Old Photographs Carbisdale Castle Scotland

Old photograph of Carbisdale Castle located three miles North West of Bonar Bridge, Sutherland, Scotland. This Scottish 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 Kindersely 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 London. 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 work started in 1906 just outside the Sutherland lands in Ross-shire. 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. This is further supported by the fact that the castle's tower only has clocks on three of its four faces, the side facing Sutherland is blank, supposedly because the Duchess did not wish to give the time of day to her former relatives.

All photographs are copyright of Sandy Stevenson, Tour Scotland, and may not be used without permission.

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