A HUSBAND and wife from Utah in the US have been revealed as the buyers of a historic Scottish castle, in a filing with Registers of Scotland.
Utah attorney David Okerlund Leavitt and Chelom Eastwood Leavitt paid £1.15 million for Knockderry Castle at Cove in Argyll, which was sold by Shepherd Chartered Surveyors and joint agent Strutt & Parker on behalf of the trustee of the sequestrated estate of Mariam van Overwaele, the filing shows.
The property was marketed with an asking price of offers over £1.25m.
Ms Leavitt, who taught law in Eastern Europe, is an assistant professor at Brigham Young University.
BYU describes itself as the “flagship higher education institution of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints”.
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Detailing Ms Leavitt’s research interests, the BYU website states: “Dr Leavitt studies variables that create healthier relationships. She examines how being aware and present during sex is associated with relational and sexual satisfaction. Dr Leavitt also studies how the sexual experience of women may differ from men.”
The assistant professor’s biography on the BYU website reads: “Born and raised in Yakima, Washington, Chelom began her college education at Brigham Young University studying economics. She then attended Law School at BYU. During her legal career, Chelom taught law in Eastern Europe. It was there that she became interested in family relationships and how to create stronger bonds within these relationships. She finished a master's degree in marriage, family and human development at BYU in 2010 and returned to Ukraine as a 2010-2011 Fulbright Fellow to research and teach on family relationships. She then attended Penn State where she earned her PhD in human development and family studies.”
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Ms Leavitt’s website notes: “[On] the first day of law school Chelom met David Leavitt and they married after their first year of law school…Chelom and David Leavitt have been married for 31 years and they have eight children.”
Knockderry Castle is an A-listed Baronial castle designed by Alexander "Greek" Thomson with additions by William Leiper.
Shepherd said, when the sale was announced earlier this month, that the new owners intend to "restore the entire property and its surrounds to its former glory".
It added that the castle's A-listing has "more to do with the exceptional Leiperian interior which is considered one of the finest domestic interiors of its style in Scotland".
Gary Louttit, head of hospitality and leisure at Shepherd, said earlier this month: “We are delighted to have been instructed to sell such a stunning building and to have completed the sale of Knockderry Castle after going to a closing date on behalf of our clients.”
The castle was built in the mid-19th century for James Templeton, the Scottish textile manufacturer.
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