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 Gardens – Historic 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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