Alice Loxton Visits Inveraray Castle

Alice Loxton is a young historian, writer and presenter. Over the years, she has worked with many organisations to bring history to mainstream audiences. Back in the summer, the judges travelled to Inveraray Castle to learn more about the collection. Here, Alice tells us more about the history of the property and their collection.

Inveraray Castle

Inveraray Castle is the family home for the dukes of Argyll, built and furnished to provide a comfortable and impressive home, which has developed to meet the needs of different generations. The present Inveraray Castle was built in the mid-eighteenth century.

The castle has been open to the public since 1953 and welcomes thousands of visitors every year including members of the worldwide Clan Campbell. It is currently open to the public five days a week from 1 April - 30 October each year.

The classical interiors of the State Rooms still reflect their creation in the 1770s and 1780s. The Armoury Hall, the central feature of the house, is decorated with a fine display of arms, used and ceremonial. The first-floor public rooms are furnished with objects and pictures from the collection in a themed approach, with the Victorian Room, the MacArthur room and the Picture Turret.

The collections are spread across the whole Castle, including the private side, to which the public have access on certain days of the year. There are also two libraries with volumes dating back to the 1600s alongside more recent publications, and the archive which contains the family and estate records of the Campbell family, earls and dukes of Argyll, from the thirteenth century to the present day.

The Collection

Recently, a change in focus has seen a reinterpretation of the Castle and its collections to look more closely at the women in the family. As well as bringing dowries and cementing alliances, many of the Argyll women carved their own spheres of influence in society, in fashion, at court and many took on management of the extensive Argyll estates when needed.

The initial 'Leading Ladies' exhibition brought together portraits, artefacts and documents with three dresses, two of which were worn by the 12th Duchess and the other made by the 12th Duchess for her young granddaughter, Lady Charlotte. The dresses added a 3-dimensional aspect to the display which has delighted visitors, and the idea of a Duchess sewing for her granddaughter enables them to make a personal connection to the family.

Since then the exhibition has expanded to include two gowns recreated from portraits hanging in the Castle. The dresses are being entirely hand sewn by an historic seamstress. Once completed, they will be displayed alongside the portraits, engaging visitors to discuss the designs, textiles, construction and techniques required to make them, whilst also bringing a new focus to the women themselves, to the paintings and to the social history behind them. The focus on the Leading Ladies continues with other items from the collection, including furniture, pieces of porcelain and other artefacts which connect to other women, providing these stories too.

Visitors to Inveraray wanting to see beyond the fairy-tale exterior of the building, are able to understand the rooms and the spaces and the family members who lived there. Along with the Castle guides, who can draw on their knowledge of the house and the family to evoke visitors' imagination, this new approach to interpretation enables visitors to connect with the place and its people.

The winner of this year's award will be announced this November. Stay tuned as we announce other shortlist contenders over the next few weeks.