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Fire is an ever-present risk to historic buildings across the world. Take, for instance, Notre-Dame cathedral in Paris, which lost its wooden spire and roof when fire broke out in 2019. Inveraray Castle is no stranger to this nightmare scenario, having suffered two major fires during its history. The first took place in 1877 when a lightning strike ignited a blaze which destroyed the attic, burning its way down through the Armoury Hall and melting a pipe-organ installed in 1757. While some of the furnishings and paintings were also destroyed on this occasion (including, according to Lord Lorne, later 9th Duke of Argyll, a portrait of Rob Roy)1 the rebuilding work that followed gave the castle its now famous fairytale appearance. Celebrated Victorian architect Anthony Salvin was brought in, and it is Salvin we have to thank for the heightened attic story and the distinctive conical roofs on the towers.
The second devastating fire happened exactly 50 years ago, on the evening of 5 November 1975. The irony of the date – Bonfire Night – compounded an already traumatic event which might have reduced the castle and its glittering interiors to a smouldering ruin. Thankfully, however, the building was saved. The fire service, with help of local people and estate staff, were able to bring the blaze under control and prevent the destruction of one of Scotland’s most iconic historic houses.
But when day broke on 6 November, it became clear that Salvin’s attic addition had been entirely consumed by the flames. Countless gallons of water from the firehoses had also filtered through the building causing further damage and eventually pooling in the basement. The people of the town worked tirelessly to save the contents of the state rooms from both fire and flood, carrying furniture, paintings and priceless tapestries outside. Many of these now required specialist restoration work.
In February 2022 Kenny Whyte, Head Guide at Inveraray Castle, interviewed Iona, late Dowager Duchess of Argyll, about the 1975 fire. Duchess Iona was shown press photographs and a copy of the restoration appeal brochure which brought back some difficult memories. Yet as the Duchess herself commented, “we got on with it”. For Ian, 12th Duke of Argyll, and Iona, there was simply no other option but to rebuild, in spite of the scale of the challenge and an insurance payout that did not cover the full cost of what would turn out to be a major restoration project.
During the interview, the Duchess recounted what happened to all the furniture in the aftermath of the fire: “I remember saying to the locals, let’s put the furniture in the basement, and they said no, no, no, not the basement: they knew all the water would get into the basement . . . They put it in the Maltlands” (the complex of working buildings adjacent to the old walled garden). That basement would in fact be where the Duke, Duchess and their family lived for the next few years in cold and damp conditions while working tirelessly to reopen the castle.
Records relating to the restoration appeal now form part of Argyll Estates Archives (ref. ARG/06/TM/05/06). They are central to the castle’s story, just like the original architectural plans, accounts and cellar books also in the collection. While more of a museum object than an archival record, a plastic donation box has also been rediscovered and preserved. Donations flooded in from all over the world, not least from the Clan Campbell diaspora who gave generously to help save their ancestral home.
Restoration of the castle was a complex affair. The work was overseen by Ian G. Lindsay & Partners, conservation architects who were involved in a previous restoration of the castle and town in the 1950s and ’60s. One of the biggest changes to the structure of the building was the installation of steel roof trusses by Aberdeenshire fabricators Alex Geddes. These were treated with a special fire-retardant coating; one of several fireproofing measures undertaken during the restoration. Other firms involved at the time included T. Harley Haddow & Partners, Edinburgh; David R. Murray & Associates, Dunfermline; and James D. Gibson & Simpson, Edinburgh. In addition, many local tradesmen and contractors worked hard to bring the castle back from the brink. On 24 March 1978, just 2 years and 4 months after the fire, Inveraray Castle reopened to the public.
Half a century on from the 1975 fire, we reflect on how close the castle came to destruction. We also remember with gratitude all those who were involved in the fight to rescue it on the night of 5 November and in the days, months and years that followed. Their determination means that we can continue to enjoy this magnificent building and the treasures it contains.
- Argyll Estates Archives, bundle 3703/4. 18 Nov 1895, Letter from Lord Lorne, later 9th Duke, to Lord Archibald Campbell, concerning the picture of Rob Roy ‘which I have also heard mentioned, must have been burnt in the fire’. ↩︎