The 2nd Marquess of Bute built the first Mount Stuart House near Rothesay on the Isle of Bute in 1719. The designer was Alexander McGill, the style was Georgian, and the house stood in 300 acres of grounds on the shore of the Firth of Clyde. Unfortunately, the first mansion was burnt down in a disastrous fire in 1877, which left only the wings standing.
However, John Crichton-Stuart, the 3rd Marquess, was one of the wealthiest men of his day. He wished to live in a palace rather than a house, and embarked on a 21-year project which resulted in the present Mount Stuart – probably the most sumptuous mansion in Scotland. He employed the Scottish architect, Robert Rowand Anderson, but designed the interiors himself.
The new build was in neo-gothic style, but incorporated the surviving wings of the earlier house, providing a uniquely interesting architectural mix. It surpassed its predecessor in grandeur, scale and ingenuity. Mount Stuart was the first house in Scotland to be wired for electricity and to have a lift, a central heating system, and even a heated indoor swimming pool. All of those things still work today!
The 3rd Marquess spared no expense on the lavish interior, where the emphasis is on quality and detailed craftsmanship. The Marble Hall is a captivating confection of tiered gothic colonnades built of 20 different types of marble, rising to an 80-foot-high vaulted ceiling decorated with a map of the stars made of glass crystals set into the stone. The magnificent Marble Chapel has a Cosmati-style floor, similar to the ones in the Sistine Chapel and Westminster Abbey.