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.
Bu hikaye Country Life UK dergisinin August 28, 2019 sayısından alınmıştır.
Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 9,000+ magazines and newspapers.
Already a subscriber ? Giriş Yap
Bu hikaye Country Life UK dergisinin August 28, 2019 sayısından alınmıştır.
Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 9,000+ magazines and newspapers.
Already a subscriber? Giriş Yap
Happiness in small things
Putting life into perspective and forces of nature in farming
Colour vision
In an eye-baffling arrangement of geometric shapes, a sinister-looking clown and a little girl, Test Card F is one of television’s most enduring images, says Rob Crossan
'Without fever there is no creation'
Three of the top 10 operas performed worldwide are by the emotionally volatile Italian composer Giacomo Puccini, who died a century ago. Henrietta Bredin explains how his colourful life influenced his melodramatic plot lines
The colour revolution
Toxic, dull or fast-fading pigments had long made it tricky for artists to paint verdant scenes, but the 19th century ushered in a viridescent explosion of waterlili
Bullace for you
The distinction between plums, damsons and bullaces is sweetly subtle, boiling down to flavour and aesthetics, but don’t eat the stones, warns John Wright
Lights, camera, action!
Three remarkable country houses, two of which have links to the film industry, the other the setting for a top-class croquet tournament, are anything but ordinary
I was on fire for you, where did you go?
In Iceland, a land with no monks or monkeys, our correspondent attempts to master the art of fishing light’ for Salmo salar, by stroking the creases and dimples of the Midfjardara river like the features of a loved one
Bravery bevond belief
A teenager on his gap year who saved a boy and his father from being savaged by a crocodile is one of a host of heroic acts celebrated in a book to mark the 250th anniversary of the Royal Humane Society, says its author Rupert Uloth
Let's get to the bottom of this
Discovering a well on your property can be viewed as a blessing or a curse, but all's well that ends well, says Deborah Nicholls-Lee, as she examines the benefits of a personal water supply
Sing on, sweet bird
An essential component of our emotional relationship with the landscape, the mellifluous song of a thrush shapes the very foundation of human happiness, notes Mark Cocker, as he takes a closer look at this diverse family of birds