Travels with Terri

Time for yet another confession. I have never seen the immensely popular series Downton Abbey, so I was quite surprised to see pictures of the cast in the State Dining Room. Turns out, Inveraray Castle was the setting for the 2012 Christmas special. Called Dunealge Castle for the episode, it is the fictional home to the Marquess and Marchioness of Flintshire.

Completed in 1789, the new Inveraray Castle was opened to the public for the first time in 1953. We began our visit in the opulent State Dining Room which features a stunning Waterford chandelier from 1830. The walls and ceiling were painted by French artists Girard and Guinand and are a perfect compliment to the gilded tapestry dining chairs by Dupasquier. A focal point of the room is a large painting of John Campbell the 4th Duke of Argyll by Thomas Gainsborough, which dominates the wall above the fireplace.

I instantly fell in love with the Tapestry Drawing Room just off the Entrance Hall. Decorated in the Parisian style of the late 1700’s, its color pallet of subtle shades of green, rose, and beige is especially attractive. Beauvais tapestries designed for the room cover the walls and a pair of Waterford chandeliers hang from the intricately painted ceiling (also the work of Girard.) A harp sits near the carved marble fireplace with tapestry chairs and benches nearby for guest seating. One of the most stunning pieces in the room is a circular giltwood table with an inlaid marble top. It bares the 7th Duke of Argyll’s coat of arms and photos of the present Duke, Torquhil Ian, his wife Eleanor Cadbury, and their three children are on display.

After passing through the Entrance Hall, we entered the immense Amory Hall which houses a variety of weapons dating back to 16th century. Its ceiling soars to 69 feet (21 meters) and the space is flooded with natural light from the upstairs windows. The walls contain weapons arranged in striking patterns and the ceiling displays the family crests of the various branches of the Campbell family. The collection includes Brown Bess muskets from around 1740, Lochaber axes, polearms, and broadswords from the 18th century. The gem of the collection is the dirk and sporran that belonged to Rob Roy MacGregor.

A beautiful grand piano is the focal point of the Saloon, another of my favorite rooms in the castle. Along with numerous family photos on display, there is a photo of Audrey Hepburn from My Fair Lady. Apparently, songwriters Lerner and Loewe used the piano to compose some of the songs for the musical while they were guests of the family. Portraits and photographs in the room trace the history of the Campbell family from the 1st Duke Archibald Campbell to the present Duke Torquhil Ian. We continued our visit upstairs in the opulent Victorian Room, a tribute to the marriage of Princess Louise (daughter of Queen Victoria) to the Marquess of Lorne John Campbell (who became the 9th Duke of Argyll.) The room contains many lovely pieces of art including a porcelain figure of Queen Victoria at her spinning wheel that was sculpted by Princess Louise.

It is believed that Inveraray Castle is haunted by at least five spirits, the most famous being the young Irish harpist who was murdered in 1644 during the siege of the old castle by the Duke of Montrose. According to legend, Montrose’s men were so furious that a fellow Irishman would work for their sworn enemy, they killed the boy and left his quartered body on the Duke’s bed. Deeply attached to the bed, the boys spirit came with it when it was moved into the MacArthur Room in the new castle. Visitors and staff have reported headaches, chills, and feelings of deep sadness and when the 10th Duke died in 1949, harp music was heard emanating from the room. His ghost is also fond of the Library and there have been reports of harp music and books mysteriously flying off the shelves. Several strange occurrences were documented by the crew of the TV show Most Haunted when they filmed the castle in 2009 (season 13, episode 5) including flying books in the Library and moving furniture in the MacArthur Room.

Another spirit who favors the Library is that of a piper and the drone of his bagpipes has been heard coming from the room. Elsewhere in the castle, hysterical laughter has been reported from the Old Kitchen and is believed to be the ghost of a castle maid. Murdered by the Jacobites, the spirit of an unknown woman dressed in grey roams the castle. Known as the ‘Grey Lady’ she can apparently only been seen by the daughters of a Duke of Argyll. Not only is the castle supposedly haunted but so are the grounds. Local legend tells of a ghostly ship that sails up Loch Fyne and predicts the death of a Campbell Chieftain. Two days before the death of a Chief, the ghost ship appears on the Loch and when it reaches land, continues to sail above until it reaches the castle to claim its victim. It is said that in the 18th century one of the Chieftains drank poison so he wouldn’t disappoint the ghostly crew.

Fancy a ride on an historic train? Then stayed tuned for my next post where I journey across the Highlands on the Jacobite Steam Train (aka the Harry Potter Train.)