Cluny Castle

Cluny Castle is a sophisticated neo-classical mansion designed by Robert Burn of Edinburgh in 1805, with a north-west wing and front porch added by W L Carruthers of Inverness around 1890. The building was commissioned by Cluny MacPherson to replace an earlier castle destroyed by fire in 1746, following the Jacobite Rising in which MacPherson had supported Prince Charles Edward.

The main house is a south-facing symmetrical composition of two storeys with an attic, set over a raised basement. It features a wide Adamesque three-bay frontage with three-bay return elevations, each with shallow bowed three-window bays flanking the front and rising the full height. Single-storey wings project at right angles to the rear, flanking a courtyard, with a set-back two-storey four-bay addition at the north-west.

The frontage is constructed of tooled grey granite ashlar with matching dressings. The flanks and rear are of pinned rubble, while the basement is rubble rendered and lined. The circa 1890 glazed timber porch masks the centre door, featuring a crest within a semi-circular pediment and reached by a splayed flight of steps that overhangs the raised basement.

The centre bay is delineated by giant pilasters rising from moulded red sandstone plinths, topped by Ionic capitals. Unusually for the period, there is no entablature, but plain blocks return under the cornice. The entrance is flanked on either side by simple Venetian windows set within arched panels. The first floor features tripartite windows. Ground and first floor cill bands encircle the building. The roof is piended slate with four symmetrical corniced stacks, moulded eaves cornice, and a crenellated wallhead punctuated by small angle dummy bartizans. Piended dormers are set into the roofline. The five-bay rear elevation shows some altered fenestration.

The north-west wing, added around 1890, is two storeys with regular four-bay fenestration, a shaped front centre wallhead stack, and a centre rear gable with apex stack; it has a piended slate roof. Sash windows throughout the mansion feature multi-pane glazing; those in the north-west wing are two-pane.

The rear courtyard is flanked by single-storey wings. The eastern wing has some modern fenestration; the western wing has been altered to stores and garages. The courtyard is closed at the north with a low wall featuring a centre entrance flanked by square tooled ashlar gate piers. A centre well with ornamental stone cover raised on columns occupies the courtyard.

The interior contains a wide entrance hall with a coffered vaulted ceiling and central pendant. The oval detailing extends to the reeded and panelled dado and panelled doors. The south-east drawing room features similar detailing with beaded panelled dado and a fine mahogany door (re-used from elsewhere) with decorative beading. A carved wood chimneypiece (also re-used) is also present.

The south-west room, formerly the dining room, has a reeded and panelled dado with panelled window shutters. An inlaid serving table and buffet recess is flanked by engaged Corinthian columns. A mahogany door matching that in the drawing room is fitted, and decorative plaster ceiling friezes adorn both public rooms. Two four-centred arches supported by fluted Corinthian columns and outer pilasters screen the stairwell. The staircase features ornate cast-iron balusters with a polished wooden handrail.

Decorative chimneypieces, including an inlaid marble piece with basket grate in a first-floor bedroom, are distributed throughout. Panelled window shutters feature on both ground and first floors. The north-west wing formerly housed a billiard room, now converted to a dining room.

The sophisticated joinery in panelling, doors and shutters was probably executed by Aberdeenshire joiners, the detailing and decoration being characteristic of their work. The present drawing room chimneypiece and hearth replace a former marble piece with basket grate. The north-west wing does not appear on the first edition Ordnance Survey map of 1870.

The property was leased by Andrew Carnegie before he purchased Skibo Castle in Sutherland.