Orchardton Castle

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Orchardton Castle
Orchardton House (now Castle)
Former names	Orchardton House
General information
Architectural style	Scottish Baronial-style
Town or city	Auchencairn
Country	Scotland
Coordinates	54°51′33.2″N 3°51′15″W / 54.859222°N 3.85417°W / 54.859222; -3.85417Coordinates: 54°51′33.2″N 3°51′15″W / 54.859222°N 3.85417°W / 54.859222; -3.85417
Construction started	1878
Completed	1883
Client	William Douglas Robinson-Douglas
Design and construction
Architect	James Maitland Wardrop and Charles Reid
Architecture firm	Wardrop & Reid, Edinburgh[1]
Listed Building – Category B
Designated	23 April 1990
Reference no.	LB17079

Orchardton Castle overlooks the Solway Coast. It is a Grade B listed property formerly known as Orchardton House.^[2] Built around a Scottish Baronial-style mansion located in Auchencairn in the historical county of Kirkcudbrightshire in Dumfries and Galloway in Scotland. It overlooks the Solway Firth, with views to Cumbria and Hestan Island.

History[]

The 1769 house had been started by Sir Robert Maxwell, 7th Baronet of Orchardton, who married a MacLellan of MacLellan's Castle and used the roof timbers and stone from nearby Orchardton Tower to build a new house in a better location near the sea. However the work bankrupted him and in 1786 the estate came under the ownership of James Douglas, a Liverpool merchant, and eventually passed down into the hands of William Douglas Robinson-Douglas in 1878.^[3]

The current building was built by William Douglas Robinson-Douglas in the Scottish Baronial style between 1878 and 1883 replacing the small mansion dating from around 1769.

In 1944 it became a military hospital for wounded officers and into a hotel after the war. The property was advertised for sale in 1951 when it was described as comprising 1,811 acres.^[4] and sold. It remained in use as an hotel until 1960. Between 1960 and 1981, it was a school and thereafter used for residential courses and conferences and housing for artists. Sold again in 2003 to Susanda DeVere,^[5] it was renovated over the next two years, including the installation of central heating and renewal of the electric wiring.

The owners fell prey to a con artist while trying to sell the property in 2012. He is still at large in Scotland and is regularly featured in the newspapers.

Its status was changed to castle in 2014, approved with Scottish heritage and government services.

In late 2017, the owners offered the property for sale in a lottery with £5 tickets.^[6] However, not enough tickets were sold and a cash prize was offered as an alternative. A complaint from someone who had not entered the competition meant that the advertising authority found against the competition. The owner appealed and also refused to accept the verdict. The Gambling Commission and the vast entrants of the competition supported her and no case was ever brought.^[7]

Description[]

There are around 48 rooms, including 17 bedrooms and three flats, a cinema, libraries and an outside sauna.

There is a palm tree and many other rare tree and plant species in the garden and grounds, which stretch over 5 acres (2 hectares). The grounds are often visited by pheasants, rabbits, deer and peacocks.

Sources[]

• Paterson, George B L (1983). Orchardton House, Auchencairn, by Castle Douglas. University of Glasgow, Mackintosh School of Architecture: University of Glasgow.

References[]