Outside the Castle

A part from the normal everyday maintenance that a building such as Culzean demands, there are times when more radical repairs have to be faced.

For some years now we have been replacing the outer skin of stone where the deterioration has reached an unacceptable level. Robert Adam's design which embraced delicate detailing, was carried out in the local stone; however, two hundred years of salt and sand-laden wind, rain and frost, and tight joints have caused severe weathering with the result that the outer surface has decayed and lost its original crispness. The original local quarry had been closed long ago and the nearest matching stone of durable quality comes from Northumberland. To repair only the stones in the poorest condition might have made the castle look like patchwork; the alternative was to replace all the stonework giving the appearance of a new castle. In the end, and after much thought, it was decided to take the latter course. Curiously, in the process of so doing, it was discovered that this technique was employed by Adam himself on the original tower house.

The Trust uses the expertise provided by statutory bodies such as the Historic Buildings Council for Scotland who, in addition, give extremely generous grant-aid towards these projects. Without it, such painstaking and labour-intensive work would not be possible.

Culzean's designed landscape includes a large number of ancillary buildings ranging from major structures, like the Viaduct, to smaller creations typified by the Camellia House, the Cat Gates and the Pagoda. These buildings contribute a great deal to the character and atmosphere of the property but they too have suffered the same wear and tear as the Castle.

In order to address this major problem the Culzean Stonework Appeal was launched in 1990 to raise .£2.5m, which, with further assistance from government and other grant-aiding agencies, would fund a programme of restoration. The response was superb, the total achieved, and work began in 1991 on the Viaduct, the Gas Court and Swan Pond Cottage. Critical to the approach is the adaptive use of the interiors of many of the buildings. The Gas Court, for example, houses exhibitions explaining the historical evolution of gas and Its impact locally and nationally.