Former home of Lord Butler for sale on Mull

Frachadil House, the

Isle of Mull holiday home of former government minister Lord

Rab Butler, is for sale for offers over £625,000.

Lord Butler, Baron Butler of Saffron Walden, served as Chancellor of the Exchequer from 1951 to 1955, Home Secretary, 1957 to 1962, Deputy Prime Minister, 1962 to 1963) and Foreign Secretary, 1963 to 1964). Rab and his second wife Mollie Butler bought Frachadil in 1961 and holidayed in the house for 20 years, often visiting three times a year until he was too ill to travel.

The book ‘August and Rab, A Memoir’, written by Mollie Butler in 1987, includes the following reference: ‘Rab and I spent 20 summers there and very often went up in winter and at Easter, in fact so much did he love it that my occasional suggestion of a holiday in France or Italy generally went unheeded.

‘It is difficult to convey in words the magic of that place; its hold upon our hearts was absolute.’

The property is situated in an elevated position close to Calgary Bay and is one of only a few houses on Mull enjoying views of the Small Isles of Eigg, Muck, Rhum and Canna.

The Isle of Skye and the lighthouse at Ardnamurchan Point, the most westerly mainland point in Great Britain, are also visible from the house.

Dating from the 1600s, Frachadil House is an impressive B-listed country house offering privacy, land, beautiful views and a wonderful Hebridean lifestyle.

Nicky Archibald of Galbraith, who is handling the sale, said: ‘This is a superb island home, benefiting from a picturesque and tranquil setting, surrounded by delightful grounds with a walled garden and woodland.’

Part of the house has been let successfully as self-catering accommodation and another part of the house welcomed bed and breakfast guests.