Dalmoak House, is a

Category A listed This is a list of Category A listed buildings in Scotland, which are among the listed buildings of the United Kingdom. For a fuller list, see the pages linked on List of listed buildings in Scotland. Key The organization of the lists in th ...

building off the A812 Renton Road in the ancient Parish of

Cardross Cardross (Scottish Gaelic: ''Càrdainn Ros'') is a large village with a population of 2,194 (2011) in Scotland, on the north side of the Firth of Clyde, situated halfway between Dumbarton and Helensburgh. Cardross is in the historic geographical ...

. It sits between the village of Renton and the town of

Dumbarton Dumbarton (; also sco, Dumbairton; ) is a town in West Dunbartonshire, Scotland, on the north bank of the River Clyde where the River Leven flows into the Clyde estuary. In 2006, it had an estimated population of 19,990. Dumbarton was the ca ...

on the North side the

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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 ...

, Scotland (G82 4HQ). It was built in a Scottish baronial style by the architect Alexander Watt in 1866–69, or 1866-1869 according to some sources, for John Aiken of Glasgow."It's a whole loch of castle", Oliver Stallwood, ''

Metro Metro, short for metropolitan, may refer to: Geography * Metro (city), a city in Indonesia * A metropolitan area, the populated region including and surrounding an urban center Public transport * Rapid transit, a passenger railway in an urba ...

'', 9 May 2017, p. 18. Aiken's involvement in the wine and spirits mercantile trade was the basis for the house's nickname, 'Brandy Castle', which has been in use ever since.Scots castle with UK’s ‘largest stained glass’ window for sale.
Russell Jackson, ''

The Scotsman ''The Scotsman'' is a Scottish compact newspaper and daily news website headquartered in Edinburgh. First established as a radical political paper in 1817, it began daily publication in 1855 and remained a broadsheet until August 2004. Its par ...

'', 10 April 2017. Retrieved 10 May 2017.

Early history

Some sources indicated that the land was actually owned by Robert the Bruce at one time. The oldest document as to ownership is from 18 October 1533, a charter granting the property to John Palmer. The charter in 1569, after the Palmer family gave up ownership, granted the property to "John Sempill/Semple of Fulwood". The current house was built on the foundations of an earlier building, the blocked up windows of which can be seen in one of the wine cellars. Dalmoak was one of the royal manors in the district, and was used chiefly as a hunting seat. The Dalmoak Estate included the remains of the Manor of Cardross where

Robert the Bruce Robert I (11 July 1274 – 7 June 1329), popularly known as Robert the Bruce (Scottish Gaelic: ''Raibeart an Bruis''), was King of Scots from 1306 to his death in 1329. One of the most renowned warriors of his generation, Robert eventual ...

died. John Aiken, the house's original owner, is buried in the grand and elaborate Aiken Mausoleum on the north slopes of the

Glasgow Necropolis The Glasgow Necropolis is a Victorian cemetery in Glasgow, Scotland. It is on a low but very prominent hill to the east of Glasgow Cathedral (St. Mungo's Cathedral). Fifty thousand individuals have been buried here. Typical for the period, only ...

, as to reflect his vast wealth.

20th Century

Before WW II, the Aiken Trust had leased the property to a local farmer, Robert Young (circa 1934) who operated it as Dalmoak Farm. (Some reports erroneously state that Young purchased the property.) For a time during the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

, the

RAF The Royal Air Force (RAF) is the United Kingdom's air and space force. It was formed towards the end of the First World War on 1 April 1918, becoming the first independent air force in the world, by regrouping the Royal Flying Corps (RFC) and ...

used the house as an operational headquarters. Later, it was sold to Alexandrina Reid Cousins who started the restoration. Her grandson, John Szwed, completed the restoration; the home was then converted into a nursing home. The full ownership record from 1801 to 2007 is stated as follows:

Descent: John Aiken (1801-75); to son, James Aiken (1843-1928); to Trustees, one of whom (James Cyril Mawdesley Aiken), lived in the house; leased from c.1934 to Mr Young, farmer of Dalmoak Farm; used by RAF during War as the headquarters of the Clydebank decoy system, then as flats for homeless families; then as cattle stalling until sold 1964 to Alexandrina Reid Cousins (d. 1996); gifted to daughter, Constance Szwed-Cousins; gifted to son, John Szwed (d. 2004), who restored it as a nursing home; to brother, Michel Szwed-Cousins, who sold 2007 to Castle Glen Care & Nursing Home.

Dalmoak House was A listed on 8 September 1980, #LB45600. The stables, lodge, walled garden and gatepiers are B listed, separately from the house: #LB42921 and LB1163. The

Historic Environment Scotland Historic Environment Scotland (HES) ( gd, Àrainneachd Eachdraidheil Alba) is an executive non-departmental public body responsible for investigating, caring for and promoting Scotland's historic environment. HES was formed in 2015 from the mer ...

web site provides a detailed summary of the House as it stood in 1980. The following is an excerpt:

2-storey, 5-bay, broad U-plan castellated Tudor gothic mansion. Battered base course with gunloop details; hoodmoulds; crenellated parapet on billetted corbelling; chamfered reveals; curved corners; corbelled bartizans; rope moulding. ... Interior: sumptuous decorative schemes - tripartite etched glass vestibule door; stair hall and corridor, scagliola Corinthian columns; coffered ceiling, modillioned cornice; heavy decorative cornice, paired brackets. Wooden Imperial stair; 3 round-arched stained glass stair windows depicting Celtic mythological scene, ?JA? monogram, unsigned; niches to right and left of stair landing. Ornate marble chimneypieces in upper bedrooms. Room to W off hall; coffered, heavy decorative plasterwork; Corinthian columns with ?JA? monogram; geometric ceiling. East front room, plasterwork ceiling, egg and dart moulding, beading, dentil cornice.

21st Century

The house was offered for sale from 2017 to 2019, with an asking price which fell from £1.7 million to £675,000,over concerns at the cost of the

land tax A land value tax (LVT) is a levy on the value of land without regard to buildings, personal property and other improvements. It is also known as a location value tax, a point valuation tax, a site valuation tax, split rate tax, or a site-value r ...

es involved. Castle Glen Care And Nursing Home, owned by Nanda and Nitin Satpute closed due to financial difficulties in late 2013. Nitin Satpute's plan was to convert the house into a hotel and a venue for events. He ran into difficulties when trying to get planning permission. A November 2019

Country Life (magazine) ''Country Life'' is a British weekly perfect-bound glossy magazine that is published by Future plc. It was based in London at 110 Southwark Street until March 2016, when it became based in Farnborough, Hampshire. History ''Country Life'' ...

report provided additional specifics about the property. While the house was built in 1866, a home of some type has been located here since medieval times. The home includes 14 bedrooms, a formal dining room and a basement with a wine cellar. The stable building has been renovated and is now used as cottages.

Gallery

File:Dalmoak House.jpg, Rear view of Dalmoak

References

External links