Balloch Castle is an early 19th-century country house situated at the southern tip of
Loch Lomond
Loch Lomond (; gd, Loch Laomainn - 'Lake of the Elms'Richens, R. J. (1984) ''Elm'', Cambridge University Press.) is a freshwater Scottish loch which crosses the Highland Boundary Fault, often considered the boundary between the lowlands of Ce ...
, in
West Dunbartonshire
West Dunbartonshire ( sco, Wast Dunbairtonshire; gd, Siorrachd Dhùn Breatann an Iar, ) is one of the 32 local government council areas of Scotland. The area lies to the west of the City of Glasgow and contains many of Glasgow's commuter town ...
, Scotland. Balloch was a property of the
Lennox family
Lennox may refer to:
Places
* Lennox (district), Scotland
*Lennox and Addington, electoral district in Ontario, Canada
** Lennox (electoral district), a former electoral district in Ontario (1867–1904)
*Lennox County, Ontario, Canada
* Lennox, ...
from the 11th century, and the old castle was built in the 13th century. In the 19th century the estate was purchased by John Buchanan of Ardoch, who demolished the ruins of the old castle and erected the present building. The Tudor Gothic architecture is the work of
Robert Lugar
Robert Lugar (1773 – 23 June 1855), was a British architect and engineer in the Industrial Revolution.
Although born in Colchester, England, Lugar carried out much of his most important work in Scotland and Wales, where he was employed by s ...
. In 1915 Balloch was bought by Glasgow City Corporation, and has been leased by West Dunbartonshire Council since 1975. The estate was designated as a
country park
A country park is a natural area designated for people to visit and enjoy recreation in a countryside environment.
United Kingdom
History
In the United Kingdom, the term ''country park'' has a special meaning. There are around 250 recognised coun ...
in 1980, and since 2002 has been part of
Loch Lomond and The Trossachs National Park. Although the house has been periodically used for visitor facilities and council offices, it is now included on the
Buildings at Risk Register. Balloch Castle is a
category A listed building
Category, plural categories, may refer to:
Philosophy and general uses
*Categorization, categories in cognitive science, information science and generally
*Category of being
*Categories (Aristotle), ''Categories'' (Aristotle)
*Category (Kant)
...
, and the estate is included on the
Inventory of Gardens and Designed Landscapes in Scotland
The ''Inventory of Gardens and Designed Landscapes in Scotland'' is a listing of gardens and designed landscapes of national artistic and/or historical significance, in Scotland. The Inventory was originally compiled in 1987, although it is a conti ...
.
History
The old castle
The lands of Balloch were granted to the
Lennox family
Lennox may refer to:
Places
* Lennox (district), Scotland
*Lennox and Addington, electoral district in Ontario, Canada
** Lennox (electoral district), a former electoral district in Ontario (1867–1904)
*Lennox County, Ontario, Canada
* Lennox, ...
in 1072 by
King Malcolm III
Malcolm III ( mga, Máel Coluim mac Donnchada, label=Medieval Gaelic; gd, Maol Chaluim mac Dhonnchaidh; died 13 November 1093) was King of Scotland from 1058 to 1093. He was later nicknamed "Canmore" ("ceann mòr", Scottish Gaelic, Gaelic, lit ...
,
forming part of the ancient earldom of
Lennox. The
earls of Lennox
The Earl or Mormaer of Lennox was the ruler of the region of the Lennox in western Scotland. It was first created in the 12th century for David of Scotland, Earl of Huntingdon and later held by the Stewart dynasty.
Ancient earls
The first earl ...
built the original Balloch Castle around 1238, and held it until approximately 1390.
[ Many of their early charters were dated at Balloch.] The earls afterwards moved their base to the island of Inchmurrin
Inchmurrin ( gd, Innis Mhearain) is an island in Loch Lomond in Scotland. It is the largest fresh water island in the British Isles.
Geography and geology
Inchmurrin is the largest and most southerly of the islands in Loch Lomond. It reache ...
in Loch Lomond, where the remains of a late 14th-century castle can still be seen. Situated nearer the water than the present day castle, there are no standing remains, the earthworks can still be seen. An irregular mound, approximately , surrounded by a ditch up to across.[ This site is given statutory protection as a ]scheduled monument
In the United Kingdom, a scheduled monument is a nationally important archaeological site or historic building, given protection against unauthorised change.
The various pieces of legislation that legally protect heritage assets from damage and d ...
.
In the 15th century Balloch, along with the earldom of Lennox, came to the Stewarts of Darnley. It stayed in the Stewart family until 1652 when the 4th Duke of Lennox sold it to John Colquhoun of Luss.
Balloch Castle
The present castle was built as a residence in 1808–1809 at the order of John Buchanan of Ardoch (1761–1839), who had bought the estate in 1800.[ Buchanan was a Glasgow merchant, the son of Thomas Buchanan of Ardoch (died 1789). John Buchanan was involved in his father's hat-making business, and also like his father was a partner in the Ship Bank, Glasgow's oldest banking house, founded in 1749. He represented ]Dunbartonshire
Dunbartonshire ( gd, Siorrachd Dhùn Breatann) or the County of Dumbarton is a historic county, lieutenancy area and registration county in the west central Lowlands of Scotland lying to the north of the River Clyde. Dunbartonshire borders P ...
in parliament from 1821–1826.
The architect of the Tudor Gothic
Gothic or Gothics may refer to:
People and languages
*Goths or Gothic people, the ethnonym of a group of East Germanic tribes
**Gothic language, an extinct East Germanic language spoken by the Goths
**Crimean Gothic, the Gothic language spoken b ...
building was London-based Robert Lugar
Robert Lugar (1773 – 23 June 1855), was a British architect and engineer in the Industrial Revolution.
Although born in Colchester, England, Lugar carried out much of his most important work in Scotland and Wales, where he was employed by s ...
, who had designed the nearby Tullichewan Castle in 1792. The building's turrets and crenellation
A battlement in defensive architecture, such as that of city walls or castles, comprises a parapet (i.e., a defensive low wall between chest-height and head-height), in which gaps or indentations, which are often rectangular, occur at interva ...
s are purely decorative with no defensive value. The lancet window
A lancet window is a tall, narrow window with a pointed arch at its top. It acquired the "lancet" name from its resemblance to a lance. Instances of this architectural element are typical of Gothic church edifices of the earliest period. Lancet wi ...
s, tracery
Tracery is an architecture, architectural device by which windows (or screens, panels, and vaults) are divided into sections of various proportions by stone ''bars'' or ''ribs'' of Molding (decorative), moulding. Most commonly, it refers to the s ...
, hoodmould
In architecture, a hood mould, hood, label mould (from Latin ''labia'', lip), drip mould or dripstone, is an external moulded projection from a wall over an opening to throw off rainwater, historically often in form of a ''pediment''. This mouldin ...
s and blind arrow-slits are all borrowings from earlier building styles. Although an unimaginative designer, at Balloch Lugar helped to introduce the asymmetrical, "picturesque
Picturesque is an aesthetic ideal introduced into English cultural debate in 1782 by William Gilpin in ''Observations on the River Wye, and Several Parts of South Wales, etc. Relative Chiefly to Picturesque Beauty; made in the Summer of the Year ...
" form of castellated house into Scotland. The new castle may incorporate stone from the earlier castle,[ or the fabric of an earlier building on the site.][ Buchanan established the parkland around the castle, including the planting of ornamental trees and imported shrubs.][
Balloch Castle Westansicht.jpg
Balloch Castle Ostansicht.jpg
Balloch Castle Südansicht.jpg
Balloch Castle Draufsicht.jpg
]
Later history
In 1830, Buchanan purchased the adjacent estate of Boturich, including a ruined castle north of Balloch Castle. He again engaged Robert Lugar to rebuild the castle, which he then occupied, selling Balloch. The latter passed through several owners in the 19th century, including Mr Gibson Stott, who made further improvements to the parks, and the Denniston-Brown family.[ The estate, comprising , was purchased in 1915 by the Corporation of the City of Glasgow, the predecessor of the current city council, to provide publicly accessible open space. Although still owned by Glasgow City Council, the park and house have been leased to Dunbarton District Council, and its successor ]West Dunbartonshire Council
West or Occident is one of the four cardinal directions or points of the compass. It is the opposite direction from east and is the direction in which the Sunset, Sun sets on the Earth.
Etymology
The word "west" is a Germanic languages, German ...
, since 1975. It was registered as a country park
A country park is a natural area designated for people to visit and enjoy recreation in a countryside environment.
United Kingdom
History
In the United Kingdom, the term ''country park'' has a special meaning. There are around 250 recognised coun ...
in 1980.[ The house has been a ]category A listed building
Category, plural categories, may refer to:
Philosophy and general uses
*Categorization, categories in cognitive science, information science and generally
*Category of being
*Categories (Aristotle), ''Categories'' (Aristotle)
*Category (Kant)
...
since 1971.
The house has periodically been used to provide visitor facilities and offices, with past occupants including the Nature Conservancy Council
The Nature Conservancy Council (NCC) was a United Kingdom government agency responsible for designating and managing National Nature Reserves and other nature conservation areas in Great Britain between 1973 and 1991 (it did not cover Northern ...
and the local Countryside Ranger Service.[ By 2008 the building was in poor condition, and was added to the ]Buildings at Risk Register for Scotland
The Buildings at Risk Register for Scotland records buildings of national architectural or historic interest which are considered to be under threat. The list is maintained by Historic Environment Scotland (HES). The register was established in 1 ...
. In January 2014, an application for listed building consent was lodged, to permit repairs to the now-disused structure. In February 2014 West Dunbartonshire Council announced a programme of repairs to preserve the building.
Estate
The castle grounds feature two main pleasure gardens, one to the north of the house including rhododendron
''Rhododendron'' (; from Ancient Greek ''rhódon'' "rose" and ''déndron'' "tree") is a very large genus of about 1,024 species of woody plants in the heath family (Ericaceae). They can be either evergreen or deciduous. Most species are nati ...
s and azalea
Azaleas are flowering shrubs in the genus ''Rhododendron'', particularly the former sections ''Tsutsusi'' (evergreen) and '' Pentanthera'' (deciduous). Azaleas bloom in the spring (April and May in the temperate Northern Hemisphere, and Octob ...
s that reach full bloom in late May and early June. To the south is a walled garden planted with flowers and shrubs, and surrounded by the second area of ornamental planting. Between these two areas, and sweeping down to the loch shore, is an area of grassed parkland with specimen trees. The whole is framed by ornamental and semi-natural woodlands.[ In 2001, a £2.3-million programme of works sought to restore the castle grounds, including the reopening of lost views and improved woodland management. Funding was provided by the ]Heritage Lottery Fund
The National Lottery Heritage Fund, formerly the Heritage Lottery Fund (HLF), distributes a share of National Lottery funding, supporting a wide range of heritage projects across the United Kingdom.
History
The fund's predecessor bodies were ...
and Scottish Enterprise
Scottish Enterprise is a non-departmental public body of the Scottish Government which encourages economic development, enterprise, innovation and investment in business. The body covers the eastern and central parts of Scotland whilst similar ...
, as well as the council.
References
External links
{{Commons category, Balloch Castle
Balloch Castle
- West Dunbartonshire Council
Buildings and structures completed in 1238
Castles in West Dunbartonshire
Category A listed buildings in West Dunbartonshire
Houses completed in 1809
Inventory of Gardens and Designed Landscapes
Listed castles in Scotland
Buildings at Risk Register for Scotland
Vale of Leven