Description
Inverary Castle - Scotland
Inveraray Castle is located off Dalmally Road in Inverary, Scotland, nestled between the River Aray and Loch Fyne. It has been the ancestral home of the Dukes of Argyll since the mid-1700s. The cornerstone was laid in 1746, under the guidance of Archibald, the 3rd Duke of Argyll, and the Lord Justice General of Scotland. The original idea for the castle began with Archibald’s older brother, John, the 2nd Duke. John was a soldier of some experience, and was one of the first two officers in the British Army to be promoted to Field Marshall. He sought to construct a dwelling which would befit the family’s elevation to the Dukedom. In this he consulted architect Sir John Vanbrugh, who had designed Blenheim Palace. Although Vanbrugh and John would both soon die, their germ of an idea carried through to Archibald, who hired Roger Morris as the new architect. It would take 43 years for the Gothic-style castle to finally reach completion in 1789. Nearly 90 years later, in 1877, a fire resulted in severe damage to the building. Architect Anthony Salvin was hired to repair the structure, and in the process he added the conical roofs on the corner towers, which still stand. In the early 1950s a restoration program was begun by the 11th Duke of Argyll and the castle was opened to the public in 1953.
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