Skibo Castle

Skibo Castle is located to the west of Dornoch in Sutherland, Highland, Scotland overlooking the Dornoch Firth. Although the castle dates back to the 12th century, the present structure is largely of the 19th century, and early 20th century, when it was the home of industrialist Andrew Carnegie. It is now operated as the Carnegie Club, a members-only hotel and country club.

History

Construction of Skibo Castle was started by Gilbert de Moravia, the Bishop of Caithness, around 1186 at Schytherbolle in the southern area of his bishopric. "Schytherbolle" is the Scottish Gaelic name for Skibo and roughly translates as "place of peace" or "fairlyland".fact|date=September 2008 Skibo Castle remained the residence of subsequent bishops until 1545 when the estate was, as a tactical measure by the church, given to John Gray, in order to reinforce its alliance with a powerful family as the threat of Protestant uprising spread towards the north.

In 1745, Robert Gray surrendered the estate. It was later bought by a relative who built a modern house before 1760.cite web |url=http://www.historic-scotland.gov.uk/index/heritage/gardens/gardenssearchmoreinfo.htm?s=skibo&r=&bool=1&PageID=2304&more_info=Site |title=Skibo Castle: Site History |work=Inventory of Gardens and Designed Landscapes |publisher=Historic Scotland |accessdate=2008-09-04] Its ownership changed frequently, until 1872, when it was bought by Evan Charles Sutherland-Walker, who extended the house and improved the grounds. However, the condition of the building had declined by 1897, when wealthy industrialist Andrew Carnegie took a one year lease, with an option to buy. In 1898 he exercised that option for £85,000. However its condition had declined so much by this time that a further £2 million was spent on improvements, including an increase in area from convert|16000|sqft|m2 to over convert|60000|sqft|m2, plus the creation of Loch Ospisdale and an 18-hole golf course.

Skibo stayed with the Carnegie family until 1982. It was later purchased by businessman Peter de Savary and used as the foundation of a private members club, the Carnegie Club. Establishment of the club required restoration of the castle to recreate the luxury of an Edwardian sporting estate. Similar renovation was undertaken on the many lodges located amongst the castle grounds to provide additional accommodation for club members. De Savary sold the club to Ellis Short in 2003.

The Carnegie Club

The Carnegie Club is a members-only hotel and club, with about 400 members. There is a joining fee, and then the annual membership fee is around £7,500.fact|date=September 2008 Each night spent on the estate costs around £1100, including certain activities, drinks and meals.fact|date=September 2008 The Carnegie links golf course has less than 1000 rounds played on it per annum. The funds raised from membership fees are reinvested, including upgrading some holes of the golf course, at a cost of £3m.fact|date=September 2008 The club has received planning permission for restoration of the swimming pool, which will cost about £2m.fact|date=September 2008

The Carnegie Club hosted Madonna's wedding to Guy Ritchie on 22 December, 2000.fact|date=September 2008 In December 2001, Ashley Judd married Dario Franchitti here.fact|date=September 2008 On 28 December 1997, Robert Carlyle planned a secret midnight wedding with Anastasia Shirley at Skibo Castle, but a journalist phoned the minister posing as a friend, and splashed Carlyle's romantic plans all over the front page.fact|date=September 2008

On 3 December 2006, the BBC Television programme "Landward" featured the Burnett family who for several generations had been tenants of a farm on Skibo estate. The programme highlighted their search for a new farm following their eviction by the estate. The farm is now part of an off-road driving facility for the use of paying guests of the castle. In March 2008, Skibo became a "members only" club, with only members and guests allowed to stay there.

Castle grounds

The grounds include Lake Louise, a very small artificial lake, and one of only a few bodies of water in Scotland known as lakes. [cite web |url=http://www.geo.ed.ac.uk/scotgaz/features/featurefirst10429.html |title=Lake Louise |work=Gazetteer for Scotland |accessdate=2008-09-04] The estate is listed on the "Inventory of Gardens and Designed Landscapes", the list of nationally significant designed landscapes in Scotland. [cite web |url=http://www.historic-scotland.gov.uk/index/heritage/gardens/gardenssearchsummary.htm?s=skibo&r=&bool=1&PageID=2304 |title=Skibo Castle |work=Inventory of Gardens and Designed Landscapes |publisher=Historic Scotland |accessdate=2008-09-04]

References

External links

* [http://www.carnegieclubs.com/ The Carnegie Club at Skibo Castle]
* [http://www.geo.ed.ac.uk/scotgaz/features/featurefirst7791.html Skibo Estate] , "Gazetteer for Scotland"