LUXURY HOMES: Vaulted ambitions - Inside Mount Stuart

Described in one of the events planned this year as the “Madcap Dream Of A Marquess”, no other house had ever been so ambitious, grandiose or luxurious … in Scotland, certainly, and probably far beyond.

It is thought to be the first private home in the world to house a heated swimming pool; the first in Scotland to be built for electric, not gas, lighting; the first with central heating, a telephone system and a lift.

While it is indeed “madcap” in some of its excesses, of which more later, the house is just one of the 3rd Marquess of Bute’s many remarkable architectural projects, and just one aspect of his equally remarkable life.
First some context: John Patrick Crichton-Stuart, came from a line of driven individuals.

“The Black Stewart”, an illegitimate son of King Robert II of Scotland and great-grandson of Robert the Bruce, was gifted Bute and Arran in the 14th century. Later, the 3rd Earl of Bute, a close associate of George III, served as First Lord of the Treasury (the role now titled Prime Minister).

Around this time, family estates grew like large corporations … discussions over marriage were the Wall Street acquisition negotiations of their time.

Through careful matches, each generation amassed greater wealth. The family tree spread its branches, merging with the wealthiest landowners in Europe, reaching further and further from Bute, acquiring lands, titles, treasures and artworks.

The first in the line to be titled Marquess married twice and accumulated swathes of land, including much of south Wales. The 2nd Marquess developed the then village of Cardiff into a dock to export Welsh coal, the fuel that was driving industrial expansion.

His ambitious plan almost crippled the family and he reputedly told his solicitor in 1844, “I am willing to think well of my income in the distance.” Sadly he did not live long enough to see the returns … but they were indeed vast.

The 3rd Marquess was a baby when his father died and a decade later his mother passed away – psychologists could argue that it was this that gave him the resilience and ambition needed to achieve so much.

With his wealth, the 3rd Marquess started to build on a grand scale. In addition to creating Mount Stuart, he gave generously to works at St Andrews, Edinburgh and Glasgow universities – today graduates in Glasgow collect their degrees in the Bute Hall.

He commissioned William Burges to renovate the lavish Cardiff Castle and Castell Coch and the architect John Kinross was employed to restore both Falkland Palace and Greyfriars in Elgin. He was, arguably, Britain’s greatest architectural patron of the last three centuries.  

When, in 1877, a fire destroyed much of the first family home at Mount Stuart, the 3rd Marquess took his chance to create a magnificent phoenix from the ashes, engaging the architect RR Anderson for the project.

A cargo boat landing dock, a railway line, a village and even a small hospital were first constructed at the site to cope with scale of the project. As well as the aforementioned swimming pool there are two chapels, three pipe organs, at least six balconies including two quite remarkable full-length walkways at fourth floor level, and an attic games room with a private escape stairway.

It was lavish. The central three-tiered arched Marble Hall required 13 types of Italian and Sicilian marble as well as an “English marble”, a stunning black fossilised limestone, for its assembly.

Bright spots of coloured light pierce the ceilings like modern LEDs – cleverly designed light tunnels – and star-like prisms in the windows flood the hall with tiny rainbows. Incorporated into the build are artworks including stained glass by HW Londsdale and an exquisite mosaic of the Virgin and Child created by Russian religious artist Viktor Vasnetzov.

The 3rd Marquess peppered the commission with works reflecting his own interests in the occult, religion and astrology. The 12 stained glass windows of the Marble Hall represent the signs of the zodiac and the ceiling of the Horoscope Room shows the exact position of the planets at the time of the his birth on September 12, 1847.

He appeared to have a lust for life that was unusual in Victorian Britain. He was present at the birth of all his four children, he established St Andrews University’s first female professorship, to teach anatomy to women.

He would not allow blood sports on the estate … in contrast to many of his contemporaries. He established a botanical garden and even introduced beavers, porcupines, kangaroos, and wallabies to Bute (it is said the last wallaby was killed by one of the first cars on the island). 

He studied languages – reputedly speaking 21 and writing in 14, including Latin into which he commissioned translations of works such as The Roman Breviary in 1879.

But the building of the house itself was perhaps the project by which the 3rd Marquess was most energised.

And the family’s treasures contained inside are as impressive at the building itself. Mount Stuart’s staggering hoard may even match that of Sir William Burrell, impressive though that is.

The extensive collections are is still being catalogued but they are already known to include the recently publicised first folio of Shakespeare’s plays, an annotated book of Burns poems, a controversial 16th century book debunking witchcraft and miracles, and even the complete printed transcript of a handwritten account the execution of Mary Queen of Scots.

There are paintings by Allan Ramsay and Sir Joshua Reynolds, a portrait of Henry VIII, and a recently discovered chest of family jewels … there is simply too much to describe … or even to display.

There is little doubt that Mount Stuart is an extraordinary real-life illustration of the passions of one extraordinary dynasty. But in a bitter twist, the 3rd Marquess himself did not live to see his work completed. And a look at the mausoleum gravestones shows that all the Marquesses have died at a comparatively young age.

Perhaps the ambitious building project was not so much a pompous way of displaying vast wealth, but more, an orphan’s attempt to leave a lasting legacy in one all-too-brief lifetime.

Year of Innovation Architecture & Design
Daily architecture tours at 11am until October 30, free with entry.
 
Year of Innovation Architecture & Design The Madcap Dream Of A Marquess, all week, September 12 to 18.

Festival of
Architecture 2016
Munkenbeck and Marshall designed Visitors Centre at Mount Stuart named as one of the best buildings of the last 100 years. Check www.foa2016.com/scotstyle

Visiting
House and garden entry £11.50/£9.50 (concessions). Check www.mountstuart.com
A combo ticket with 35min ferry from Wemyss Bay, 10min bus from Rothesay, and entry, £17.15, from www.calmac.co.uk