materials such as fly ash and slag cement, aggregate , water and chemical admixtures.The word concrete comes from the Latin word...
. Materials had to be floated along the loch due to the lack of access to the site from nearby roads, mainly by steam ship.
Because the house was largely served by sea, due to the remote nature, the house featured its own private Dock for steam ships of up to 100 tonnes.
The Factors house, or Land Agent
Land agent
Land agent may be used in at least three different contexts.Traditionally, a land agent was a managerial employee who conducted the business affairs of a large landed estate for a member of the landed gentry of the United Kingdom, supervising the farming of the property by farm labourers and/or...
as he would be known in England, situated a few miles East up the coast at Laudale, still exists and is a substantial dwelling in its own right having been built with 9 bedrooms, and has been enlarged further over the years.
Architectural style and location
Glencripesdale House featured a very distinct and unusual blend of architectural styles including, among other things, white harlHarl
Harling is a Scottish term describing an exterior building surfacing technique. The theory of harling is to produce a long-lasting weatherproof shield for a stone building. A pigment can be embedded in the harled material, thus obviating the need for repainting...
ed walls, Gothic
Gothic architecture
Gothic architecture is a style of architecture that flourished during the high and late medieval period. It evolved from Romanesque architecture and was succeeded by Renaissance architecture....
windows and a large tower which resembled a lift-shaft crowned with crowstep gables.
The house was a blend of new building methods, “traditional” Scottish Baronial elements and a general appearance suggestive, perhaps, of a monastery
Monastery
Monastery denotes the building, or complex of buildings, that houses a room reserved for prayer as well as the domestic quarters and workplace of monastics, whether monks or nuns, and whether living in community or alone .Monasteries may vary greatly in size – a small dwelling accommodating only...
in parts. Whilst unconventional in style, the result was considered pleasing. With two of the three Newton brothers being clergymen, some have remarked that the ecclesiastical flavour of much of the building is perhaps attributable to their career choice. There is a suggestion that they actually designed the house themselves using a church plan as a basis. Another suggestion is that the architect Temple Lushington Moore
Temple Lushington Moore
Temple Lushington Moore was an architect working in the Gothic revival style.-Personal life:He was the son of Captain George Frederick Moore and Charlotte Reilly ....
may have helped design the property, having already designed a large country house Holmwood, Redditch
Holmwood, Redditch
Holmwood House near Redditch, Worcestershire is a country house built for Canon Horace Newton of Glencripesdale Estate and Barrells Hall in 1893 by the famed Victorian architect Temple Lushington Moore, who was a vague relative of the Newton family...
for Canon Horace Newton
Canon Horace Newton
Canon Horace Newton was a well-respected priest within the Church of England, philanthropist, and country landowner.-His life:...
.
A guest of the family Elizabeth Inglis noted on a visit to Glencripesdale approximately ten years after the house was built that the approach route from the loch was suitably atmospheric:-
- “To reach Glencripesdale house our track up the hill led past an ancient burying ground, impressive in it s loneliness, its ancient trees standing in reverent bending lines, keeping silent guard over the grey recumbent tombs”.
Post-1920s domestic and military use
The house was occupied by the British military during World War IIWorld War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
, specifically the Commando
Commando
In English, the term commando means a specific kind of individual soldier or military unit. In contemporary usage, commando usually means elite light infantry and/or special operations forces units, specializing in amphibious landings, parachuting, rappelling and similar techniques, to conduct and...
units, who needed extreme countryside to practice manoeuvres on.
The Newtons returned at the end of the war to find large amounts of their belongings had been stolen, and the property and outbuildings severely damaged by the troops, requiring large sums to repair, which was not uncommon at the time.
This, combined with the fact that like many large houses who relied on large numbers of staff to run, meant that the house was not occupied again, and slowly fell into disrepair.
After World War II, a new owner bought the House, and stripped its lead off the roof, leaving the buildings shell exposed, because he was able to sell the lead for more than he had bought the property for, according to local legend.
The estate with the shell of the house was sold to the Forestry Commission
Forestry Commission
The Forestry Commission is a non-ministerial government department responsible for forestry in Great Britain. Its mission is to protect and expand Britain's forests and woodlands and increase their value to society and the environment....
next, who slowly planted up the woodland with conifers and then sold off the estate in chunks throughout the 1990s.
In 1966 the house was blown up by the Army as part of an exercise, and due to the unique construction, being built of reinforced concrete
Reinforced concrete
Reinforced concrete is concrete in which reinforcement bars , reinforcement grids, plates or fibers have been incorporated to strengthen the concrete in tension. It was invented by French gardener Joseph Monier in 1849 and patented in 1867. The term Ferro Concrete refers only to concrete that is...
, required two attempts to blow up. The first time the Army used a normal amount of explosive for the size of the building, however once the dust had cleared the building still stood.
The ruins still remain on the original site, however the land has become very overgrown.