Table Of Content
- Thinking of selling?
- Dumfries House - A modern success story for a house steeped in Scottish history
- Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II
- Visit our cafe for teas and coffees throughout the day
- Become a Historic Houses member
- The Family Bedroom
- The latest news from Dumfries House and The Prince's Foundation
- Covering any concerns you may have ahead of your making your booking.
Other highlights include the recently-restored 17th century dovecot and picturesque Chinese Bridge, a late 19th-century crossing of the Lugar Water. Dumfries House remained a private residence until 2007, when it was announced that the house would be sold and its contents auctioned off separately. This encouraged outcry from preservationists who wished to see the house kept in its entirety. Dumfries, exquisite and well looked after though it was, had not been lived in by the family for some 150 years, except for a near-40-year residency by the fifth marquess’s widow, from 1956 to 1993. Coach Parking is available in close proximity to the House by pre-booking only. Please follow brown tourist signs for coach access, which is off the A70 at The Dumfries House Lodge entrance.
Thinking of selling?
Dumfries House: Dog show entry now open - Cumnock Chronicle
Dumfries House: Dog show entry now open.
Posted: Fri, 11 Aug 2023 07:00:00 GMT [source]
Due to its age, much of the collection is very fragile and visitors can only walk on certain areas of the floor coverings and even the guides have to stand on small circles of reproduction carpet. That shouldn’t deter people from visiting as the interiors, furnished with numerous examples of Chippendale’s early work, are truly remarkable. Each public room is a treasure trove of lavish furnishings and visitors can only marvel at the sight of the collection of Chippendale’s work, complemented by items supplied by the three Scottish cabinet makers. In fact, Chippendale, the finest designer of his time, supplied many of the furnishings for Dumfries House.
Dumfries House - A modern success story for a house steeped in Scottish history
If you proceed to make a booking you will leave our Website and visit a website owned and operated by a third party. VisitScotland does not have any control over the content or availability of any external website. A year after the build had begun, Lord Dumfries' wife, Lady Anne Gordon, died. He set out to furnish the house, drawing largely on the rococo style, with a vision of an elegant interior and spent considerable sums to realise his plan. In addition to a large commission from the talented Scottish wrights Alexander Peter, Francis Brodie and William Mathie, the Earl hand-picked the finest furniture from the workshop of Thomas Chippendale, thereby creating one of the most treasured interiors of the Scottish Enlightenment.
Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II
Visitors can explore the beautiful setting with ancient trees, the Adam Bridge, river walks, a doo’cot and the wildlife. Exciting modern developments are also in progress supporting the social, educational and economical aspirations of the Dumfries House project. Dumfries House is one of Britain’s most beautiful stately homes and best kept heritage secrets.
Visit our cafe for teas and coffees throughout the day
Dumfries House is now open to the public all year round and offers guided tours around its impressive interiors. These tours showcase both the architecture of the house as well as the collections of art, antiques and in particular the furniture of Thomas Chippendale, a leading 18th century Scottish cabinet maker. Efforts began with the removal of furniture for restoration—all except the most valuable item, a rare Chippendale rosewood bookcase, which was looked after in situ. (Estimated by Christie’s to be worth as much as $8 million, it likely would have set a record price for a piece of English furniture had it been sold.) Prince Charles and his consultants made a point of employing scores of laborers from across Great Britain to work at Dumfries.
Become a Historic Houses member
The landscape is continually evolving with interesting garden areas, follies and sculptures to discover. Loans from the Royal Collection Trust, National Galleries of Scotland and the Fleming-Wyfold Art Foundation will feature on this 90 minute tour of the artworks. Dumfries House was marred with scandal again when the Prince’s Foundation launched an ethics investigation last week, following allegations that individuals could pay £100,000 to secure a dinner with the prince and an overnight stay at Dumfries House, the Mail on Sunday reported. The education of the young is particularly important, with children encouraged to learn without being in a formal classroom situation so they learn without realizing it.
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The latest news from Dumfries House and The Prince's Foundation
Worried that the armchairs might be damaged during the journey from London, Chippendale had them packed in wooden boxes and suggested to the Earl that he ‘order the Carriages to have such covering as will turn rain lest they show’d [should] meet it on the road’. Chippendale even sent one of his assistants, paid one guinea (£1.05) a week, to unpack and assemble the chairs and other furnishings, including the rosewood breakfront bookcase which is now one of the principal showpieces among the House’s priceless collection of Chippendale furniture. Although previous structures existed at the site, the house as we know it today was built in the 1750s for William Dalrymple, 5th Earl of Dumfries.
Covering any concerns you may have ahead of your making your booking.
The estate also hosts a model working farm stocked with rare breeds and a traditional crafts skill center, teaching techniques such as drystone walling. Fashions were changing when the 5th Earl of Dumfries, William Crichton Dalrymple, inherited the estate in 1742. Whatever else might be said of the 5th Earl he seems to have had the ability to recognize genius in those who had yet to make their name in their chosen career. That talent saw him commission Robert and John Adam, who would later become major figures in the field of architecture, to design his new home for him. The foundation stone was laid in 1754 and the building, which cost the then substantial sum of £7,979, was completed five years later.
On the death of the 6th Marquess of Bute in 1993, ownership of the house and estate passed to his son, the racing driver Johnny Dumfries. The family also owned Mount Stuart, a stately home on the island of Bute, and, with Dumfries House surplus to requirements, the family offered the property to the National Trust for Scotland in 2004. The stunning result is a unique collection of furnishings more important than the building itself.
Demonstrating his keen and continued interest, the prince makes an appearance at the estate five or six times a year, on which occasions he entertains, putters in the garden, and occupies a suite decorated to his taste and reserved for his use alone. (During the March-to-October visiting season, these are some of the few rooms not on public view.) His Royal Highness’s arrivals sometimes coincide with the departures of tour groups, which delights all parties, as Rostek recounts. “He loves chatting with guests during these impromptu encounters,” she says. Recently the prince even gave bridal advice when he met with the first couple planning to marry at Dumfries—the first of many, no doubt.
The water-based play park uses small water wheels, an Archimedes screw, and other techniques to teach the children about water as a power source. Invited by my guide to try out a see-saw, I was startled when a column of water shot into the air a few feet in front of me. The Prince is still very much the driving force behind the project and, in order to implement his vision, he enlisted the help of various sponsors who have also bought into the concept.
Through his UK-registered charity, Vardanyan raised a further £1.5m to refurbish one of the estate’s outbuildings to provide 16 luxury rooms that could be rented out to visitors. The structure has been renamed the Dilijan Building, after a school in Armenia sponsored by Vardanyan. A 10-year partnership was also created, with students from Dilijan attending regular courses at the estate, the Guardian reported at the time. With time running out it appeared that no individual or group would be able to come up with the required funds and the house and contents was literally on the point of being put up for auction. That was when Prince Charles, (the Duke of Rothesay to give him his Scottish title) stepped in, raising a loan for £20 million and attracting funding from numerous other sources. The house and estate are now owned and run by the Great Steward of Scotland’s (another of Prince Charles’ Scottish titles) Dumfries House Trust.
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