Where is Dunrobin
Castle
North of Inverness, near the village of Golspie, Dunrobin
is the most northerly of the great houses of Scotland. It is a private
house, seat of the Earls and Dukes of Sutherland, and owned by the Countess
of Sutherland.
It is open to the public every day between Easter and September
History of Dunrobin Castle
The Earldom of Sutherland was created in 1235, and
a castle appears to have stood on this site since then.
The early castle was a fortified, square keep looking out from its cliff top position
Sir Charles Barry, was retained in 1845 to completely re-model the castle. To change it from a fort to a house in the "Scottish Baronial" style that had become popular among the aristocracy. Barry had been the architect for the House of Commons in London and was much in demand. There are 189 rooms, making it the largest house in the northern Highlands
There is a decided French influence to the whole project, including the gardens, based on Versailles.It has a distinct air of "French Scottish"
Barry's house, with 189 rooms is in the popular vein. Much of Barry's interior was destroyed by a fire in 1915. The interior you see today is mainly the work of the Scottish architect, Sir Robert Lorimer.
The 5th Duke died in 1963, and with the convoluted way of British nobility succession, the Earldom and the house went to the current Countess of Sutherland, the Dukedom to somebody else.
The house became a boy's boarding school for a period of seven years from the late 1960's before reverting back to being a family house.
An exhibition includes the colours of the 93rd Sutherland Highlanders, the famous thin red line at Balaclava.
The Dukes of Sutherland were part of Scotland's bloody past, with their part in the Highland Clearances
