Inveraray Castle - Duke of Argyll

Feeling at risk of getting drenched again on another hike, we started the day with a visit to Inveraray castle.  It is the home of the current Chief of Clan Campbell and the 13th Duke of Argyll.  This castle dates back to the 1700s.  An older one was located near the same site but fell into disrepair and was destroyed to make this one.  I don't think it was ever used as a fortification.  It had large windows and no real strategic location.  The gardens were not as old as some of the others we've visited, but very nice just the same.  The rose garden here was just starting to bloom.

This is the current Duke and his wife on their wedding day in 2001.  They now have three kids ages 11, 9, and 7.  There were pictures of the family around the castle and it made it seem more like a home than a museum (which is was).  This was the only castle we've visited that allows photos inside, yea!

This is the dining room.  The original kitchen was in the basement, but a new modern one has been added just off this room.  It is used for some family dinners and also rented out for private parties.  The chairs have french tapestries for the apolstry.  The duke who bought them got two originals, then had his own artisans make copies of them for the full set.

The ceiling was painted by two french artists.  It looks 3D, but is just a flat ceiling.  Pretty good work!

There were four different little ships like this that each had a different function on the serving table.  It wasn't quite clear what was what though.

One of the Dukes liked to impress his guests by having a different set of china for each course of the meal.  There was one set that was from Japan in the early 1800s.  It still surprises me how goods could travel so far back then.

This is the sitting room.

The shutters on the windows were handpainted and quite lovely

This is a close up of the red squirrels that live in the area and are endangered.

Who would have guessed the Duke of Argyll was a Shocker fan? (Yellow and Black - WSU colors!)
Family tree for the Duke of Argyll (whose title was originally Earl, but he was promoted a few generations back).

 This chandelier had 900 pieces and was taken down once a year for cleaning.

Beautiful marble top table with 200 different pieces of marble.

I think the most unique feature of this castle is the atrium in the center.  It reaches from the ground floor up four stories.  If you look at the exterior of the castle, you can see the tallest center part has all arched windows in it.  These let in the sunlight you see in the photo.  Not at all gloomy and dark like many castles.  The weapons on display here are all functional weapons, not collector pieces.  The rifles in the full circle were actually used at the Battle of Culloden 1746 (the Duke was flighting with the govn't against the Jacobites and his forces were armed with rifles and nasty looking bayonnets).  The guide said the rifles had all been test fired a few years ago and still worked.

The salon.

If you look closely at this photo at the top and the left side, you can see  visible line on the canvas.  This fellow (can't remember his name) decided he wanted his portrait to be the same size as his step brother's portrait that hung across the room, but it was a few feet too small, so he had it enlarged!

The portrait he was trying to match in size.

 

How'd you like to where a badger around your waist?  This was part of the dress uniform for one of the Highland troop officers in WWI.

The most 'haunted' room of the castle.  Four different spirits are alleged to haunt the castle and have been seen in this rom.

The old kitchen in the basement was used up until the 1950s.  All the copper cookingware was well used.

I loved this rotisserie feature.  It was geared with a fan blade that was lodged in the chimney, so when the heat from the cooking fires rose, it would turn the pig on the spit.