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Castle Toward ( gd, Caisteal an Toll Àird) is a nineteenth-century
country house An English country house is a large house or mansion in the English countryside. Such houses were often owned by individuals who also owned a town house. This allowed them to spend time in the country and in the city—hence, for these peopl ...
on the southern tip of the
Cowal Cowal ( gd, Còmhghall) is a peninsula in Argyll and Bute, in the west of Scotland, that extends into the Firth of Clyde. The northern part of the peninsula is covered by the Argyll Forest Park managed by Forestry and Land Scotland. The Arrochar ...
peninsula, overlooking
Rothesay Rothesay ( ; gd, Baile Bhòid ) is the principal town on the Isle of Bute, in the council area of Argyll and Bute, Scotland. It lies along the coast of the Firth of Clyde. It can be reached by ferry from Wemyss Bay, which offers an onward rail ...
Bay in
Argyll and Bute Argyll and Bute ( sco, Argyll an Buit; gd, Earra-Ghàidheal agus Bòd, ) is one of 32 unitary authority council areas in Scotland and a lieutenancy area. The current lord-lieutenant for Argyll and Bute is Jane Margaret MacLeod (14 July 2020) ...
on the west-coast of
Scotland Scotland (, ) is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Covering the northern third of the island of Great Britain, mainland Scotland has a border with England to the southeast and is otherwise surrounded by the Atlantic Ocean to the ...
. Built in 1820 by Glasgow merchant
Kirkman Finlay Kirkman Finlay (April 1773 – 4 March 1842) was one of the leading merchants in Glasgow, Scotland. He was Lord Provost of Glasgow and Member of Parliament. Life Kirkman Finlay was born in the Gallowgate, the second son of well known Glasgow me ...
, it replaced the late medieval Toward Castle, formerly the ancestral home of the
Clan Lamont Clan Lamont (; gd, Clann Laomainn ) is a Highland Scottish clan. The clan is said to descend from Ánrothán Ua Néill, an Irish prince of the O'Neill dynasty, and through him Niall Noigíallach, High King of Ireland. Clan Ewen of Otter, C ...
. It was greatly extended in the early 20th century, and in the Second World War it served as HMS ''Brontosaurus''. After the war it was sold to
Glasgow Corporation The politics of Glasgow, Scotland's largest city by population, are expressed in the deliberations and decisions of Glasgow City Council, in elections to the council, the Scottish Parliament and the UK Parliament. Local government As one of ...
and was used as an
outdoor education Outdoor education is organized learning that takes place in the outdoors. Outdoor education programs sometimes involve residential or journey wilderness-based experiences in which students participate in a variety of adventurous challenges and out ...
facility until its closure in 2014. After a failed community buyout, Toward Castle and the estate were sold by
Argyll and Bute Council Argyll and Bute ( sco, Argyll an Buit; gd, Earra-Ghàidheal agus Bòd, ) is one of 32 unitary authority council areas of Scotland, council areas in Scotland and a lieutenancy areas of Scotland, lieutenancy area. The current lord-lieutenant fo ...
to private owners in 2016.


History


Toward Castle

The original Toward Castle dates from the 15th century and was owned by the
Clan Lamont Clan Lamont (; gd, Clann Laomainn ) is a Highland Scottish clan. The clan is said to descend from Ánrothán Ua Néill, an Irish prince of the O'Neill dynasty, and through him Niall Noigíallach, High King of Ireland. Clan Ewen of Otter, C ...
until 1809. The castle was extended in the 17th century, but was abandoned after an attack by the
Clan Campbell Clan Campbell ( gd, Na Caimbeulaich ) is a Highland Scottish clan, historically one of the largest and most powerful of the Highland clans. The Clan Campbell lands are in Argyll and within their lands lies Ben Cruachan. The chief of the clan be ...
in 1646. The ruins lie around south-east of the later Castle Toward. Toward Castle is 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 ...
.


Castle Toward

The present Castle Toward was built in 1820 for
Kirkman Finlay Kirkman Finlay (April 1773 – 4 March 1842) was one of the leading merchants in Glasgow, Scotland. He was Lord Provost of Glasgow and Member of Parliament. Life Kirkman Finlay was born in the Gallowgate, the second son of well known Glasgow me ...
(1773–1842), former
Lord Provost of Glasgow The Right Honourable Lord Provost of Glasgow is the convener of the Glasgow City Council. Elected by the city councillors, the Lord Provost serves not only as the chair of that body, but as a figurehead for the entire city. The office is equiv ...
, as his family's country house. Finlay purchased the Achavoulin estate and renamed it Toward in 1818. It is built in the castellated
Gothic Revival Gothic Revival (also referred to as Victorian Gothic, neo-Gothic, or Gothick) is an architectural movement that began in the late 1740s in England. The movement gained momentum and expanded in the first half of the 19th century, as increasingly ...
style, and was designed by David Hamilton.
Edward La Trobe Bateman Edward La Trobe Bateman (8 January 1816 – 30 December 1897) was a Pre-Raphaelite watercolour painter, book illuminator, draughtsman and garden designer. Life Bateman was probably born in Lower Wyke, Yorkshire, the son of John Bateman, a ma ...
was involved in garden design work here in the 1880s. It was from Castle Toward that the second son of Alexander Struthers Finlay – Alexander Kirkman Finlay – emigrated to the then colony of
Victoria Victoria most commonly refers to: * Victoria (Australia), a state of the Commonwealth of Australia * Victoria, British Columbia, provincial capital of British Columbia, Canada * Victoria (mythology), Roman goddess of Victory * Victoria, Seychelle ...
, Australia, and subsequently married the daughter of the then
Governor of New South Wales The governor of New South Wales is the viceregal representative of the Australian monarch, King Charles III, in the state of New South Wales. In an analogous way to the governor-general of Australia at the national level, the governors of the ...
,
Hercules Robinson, 1st Baron Rosmead Hercules George Robert Robinson, 1st Baron Rosmead, (19 December 1824 – 28 October 1897), was a British colonial administrator who became the 5th Governor of Hong Kong and subsequently, the 14th Governor of New South Wales, the first Gover ...
. The
wedding of Nora Robinson and Alexander Kirkman Finlay The wedding of Nora Augusta Maud Robinson with Alexander Kirkman Finlay, of Glenormiston, was solemnised in St James' Church, Sydney, on Wednesday, 7 August 1878 by the Rev. Canon Allwood, assisted by Rev. Hough. The bride was the second daught ...
at
St James' Church, Sydney St James' Church, commonly known as St James', King Street, is an Australian heritage-listed Anglican parish church located at 173 King Street, in the Sydney central business district in New South Wales. Consecrated in February 1824 and named ...
, in 1878 attracted enormous attention in the colony and was extensively reported in the press. Later owned and extended by Major Andrew Coats, of the Coats family of Paisley, Italian plasterwork was installed in the public rooms in 1920. The entire building was restored and enlarged over the course of the 1920s by the architect
Francis William Deas Francis William Deas (1862 –13 November 1951) was an influential Scottish Arts and Crafts architect and landscape designer in the late 19th century and first half of the 20th century. He was a keen amateur painter, largely of landscapes. His m ...
, who also laid out most of the current landscaping. The grounds incorporate the ruins of the original Toward Castle, the Chinese ponds, wooded areas, access to the shore, and views over the
Firth of Clyde The Firth of Clyde is the mouth of the River Clyde. It is located on the west coast of Scotland and constitutes the deepest coastal waters in the British Isles (it is 164 metres deep at its deepest). The firth is sheltered from the Atlantic ...
.


HMS ''Brontosaurus''

During the Second World War the castle was requisitioned as a
combined operations In current military use, combined operations are operations conducted by forces of two or more allied nations acting together for the accomplishment of a common strategy, a strategic and operational and sometimes tactical cooperation. Interactio ...
centre (COC No. 2), and was commissioned as HMS ''Brontosaurus'' in 1942. It was a training centre for the amphibious landings that were launched on
D-Day The Normandy landings were the landing operations and associated airborne operations on Tuesday, 6 June 1944 of the Allied invasion of Normandy in Operation Overlord during World War II. Codenamed Operation Neptune and often referred to as D ...
, as well as for other raids. Officers and men trained on nearby beaches to use various landing craft. Both
Winston Churchill Sir Winston Leonard Spencer Churchill (30 November 187424 January 1965) was a British statesman, soldier, and writer who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom twice, from 1940 to 1945 Winston Churchill in the Second World War, dur ...
and
Lord Mountbatten Louis Francis Albert Victor Nicholas Mountbatten, 1st Earl Mountbatten of Burma (25 June 1900 – 27 August 1979) was a British naval officer, colonial administrator and close relative of the British royal family. Mountbatten, who was of German ...
during this time visited ''Brontosaurus''. It closed in 1946.


Outdoor education centre

The castle, and of woodland, were purchased by the Corporation of Glasgow in 1948. The building was used initially as a residential school for children recovering from illness or living in deprived home conditions. It then became available for residential education for children from all Glasgow Primary Schools and operated for 50 years as an outdoor education centre for children from Glasgow, Renfrewshire and further afield. With the reorganisation of local government in Scotland in 1996, ownership passed to
Argyll and Bute Council Argyll and Bute ( sco, Argyll an Buit; gd, Earra-Ghàidheal agus Bòd, ) is one of 32 unitary authority council areas of Scotland, council areas in Scotland and a lieutenancy areas of Scotland, lieutenancy area. The current lord-lieutenant fo ...
and such centres were threatened with closure. Peter Wilson, at the time the principal of the centre, formed a company called Actual Reality to operate the centre, as well as a second council-owned centre at
Ardentinny Ardentinny ( gd, Àird an t-Sionnaich or Àird an Teine) is a small village on the western shore of Loch Long, north of Dunoon on the Cowal peninsula in Argyll and Bute, Scottish Highlands. Nearby is Cruach a Chaise (Cheese Hill), while on the ...
. Activities operated by Actual Reality included high ropes, kayaking, and orienteering, as well as gorge walks and hill walks. The grounds of the centre were used as a filming location for the children's
BBC Television BBC Television is a service of the BBC. The corporation has operated a public broadcast television service in the United Kingdom, under the terms of a royal charter, since 1927. It produced television programmes from its own studios from 193 ...
series ''
Raven A raven is any of several larger-bodied bird species of the genus ''Corvus''. These species do not form a single taxonomic group within the genus. There is no consistent distinction between "crows" and "ravens", common names which are assigned t ...
'', featuring the actor James Mackenzie, up to and including the seventh series at the start of 2008. The house was also used for residential courses for young people in music and art. The Glasgow Schools' Symphony Orchestra and West of Scotland Schools' Concert Band visited regularly. The house has been a category B
listed building In the United Kingdom, a listed building or listed structure is one that has been placed on one of the four statutory lists maintained by Historic England in England, Historic Environment Scotland in Scotland, in Wales, and the Northern Irel ...
since 1971, and the grounds were added to the national
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 ...
in 2007.


Sale

On 13 November 2009 Argyll and Bute Council temporarily closed the castle on the recommendation of Strathclyde Fire and Rescue, on the grounds that it was unfit for purpose. There followed several attempts by the council to sell the estate, though all met with local opposition. The castle's former composer-in-residence,
John Maxwell Geddes John Maxwell Geddes (26 May 1941 – 7 September 2017) was a Scottish composer and academic. He taught in Scotland and in institutions in Europe and America; compositions include three symphonies. Life Geddes was born in Maryhill, Glasgow in 1941; ...
, wrote a ''Postlude for Strings'' in protest at plans to sell the castle. The Council placed the building on the market in 2010, and in response the South Cowal Community Development Company (SCCDC) was formed to explore
community ownership Community-Managed assets or organizations are those that are owned and controlled through some representative mechanisms that allow a community to influence their operation or use and to enjoy the benefits arising. Benefits of ownership in infrastr ...
of the castle, though their initial bid was rejected by the Scottish Ministers in 2011. An agreement was reached with a holiday company, which then pulled out of the sale in 2013 forcing the council to market the property once more. SCCDC launched a second community ownership bid which was accepted by Scottish Ministers in November 2013. However, in December 2014 the Council rejected SCCDC's offer, claiming that at £865,000 it was below market value, and instead offered to support SCCDC with a loan. SCCDC dismissed the council's proposal in January 2015, stating that securing the community purchase before a 31 January deadline now had "very little chance of succeeding". By 26 January, 5,600 people had signed an online petition calling on the council to reconsider their decision. The council sold the castle in October 2016, for £1.51 million, to Scottish entrepreneurs and married couple Denice Purdie and Keith Punler, who planned to restore the mansion house and grounds to their former glory.


References


External links


Castle Toward on Secret Scotland


{{DEFAULTSORT:Castle Toward Castles in Argyll and Bute Category B listed buildings in Argyll and Bute Listed castles in Scotland Inventory of Gardens and Designed Landscapes Clan Lamont Cowal