Mount Stuart House, Isle of Bute

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• published: 20 Sep 2016
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Mount Stuart House on the east coast of the Isle of Bute, Scotland, is a Gothic Revival country house and the ancestral home of the Marquesses of Bute. It was designed by Sir Robert Rowand Anderson for the 3rd Marquess of Bute in the late 1870s, replacing an earlier house by Alexander McGill, which burnt down in 1877. The house is a Category A listed building. The house is the seat of the Stuarts of Bute, derived from the hereditary office "Steward of Bute" held since 1157. The family are direct male-line descendants of John Stewart, the illegitimate son of King Robert II of Scotland, the first Stuart King, by his mistress, Moira Leitch. By virtue of this descent, they are also descendants of Robert the Bruce, whose daughter Marjorie was mother of Robert II by her marriage to Walter Stewart, 6th High Steward of Scotland. The original house was built in 1719 by the 2nd Earl of Bute, but rebuilt by the 3rd Marquess of Bute following a fire on 3 December 1877. After his earlier creations of Cardiff Castle and Castell Coch in Cardiff, the Marquess used many of the builders and workman he had employed in South Wales, including William Burges and much of that architect's team. Burges built an oratory at the house. The main part of the present house is a flamboyant example of 19th-century Gothic Revival architecture, 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 above). Two earlier wings in a strikingly different style survive. They are much smaller in scale, have Georgian-style sash windows and are painted white. Much of the furniture was custom-designed for the house by Robert Weir Schultz in the early years of the 20th century. He also laid out many sections of the gardens. The Mount Stuart House claims to be home to the world's first heated pool in any house, it was the first home in Scotland to be lit by electricity and so may have been the first to have an electrically heated pool. Certainly any tradition of fire-heated encasements and pool water in British houses goes back to the Roman era. In April 2016 it was announced that a Shakespeare First Folio had been discovered in the House's Library. The house is open to the public. Source: Wikipedia Did you know? Mount Stewart owns the first edition of a book of Shakespeare, published in London in 1623, and is the first time is exposed to the public, is valued at millions of pounds. In the room of St Margaret, it is the silver box-shaped heart, which contains part of the heart of Robert the Bruce. The next room is the room of Henry 8th, has the bed, and mobility belonging to the king. Mount Stewart was the first house to have electricity and elevator. Today you can use the massage room and pool, have a drink of champagne, whisky and smoking , eating a cake, and use one of the rooms, which are usually rented for weddings. The building is made of iron and marble from Carrara, Italy, stained glass ceilings that let in outside light, give a magical effect to the house. Unlike other houses and palaces, all containing Mount Stewart, is original. The property is invaluable. Credit Photos: M.Parkins & D.Martin ©2016 Credit video : Scottish Community Coimhearsneachd na h-Alba ©2016