Mount Stuart House
Encyclopedia
Isle of Bute
Bute is an island in the Firth of Clyde in Scotland. Formerly part of the county of Buteshire, it now constitutes part of the council area of Argyll and Bute. Its resident population was 7,228 in April 2001.-Geography:...
, 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...
is a Neo-Gothic country house with extensive gardens. Mount Stuart was designed by Sir Robert Rowand Anderson
Robert Rowand Anderson
Sir Robert Rowand Anderson RSA was a Scottish Victorian architect. Anderson trained in the office of George Gilbert Scott in London before setting up his own practice in Edinburgh in 1860. During the 1860s his main work was small churches in the 'First Pointed' style that is characteristic of...
for the 3rd Marquess of Bute
John Crichton-Stuart, 3rd Marquess of Bute
John Patrick Crichton-Stuart, 3rd Marquess of Bute KT, KSG, KGCHS was a landed aristocrat, industrial magnate, antiquarian, scholar, philanthropist and architectural patron.-Early life:...
in the late 1870s, to replace an earlier house by Alexander McGill, which burnt down in 1877.
Background
The house is the seat of the Stuarts of ButeMarquess of Bute
Marquess of the County of Bute, shortened in general usage to Marquess of Bute, is a title in the Peerage of Great Britain. It was created in 1796 for John Stuart, 4th Earl of Bute.-Family history:...
, derived from the hereditary office "Steward of Bute" held since 1157. The family are descendants of Robert the Bruce whose daughter Marjorie
Marjorie Bruce
Marjorie Bruce or Marjorie de Brus was the eldest daughter of Robert the Bruce, King of Scots by his first wife, Isabella of Mar, and the founder of the Stewart dynasty. Her marriage to Walter, High Steward of Scotland gave rise to the House of Stewart...
married then Walter Stewart, 6th High Steward of Scotland
Walter Stewart, 6th High Steward of Scotland
Walter Stewart was the 6th hereditary High Steward of Scotland. He was also the father of King Robert II of Scotland.-Biography:...
, in 1315. Their son, King Robert II of Scotland
Robert II of Scotland
Robert II became King of Scots in 1371 as the first monarch of the House of Stewart. He was the son of Walter Stewart, hereditary High Steward of Scotland and of Marjorie Bruce, daughter of Robert I and of his first wife Isabella of Mar...
, became the first Stuart King
House of Stuart
The House of Stuart is a European royal house. Founded by Robert II of Scotland, the Stewarts first became monarchs of the Kingdom of Scotland during the late 14th century, and subsequently held the position of the Kings of Great Britain and Ireland...
.
History
The original house was built in 1719 by the 2nd Earl of ButeJames Stuart, 2nd Earl of Bute
James Stuart, 2nd Earl of Bute was the son of James Stuart, 1st Earl of Bute and Agnes Mackenzie.-Family:In February 1711, he married Lady Anne Campbell and had eight children:*John Stuart, 3rd Earl of Bute *James Stuart-Mackenzie James Stuart, 2nd Earl of Bute (before 1696 – January 28, 1723)...
, but rebuilt by the 3rd Marquess of Bute following a fire on 3 December 1877. After his earlier creations of Cardiff Castle
Cardiff Castle
Cardiff Castle is a medieval castle and Victorian architecture Gothic revival mansion, transformed from a Norman keep erected over a Roman fort in the Castle Quarter of Cardiff, the capital of Wales. The Castle is a Grade I Listed Building.-The Roman fort:...
and Castell Coch
Castell Coch
Castell Coch is a 19th-century Gothic Revival castle built on the remains of a genuine 13th-century fortification. It is situated on a steep hillside high above the village of Tongwynlais, to the north of Cardiff in Wales, and is a Grade I listed building as of 28 January 1963.Designed by William...
in Cardiff
Cardiff
Cardiff is the capital, largest city and most populous county of Wales and the 10th largest city in the United Kingdom. The city is Wales' chief commercial centre, the base for most national cultural and sporting institutions, the Welsh national media, and the seat of the National Assembly for...
, the Marquess imported many of the builders and workman he had already used in South Wales
South Wales
South Wales is an area of Wales bordered by England and the Bristol Channel to the east and south, and Mid Wales and West Wales to the north and west. The most densely populated region in the south-west of the United Kingdom, it is home to around 2.1 million people and includes the capital city of...
. The main part of the present house is a flamboyant example of 19th century Gothic Revival architecture
Gothic Revival architecture
The Gothic Revival is an architectural movement that began in the 1740s in England...
built in a reddish brown stone. Mount Stuart's major features include the colonnaded Marble Hall at the centre of the main block and the Marble Chapel, which has an elaborate spired tower which is the tallest part of the building (not visible on photo right). Two earlier wings in a strikingly different style survive. They are much smaller in scale, have Georgian style sash windows and are painted white.
The Mount Stuart House contains the world's first heated pool in any house and was the first home in Scotland to be lit by electricity.
During the First World War the house was volunteered by the Lady Augusta Bute to the Admiralty for use as a Naval Hospital. The hospital operated from 1915–1919 and the Lord and Lady Bute were recognized by the Admiralty for their generous contributions.
Present day
A major programme of renovation and refurbishment was carried out by the late 6th MarquessJohn Crichton-Stuart, 6th Marquess of Bute
John Crichton-Stuart, 6th Marquess of Bute, KBE was the son of the 5th Marquess of Bute and the former Lady Eileen Forbes ....
before the house was opened to the public in 1995. The incumbent 7th Marquess of Bute
John Crichton-Stuart, 7th Marquess of Bute
John Colum Crichton-Stuart, 7th Marquess of Bute , styled Earl of Dumfries before 1993 and from this courtesy title usually known as Johnny Dumfries, is a Scottish peer and a former racing driver. He does not use his title and prefers to be known solely as John Bute...
, known as Johnny Bute, opened an award-winning contemporary visitor centre in 2001 that tells the story of the family and estate. The grounds and interiors host a programme of contemporary visual arts
Visual arts
The visual arts are art forms that create works which are primarily visual in nature, such as ceramics, drawing, painting, sculpture, printmaking, design, crafts, and often modern visual arts and architecture...
from May to September.
On 30 August 2003 fashion designer Stella McCartney
Stella McCartney
Stella Nina McCartney is an English fashion designer. She is the daughter of former Beatles member Sir Paul McCartney and the late photographer and animal rights activist, Linda McCartney.-Early life:...
married publisher Alasdhair Willis at the house.