Dalmoak House

Dalmoak Castle, interchangeably referred to as Dalmoak House, is a Category A listed building off the A812 Renton Road in the ancient Parish of Cardross. It sits between the village of Renton and the town of Dumbarton on the North side the Firth of Clyde in Dunbartonshire, Scotland (G82 4HQ).[1] It was built in a Scottish baronial style by the architect Alexander Watt[1] in 1866–69, or 1866-1869 according to some sources, for John Aiken of Glasgow.[2] Aiken's involvement in the wine and spirits mercantile trade was the basis for the castle's nickname, 'Brandy Castle', which has been in use ever since.[3]

Dalmoak Castle
Parish of Cardross, Dunbartonshire, Scotland, United Kingdom
Dalmoak Castle in 2017
Dalmoak Castle
Coordinates55.9593°N 4.5909°W / 55.9593; -4.5909
Grid referencegrid reference NS3835677071
Site information
Open to
the public		By appointment
Site history
Built1866
Built forJohn Aiken of Glasgow
Listed Building – Category A
Designated8 September 1980
Reference no.LB45600
ArchitectAlexander Watt
MaterialsStone, Marble

Early history

Some sources indicated that the land was actually owned by Robert the Bruce at one time. The oldest document as to ownership is from 18 October 1533, a charter granting the property to John Palmer. The charter in 1569, after the Palmer family gave up ownership, granted the property to "John Sempill/Semple of Fulwood".[4]

The current house was built on the foundations of an earlier building, the blocked up windows of which can be seen in one of the wine cellars. Dalmoak was one of the royal manors in the district, and was used chiefly as a hunting seat. The Dalmoak Estate included the remains of the Palace of Cardross where King Robert the Bruce died.

Aiken Mausoleum (detail)

John Aiken, the castle's original owner, is buried in the grand and elaborate Aiken Mausoleum on the north slopes of the Glasgow Necropolis, as to reflect his vast wealth.[5]

20th Century

Before WW II, the Aiken Trust had leased the property to a local farmer, Robert Young (circa 1934) who operated it as Dalmoak Farm. (Some reports erroneously state that Young purchased the property.)[6]

For a time during the Second World War, the RAF used the castle as an operational headquarters. Later, it was sold to Alexandrina Reid Cousins who started the restoration. Her grandson, John Szwed, completed the restoration; the home was then converted into a nursing home. The full ownership record from 1801 to 2007 is stated as follows:

[7]

Descent: John Aiken (1801-75); to son, James Aiken (1843-1928); to Trustees, one of whom (James Cyril Mawdesley Aiken), lived in the house; leased from c.1934 to Mr Young, farmer of Dalmoak Farm; used by RAF during War as the headquarters of the Clydebank decoy system, then as flats for homeless families; then as cattle stalling until sold 1964 to Alexandrina Reid Cousins (d. 1996); gifted to daughter, Constance Szwed-Cousins; gifted to son, John Szwed (d. 2004), who restored it as a nursing home; to brother, Michel Szwed-Cousins, who sold 2007 to Castle Glen Care & Nursing Home.

Dalmoak House was A listed on 8 September 1980, #LB45600.[1] The stables, lodge, walled garden and gatepiers are B listed, separately from the castle: #LB42921[8] and LB1163.[9] The Historic Environment Scotland web site provides a detailed summary of the House as it stood in 1980. The following is an excerpt:[1]

2-storey, 5-bay, broad U-plan castellated Tudor gothic mansion. Battered base course with gunloop details; hoodmoulds; crenellated parapet on billetted corbelling; chamfered reveals; curved corners; corbelled bartizans; rope moulding. ... Interior: sumptuous decorative schemes - tripartite etched glass vestibule door; stair hall and corridor, scagliola Corinthian columns; coffered ceiling, modillioned cornice; heavy decorative cornice, paired brackets. Wooden Imperial stair; 3 round-arched stained glass stair windows depicting Celtic mythological scene, ?JA? monogram, unsigned; niches to right and left of stair landing. Ornate marble chimneypieces in upper bedrooms. Room to W off hall; coffered, heavy decorative plasterwork; Corinthian columns with ?JA? monogram; geometric ceiling. East front room, plasterwork ceiling, egg and dart moulding, beading, dentil cornice.

21st Century

The house has been offered for sale from 2017 to 2019 (ongoing and under enquiry[10]), with an asking price which has fallen from £1.7 million to £675,000,[11] over concerns at the cost of the land taxes involved.

Castle Glen Care And Nursing Home, owned by Nanda and Nitin Satpute closed due to financial difficulties in late 2013.[12] Nitin Satpute's plan was to convert the castle into a hotel and a venue for events. He ran into difficulties when trying to get planning permission. The 2019 listing by Savills provides no indication that Dalmoak House was ever used as a hotel.[13] A November 2019 Country Life (magazine) report provided additional specifics about the property. While the castle was built in 1866, a home of some type has been located here since medieval times. The interior photographs confirm that the stained glass panels are quite massive. The 9,500 square feet (880 m2) home includes 14 bedrooms, a formal dining room and a basement with a wine cellar.[14]

The stable building has been renovated and is now used as cottages.[15]

  • Rear view of Dalmoak
  • 2017

References
  1. Historic Environment Scotland. "RENTON, DALMOAK HOUSE (LB45600)". Retrieved 22 June 2020.
  2. "It's a whole loch of castle", Oliver Stallwood, Metro, 9 May 2017, p. 18.
  3. Scots castle with UK’s ‘largest stained glass’ window for sale. Russell Jackson, The Scotsman, 10 April 2017. Retrieved 10 May 2017.
  4. "Dalmoak House". Geograph. 11 July 2017. Retrieved 27 November 2019.
  5. "The ultimate guide to enjoying Niagara Falls". Landed families of Britain and Ireland. 6 September 2019. Retrieved 27 November 2019.
  6. Art, Nelson-Atkins Museum of; Dunbar, Burton Lewis; Faries, Molly; Woodall, Dena Marie (2005). Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art, Burton Lewis Dunbar, Molly Faries, Dena Marie Woodall Nelson-Atkins Museum. Seattle, WA. p. 314.
  7. "The ultimate guide to enjoying Niagara Falls". Landed families of Britain and Ireland. 6 September 2019. Retrieved 27 November 2019. A largely symmetrical castellated mansion house with a tall tower, ... library formerly had castellated bookcases, which were removed when the house was converted into a nursing home in 1990, although some of them were moved to the drawing room. The three round-arched stained glass windows on the staircase ... depict mythological characters
  8. Historic Environment Scotland. "RENTON, DALMOAK HOUSE, NORTH GATES AND GATEPIERS (LB42921)". Retrieved 22 June 2020.
  9. Historic Environment Scotland. "RENTON, DALMOAK HOUSE, MAINS LODGE WITH GATES, GATEPIERS AND BOUNDARY WALL (LB1163)". Retrieved 22 June 2020.
  10. "Dalmoak Castle". Savills estate agents. Retrieved 9 June 2019.
  11. "Castle on historic estate has price slashed from £1.7m to 900k – amid concern over sky-high land tax". deadline. 6 July 2018.
  12. https://www.thegazette.co.uk/notice/E-27347-6
  13. "Owner of former Dumbarton care home reveals new plans to transform it into a 'boutique hotel'". Daily Record. 12 February 2016. Retrieved 4 November 2019.
  14. "An extravagantly beautiful little castle that has the largest stained glass windows of any private home in Britain". Country Life. 26 November 2019. Retrieved 27 November 2019.
  15. "1866 Dalmoak Castle For Sale In Dumbarton Scotland". Captivating Houses. 29 June 2019. Retrieved 28 November 2019.

Further reading
  • Walker F.A. and F. Sinclair (1992) North Clyde Estuary, p. 38.
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