Castle House
The castle and its gardens in 2008
General information
Town or cityDunoon, Argyll and Bute
CountryScotland
Coordinates55°56′46″N 4°55′28″W / 55.946187°N 4.924443°W / 55.946187; -4.924443
Completed1822 (1822)
Design and construction
Architect(s)David Hamilton

Castle House is situated in the Scottish town of Dunoon, Argyll and Bute. It sits on top of a promontory called Castle Hill, between West Bay and East Bay, overlooking Dunoon Pier and the Firth of Clyde. It was built in 1822, and designed by David Hamilton. It is a Category B listed structure.[1]

The house was built for James Ewing of Strathleven. Ewing was a merchant and slave owner and was described by biographer Stephen Mullen as "among the most financially successful of [Glasgow's] élite nineteenth-century sugar/slavery aristocracy". He used the profits from his business and used the profits to establish buy property across London.[2] It was designed by architect David Hamilton who also designed Castle Toward and Hutchesons' Hospital.[3]

Dunoon Town Council purchased the house, for £4,600,[4] in 1893 and used it to house the Council Chamber and Tulloch Free Library.[1]

The flag post on Castle Hill marks the original site of a 13th-century Dunoon Castle.[5]

Current use

The building has been home to Castle House Museum since 1998. It is run by Dunoon & Cowal Heritage Trust.[5]

References

  1. 1 2 Castle House, Castle GardensHistoric Environment Scotland
  2. Mullen, Stephen (2016). "Ewing, James (1775–1853), West India merchant, slave owner, and civic leader". Oxford Dictionary of National Biography (online ed.). Oxford University Press. doi:10.1093/ref:odnb/53100. Retrieved 7 October 2020. (Subscription or UK public library membership required.)
  3. Scott, Ronald David (2005). The Cemetery and the City: The Origins of the Glasgow Necropolis, 1825-1857 (PhD). University of Glasgow. p. 26. Open access icon
  4. Surveyor, Volume 33 (1908), p. 801
  5. 1 2 About Us – Castle House Museum official website


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