Mar Hall is a 5-star hotel and golf resort in Bishopton,

Renfrewshire Renfrewshire () ( sco, Renfrewshire; gd, Siorrachd Rinn Friù) is one of the 32 council areas of Scotland. Located in the west central Lowlands, it is one of three council areas contained within the boundaries of the historic county of Re ...

. It is situated in Erskine House, 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) *Category (Kant) * Categories (Peirce) * ...

. Formerly the building was the

Erskine Hospital Erskine is a veterans care and support charity headquartered in Erskine, Renfrewshire, but operating across the Central Belt of Scotland. It provides a range of services to British Armed Forces, veterans of all ages and their families, who have s ...

History

The Lords Blantyre came into ownership of the Erskine Estate and Erskine House during the early 18th century. In 1828 Major General Robert W. Stuart, the 11th Lord Blantyre commissioned the present house. The latest Erskine House was constructed between 1828 and 1845 at a cost of £50,000. It was designed by

Sir Robert Smirke Sir Robert Smirke (1 October 1780 – 18 April 1867) was an English architect, one of the leaders of Greek Revival architecture, though he also used other architectural styles. As architect to the Board of Works, he designed several major ...

, the architect of the

British Museum The British Museum is a public museum dedicated to human history, art and culture located in the Bloomsbury area of London. Its permanent collection of eight million works is among the largest and most comprehensive in existence. It docum ...

. Sir Charles Barry designed the fountain & garden lay-out. A nearby quarry (now disused) provided the stone required for construction. The oak interior was imported from

Quebec Quebec ( ; )According to the Canadian government, ''Québec'' (with the acute accent) is the official name in Canadian French and ''Quebec'' (without the accent) is the province's official name in Canadian English is one of the thirtee ...

, Canada. The building lay empty as the peerage of the Lords Blantyre ended in 1900. It was then renovated and opened as the Princess Louise Scottish Hospital for Limbless Sailors and Soldiers in 1916. This was to treat soldiers returning from the

First World War World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

. A nearby monument commemorates the original owner of Erskine House. It is called

Blantyre Monument Blantyre Monument is a commemorative stone in Erskine, Renfrewshire. The monument is in the obelisk style. It is situated adjacent to the B815 road; in a field on the border with Bishopton. History The monument was built to commemorate the bra ...

Hotel

A £15m re-fit converted the building into a 5-star hotel which opened in 2004. The official name of the hotel is Earl of Mar; however, locally it is known as Mar Hall. The name recalls the Erskine Estate’s former ownership by the

Earl of Mar There are currently two earldoms of Mar in the Peerage of Scotland, and the title has been created seven times. The first creation of the earldom is currently held by Margaret of Mar, 31st Countess of Mar, who is also clan chief of Clan Mar. T ...

. The hotel has a swimming pool, gym and 18-hole golf course which hosts Pro-Am tournaments throughout the year. The hotel was the winner of a TripAdvisor Travellers' Choice Luxury Hotels Award in 2012. Numerous celebrities and well known sports teams have stayed at the hotel, including Kylie Minogue,

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, Harry Styles, Neil Diamond,

Rangers FC Rangers Football Club is a Scottish professional football club based in the Govan district of Glasgow which plays in the Scottish Premiership. Although not its official name, it is often referred to as Glasgow Rangers outside Scotland. The fou ...

Scotland National Football Team The Scotland national football team gd, Sgioba Ball-coise Nàiseanta na h-Alba sco, Scotland National Fitbaa Team represents Scotland in men's international football and is controlled by the Scottish Football Association. It competes in the thr ...

, Katy Perry,

Robbie Williams Robert Peter Williams (born 13 February 1974) is an English singer and songwriter. He found fame as a member of the pop group Take That from 1990 to 1995, and achieved commercial success after launching a solo career in 1996. His debut stud ...

, Beyoncé,

Coldplay Coldplay are a British rock band formed in London in 1997. They consist of vocalist and pianist Chris Martin, guitarist Jonny Buckland, bassist Guy Berryman, drummer Will Champion and creative director Phil Harvey. They met at University ...

, Oasis,

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, Mike Tyson,

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and Brad Pitt.

Gallery

File:Mar Hall Entrance.jpeg, Entrance door File:Monument near Bishopton - geograph.org.uk - 448575.jpg,

References

{{reflist Category A listed buildings in Renfrewshire Listed hotels in Scotland Destination spas Hotels in Renfrewshire Defunct hospitals in Scotland Buildings and structures completed in 1845 Hotels established in 2004 1845 establishments in Scotland 2004 establishments in Scotland Erskine, Renfrewshire

History

Hotel

Gallery

See also

References