Ardgowan House, Renfrewshire The seat of Sir Ludovic Shaw Stewart, Bt
A major Scottish house never previously covered in the pages of Country Life is coming back to life. John Goodall reports on this remarkable building and its fascinating story
The association of the Shaw Stewarts with the estate can be traced back to 1404, when Robert III, King of Scotland, granted Ardgowan to his natural son, John Stewart, as part of a wider reorganisation of the Barony of Renfrew (which became Renfrewshire).
John presumably assumed possession of an existing residence on the site: Inverkip Castle, which took its name from the village immediately south of Ardgowan on the banks of the Firth of Clyde.
This castle emerges from historical obscurity during the Anglo-Scottish wars of the early 14th century, when its direct connection to the sea made it a useful English base. In 1304, for example, Robert Bruce, Earl of Carrick, wrote to Edward I (whom he was then serving) explaining that he could not find a cart big enough to move the frame of a ‘great engine’ or catapult at Inverkip. Presumably, it had arrived by ship. The King wrote back to urge its immediate delivery, together with stone shot and lead counterweights, for the siege of Stirling.
Nothing is securely known about the form or architectural development of Inverkip Castle. It could, indeed, have stood on a different site altogether. Nevertheless, it is presumed that a medieval tower about 200 yards south of Ardgowan House formed part of the castle’s late-medieval fortifications (Fig 2). Certainly, it stands on a commanding site protected by steep slopes.
この記事は Country Life UK の August 28, 2019 版に掲載されています。
7 日間の Magzter GOLD 無料トライアルを開始して、何千もの厳選されたプレミアム ストーリー、9,000 以上の雑誌や新聞にアクセスしてください。
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この記事は Country Life UK の August 28, 2019 版に掲載されています。
7 日間の Magzter GOLD 無料トライアルを開始して、何千もの厳選されたプレミアム ストーリー、9,000 以上の雑誌や新聞にアクセスしてください。
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