Ardkinglas
a noble history
Situated on the shores of Loch Fyne in Argyll, against a spectacular background of mountain and forest, Ardkinglas Estate covers about 4,800 hectares. Ardkinglas House is an architectural gem and provides a very special setting for weddings, family parties and other events. The house is still a muchloved family home and although not open to the public on a regular basis, a private tour of the house can be booked at any time of the year. A public tour is available every Friday from April to October. Booking is essential. House tours which include access to the garden are available every Friday from April to October at 2pm. Phone 01499 600261 or email info@ardkinglas.com The Woodland Garden is open all the year round. It has an outstanding collection of plants and trees, including the Mightiest Conifer in Europe. Ardkinglas Estate was bought by Sir Andrew Noble in 1905 when he was 74 and his wife 77. Sir Andrew made his fortune in armaments, working for Armstrongs of Newcastle, where he became chairman of the company by 1900. He often holidayed in Scotland and when Ardkinglas came on the market he was persuaded by his daughter Lily to buy it. None of the sons wanted Sir Andrew to buy Ardkinglas. Announcing the purchase on November 29, 1905, Sir Andrew sent a telegram from Newcastle to Lily in London saying: ‘We have Ardkinglas should like to see you tomorrow. Noble’. The 33,000 acre estate cost him £62,000. Sir Andrew was introduced to Scottish architect and furniture designer Sir Robert Lorimer by a friend, Cameron Corbett, and quickly decided that this was the architect to build him a hunting lodge and holiday home on the land. Sir Robert was delighted with the commission as his rich client left him with a very free hand with only Lily, who was the moving spirit behind Ardkinglas being involved. Sir Robert found her support and encouragement invaluable. The project was to be completed quickly due to Sir Andrew’s age and he was keen to see the finished product. Sir Andrew said: ‘This big job I have on Loch Fyne I mean to handle as I’ve never handled a job before. ‘The ground is to be broken on May 1 and the dear old gent wants to eat his dinner in it on August 1, 1907.’ In the end it took 20 months to build. The house is light and airy being built round a central courtyard. The men’s part of the house is on the ground floor – billiard room and library, study and gun room. The ladies part is on the first floor. This means the women had glorious views over the loch. There are two sets of outside steps so that the women could easily reach the garden. This house was built to be enjoyed by both family and servants and utilised the most up to date technology – there was fire fighting equipment, a phone system, safes, central heating, a lift, and a dumb waiter. It was the first house in Argyll to have hydro-electricity, which was produced from its own hydro scheme. Lorimer dammed the Kinglas and built the powerhouse. The electroliers were designed not to have shades so that they could show off the electric lighting. Every detail was designed and commissioned: plaster work wood panelling, carved newels, door handles, electroliers. But because he tended to work with the same craftmen, Cameron Corbett only had to produce the roughest of drawings for them to work from. For example he thought light switches should be about two feet from the floor, just the level your hand is at. Scott Morton and Co provided the internal woodwork and Thomas Beattie and Sam Wilson created the plasterwork. Thomas Hadden created the art ironwork, including the radiator grills, and Henshaw produced the lighting. The windows were made by Louis Davis who was an English watercolourist, book illustrator and stained-glass window artist. He was active in the Arts and Crafts movement. He glazed the choir windows in Dunblane Abbey and several of the windows in the chapel of the Order of the Thistle at St Giles Catherdral in Edinburgh.
‘The ground is to be broken on May 1 and the dear old gent wants to eat his dinner in it on August 1, 1907.’