Dougarie
Lodge sits on the western side of the Isle of Arran, just north of Machrie.
The lodge was built in 1864/65 as a shooting lodge for William Hamilton
the 11th Duke of Hamilton. The Duke was married to Princess Marie of Baden and
they had three children, William, Charles and Mary. Mary married PrinceAlbert of Monaco and later Count Tassilo Festetics of Hungary. It is thought
that her European connections and perhaps the influence from Bavaria and
Hungary gave the interior a uniqueness – certainly in Scotland – of deer skin
panelled passages, windows over fireplaces and horn door handles. The lodge can be seen clearly from the road
however other aspects of the estate are not so obvious.
To the
front of the lodge a lawn stretches to the banks of the River Iorsa, and to the
side lays terraced gardens in a castellated folly designed by James Mather in
1905. The gardens are opened to the
public 1 day a year, and no doubt will be subject of a more detailed blog then!
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Further
away from the road and separate from the lodge is the Towers. Plans for this ruinous castellated style,
were drawn in 1875 by John Currie. Although the 1st edition OS maps
show buildings on this site in 1837 but these are presumed to be older parts of
the present complex. The Towers includes
a domestic house, bothy, kennels and various outbuildings.
At the side
of the Towers is the Game Larder. This was
built in 1883, but little is actually known about it as no plans have been
found. It is a large dodecagonal building very similar to the Bavarian summer
house at Brodick Castle (also formerly owned by the Dukes of Hamilton).
All the
buildings mentioned are Grade B listed. Oh, and Dougarie is pronounced 'Doo gry'
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