In 1868 the family ..........

........ outgrew their 4 storey house and embarked on building a new mansion house.

Designed by James Campbell Walker, who was contracted at the time as architect to Andrew Carnegie and was involved in improvement work at Blair Castle, the build took 4 years to complete.

In 1921 a fire gripped the building. A servant was sent the 6 miles to Stirling to inform Sir Kay, the owner, who was playing tennis. When the servant arrived Sir Kay insisted in finishing his game before listenening to him. The result was that almost half of the house was raised to the ground.

Above is the view looking upwards to the Minstrels Gallery off the great hall or gallery. This is the only part of the orignal carved wooden ceiling which survived the fire.

It is a beautiful piece of art, the workmanship in the carvings is truly magnificent.


Additional info as so many of you have commented about the house:
The house was rebuilt and I will blip some more about it over the coming months. Every September it is open to the public for Doors Open Day. It would be good to meet some of you then if you live close by and feel inclined to see it in real life so to speak.