Carbisdale Castle

Carbisdale Castle was built in 1907 for the Duchess of Sutherland on a hill across the Kyle of Sutherland from Invershin in the Scottish Highlands. From 1945 to 2011 it was used as a youth hostel, operated by the Scottish Youth Hostels Association. The castle is situated north of Culrain, and around Template:Convert north-west of Bonar Bridge. It lies within the civil parish of Kincardine and Community council of Ardgay and District.

The castle is in the Scottish baronial style, it has 365 windows, is Template:Convert and is protected as a category B listed building.<ref>Template:Historic Environment Scotland</ref> The hostel closed for repair in 2011, and was put up for sale in 2014. Until its closure, the castle had a large collection of art, with some pieces dating back to 1680, as well as Italian marble statues. It was purchased in 2016 but offered for sale again in 2021; in 2022 it was again sold and is now a private residence. Template:As of it is again on the market.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

History

File:Carbisdale castle gallery.jpg

Lower Gallery in 2004; the sculpture collection has since been sold.

First owner

The castle was built between 1905 and 1917 for Mary Caroline, Duchess of Sutherland, the second wife of George Sutherland-Leveson-Gower, 3rd Duke of Sutherland, whom she married in 1889. She is better known as "Duchess Blair" because of her first marriage to Captain Arthur Kindersley Blair of the 71st Highland Light Infantry, who died in a hunting accident in 1883 near Pitlochry. The marriage was not well-liked in the Sutherland family. When the Duke died in 1892 his will, in favour of the Duchess, was contested by his son and heir Cromartie. In a court process that followed, the Duchess was found guilty of destroying documents and was imprisoned for six weeks in Holloway Prison.<ref name=History>Template:Cite web</ref>

Eventually, the Sutherland family came to an agreement giving Duchess Blair a substantial financial settlement. Furthermore, the family agreed to build a castle for the Duchess, as long as it was outside of the Sutherland lands. The Duchess employed a firm of Ayrshire builders and the castle was built between 1906 and 1917 just outside the Sutherland lands in Ross-shire.<ref name=History/> It was located on a hillside to be visible to a large part of Sutherland, especially the main road and rail line which the Sutherland family would have to use to travel south. Thus it became known as the "Castle of Spite" as it was widely considered that the Duchess located the castle there to spite her husband's family and the settlement agreement.<ref name="BBC_2013-03-25">Template:Cite news</ref> The castle's tower only has clock faces on three of its four sides; the side facing Sutherland is blank, supposedly because the Duchess did not wish to give her former relatives the time of day.<ref name=BBC2023/>

World War II

Colonel Theodore Salvesen, a wealthy Scottish businessman of Norwegian extraction, bought the castle in 1933.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> He made it available as a refuge for King Haakon VII of Norway and Crown Prince Olav, who would later become King Olav V, during the Nazi occupation of Norway in World War II. During that time the castle was also used to hold important meetings; at the Carbisdale Conference on 22 June 1941 it was agreed that should Russian forces enter Norwegian territory, they would not stay there after the war. On 25 October 1944, the Red Army entered Norway and captured thirty towns, but the Russian forces later withdrew under the terms of the agreement.

Youth hostel

After the Colonel died his son, Captain Harold Salvesen, inherited the castle and gave its contents and estate to the Scottish Youth Hostels Association.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> Carbisdale Castle Youth Hostel opened to members on 2 June 1945.<ref name=History/> Following frost damage, the hostel closed for repairs in February 2011. Further structural damage was discovered during repair work.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref><ref name="BBC_2013-03-25"/> Because of the cost of completing the repairs, the SYHA advertised the castle for sale in 2014, for £1.2 million.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref><ref>Template:Cite news</ref> In addition they auctioned 17 marble sculptures<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> and 36 paintings in May 2015, raising a further £1 million.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>

Private residence

In September 2016, the castle was purchased by FCFM Group Ltd, who planned to make it "a world-class private residence".<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>

The castle was put up for sale again in April 2021, priced at £1.5 million.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref><ref>Template:Cite news</ref> It was sold in October 2022 to the barrister Samantha Kane and has since undergone restoration.<ref name=bbc>Template:Cite news</ref> Kane, now known as Lady Carbisdale, used the castle as her residence but intended to partially open it to the public.<ref name=BBC2023>Template:Cite news</ref> Template:As of, it is again on the market, with a guide price of £3.5 million.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

The castle is rumoured to be haunted by a ghost called Betty.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>

External links

• Template:Commons category-inline
• Carbisdale Castle, archived from Scottish Youth Hostels Association website in 2012