About Us - History

Kilchurn Castle

The history of Ardanaiseig really begins in 1801 when Archibald Campbell of Blackhouse and Finlayson purchased the property Tervine from the Inverawe Estate which had been owned by his ancestors since the 14th Century.

After his death in 1832, Tervine, which comprised a very ancient ferryhouse and about 1000 acres of hill and rough grazing, was sold by his executors to his nephew, Colonel James Archibald Campbell who built the house we see today in 1834. At the time it was called New Inverawe. Colonel Campbell spent two years laying out the grounds and planting trees, some of which still survive.

There is in existence a pleasant description of Sunday mornings at New Inverawe when the Colonel would make a selection from his ample supply of daughters to row him across Loch Awe to church at Cladich, followed at a respectful distance by a flotilla of lesser boats carrying the rest of the family and the entire domestic staff.

It is perhaps worthwhile pausing for a moment to consider this formidable character. The Colonel was a wealthy man and apart from his own fortune, both his wives were considerable heiresses which was convenient in view of the size of the family. He was a devout churchman, a non-smoker and a teetotaller. Guests had to bring their own liquor with them which they were only allowed to consume in private, and they were expected to clean away all evidence of their activities afterwards. He was a strict disciplinarian and when his sons went to school at Rugby, he purchased a property in the neighbourhood in order to continue to supervise their education at close quarters and ensure that their schoolmasters carried on the stern traditions of their home life.

Colonel Campbell died in 1879 and in 1880 New Inverawe was sold by his executors to a Mr John Ainsworth who had large interests in iron, coal and heavy industry in Cumberland. A condition of the sale was that the house was no longer to be called New Inverawe since it had ceased to belong to the Campbell family and the name was accordingly changed to Ardanaiseig, the Gaelic name for the point of land near which the house was built. The word means “The point by the ferry” but the reference to a ferry is obscure. Perhaps the ferry was the one at Tervine which is known to have existed for many centuries, or perhaps at one time there was a ferry from the point to Innishail (the Holy Isle) which is only a few hundred yards away across the water and where there is believed to have been some sort of religious community since the time of St Columba. Finally, it may have something to do with the causeways which were built out to the numerous crannogs (lake dwellings) in Loch Awe, traces of which still remain and one of which lies just off the shore from the lawn of this house and is visible from all the windows looking out over the loch.

The Campbell clan viewed the newcomer with suspicion but were prepared to give him the benefit of the doubt. In a letter to a cousin, the then Campbell of Inverawe wrote that although Mr Ainsworth had made his money from a hole in the ground, he seemed quite a decent fellow. This cautiously optimistic assessment was happily justified when “Mr Ainsworth” became Liberal Member of Parliament for Argyll and was given a Baronetcy in 1916 for his public services.

After Sir John’s death in 1932 his son, Sir Thomas, lived until shortly after the last war. During his time a great number of flowering shrubs of all kinds were planted and the area of woodland gardens was much enlarged. Up till the outbreak of the Second World War, a number of gardeners were employed but inevitably maintenance deteriorated during the war years. In 1947, Sir Thomas decided to move to Ireland where he made a new garden and took a large number of young shrubs with him, housing them temporarily in Lord Strachcona’s garden in Colonsay while the new house was being prepared.

Ardanaiseig was sold to Sir Duncan McCallum, once again the Member of Parliament for Argyll, but this time a Unionist. Sir Duncan’s father, against his family’s wishes, had gone on the Music Hall stage using the stage name of Charles Coburn and made an enormous success with his song ”The man who broke the bank at Monte Carlo” which became one of the most famous songs of its era. Sir Duncan chose a less hazardous career and became a soldier, serving in various capacities in China, the Middle East and Bulgaria and then in the Second World War until he went into politics. He died in 1958 and his widow, after disposing separately of Tervine and Ballamore – two of the farms forming the estate – finally sold Ardanaiseig itself in 1963. Much time has been spent since then rehabilitating the gardens after the neglect of the war years and recently a lot of planting has been done. The gardens are now open to the public daily from Easter until 31st October. They are, of course open to hotel guests at all times free of charge and their care remains one of the main concerns of the proprietors and management.