Dumfries House

We did a slight diversion to visit Dumfries House which has in recent times been well known for being preserved by the efforts of King Charles and others.

The future of the house came into jeopardy when the 7th Marquis of Bute was faced with double death duties due to the previous owner, 5th Marquess and her son dying in the same year. He then inherited the property and the duties payable.

The house tour was interesting - Dumfries houses the largest collection of Chippendale furniture in the world with chairs (of which they have 13) being worth over 2 million pounds each and a cabinet worth over 20 million pounds. The reason it is worth so much is that it was made, purchased immediately then sent to Dumfries before copies could be made. It is a one-off Chippendale cabinet.

When we arrived we were taken into a small drawing room and the guide gave us a rundown on the Dumfries House story - in particular King Charle’s influence on rescuing, renovating and retaining it for people to see it. We were not allowed to take photos inside the house but managed to get some from the brochure.Read more