The Dining Room

Like the Armoury this was planned as two rooms - the Library in the larger part and a dressing room beyond; they were thrown into one to form a large dining room in the 1870's alterations. It might seem strange to us today to have a dressing room on the ground-floor next to the Library, quite divorced from a bedroom, but in the 18th century the laird would very often have attended to estate business and interviewed people whilst informally attired in his dressing gown and probably being shaved by his valet. The frieze is the one that Adam designed for the Library but the ceiling is a late 19th-century confection in a supposed Adam style. It now appears much as it was when alterations were made. The chimney piece and door cases are copies of those in the old Eating Room. The 18th-century colour scheme was restored in 1975.

The dining table is early 19th-century and the chairs are in the manner of Thomas Chippendale; half of the set dates from the 18th century and the rest are 19th-century copies. The large sideboard at the end of the room is Victorian in the 'Adam' manner and is contemporary with the remodelling of the room. Beneath is a plate bucket in which dinner plates were once carried to and fro. The four sidetables are Chippendale. The small pair of late 18th-century urns is for cutlery. The large pair of urns on the side tables opposite was designed by Adam for the Eating Room. The dessert service is Derby and the green glasses are probably Bristol. The chandelier, designed for gas lighting, once hung upstairs in the Saloon. The walnut longcase clock is by the famous English clockmaker George Graham (1674-1751).

The central picture over the fireplace is by Ben Marshall, painted about 1800. It shows the 12th Earl of Cassillis, later to become the 1st Marquess of Ailsa, (1770-1846). He was the son of the American Earl whose portrait is in the Picture Room. The story is that this picture commemorates a famous wager concerning the shortest time in which he could ride from Culzean to Glasgow. To the left is a picture by Fiddes Watt of the 3rd Marquess (1847-1938) whose interests were yachting and gardening; many of the exotic plants in the gardens today were planted by him. To the right is his wife, Evelyn Stuart. Between the windows is an equestrian portrait, by John Ferneley, of the 1st Marquess's eldest son, who died during his father's lifetime. Charles Lutyens painted the portrait of his son, the 2nd Marquess (1816-1870), in the uniform of the Ayrshire Yeomanry, which hangs behind the pillars. Over the sideboard is a portrait by W.E. Miller of the 4th Marquess (1872-1943) - his wife, Frances MacTaggart Stewart, is portrayed by Fiddes Watt in the oval picture at the other end of the room.