Inveraray Castle

Summary

A Category A listed Gothic Revival castle near Inveraray in Argyll, Scotland, on the shore of Loch Fyne, with a foundation stone laid in October 1746 for the 3rd Duke of Argyll to designs by William Adam and Roger Morris, comprising four crenellated round towers and neoclassical interiors by Robert Mylne for the 5th Duke; set within a 60,000-acre estate; seat of the Dukes of Argyll, chiefs of Clan Campbell; used as a filming location for Downton Abbey (ITV, 2012), A Very British Scandal (BBC One, 2021), and The Diplomat (Netflix, 2024).

About this location

Inveraray Castle stands on the shore of Loch Fyne in Argyll, western Scotland, approximately fifty miles north-west of Glasgow. The present castle replaced an earlier 15th-century fortification. The 3rd Duke of Argyll, Archibald Campbell, laid the foundation stone in October 1746 and commissioned the castle in the Gothic Revival style, then just emerging as a significant architectural movement. Together with Horace Walpole’s Strawberry Hill House, Inveraray is considered among the earliest examples of Gothic Revival architecture in Britain. The designers were William Adam and Roger Morris; after Adam’s death in 1748, the project continued under his sons John and Robert Adam.

The exterior presents four crenellated round towers at the corners and a central tower above the entrance front, with the whole mass built of ashlar lapis ollaris, a local stone that has a greenish-grey cast when freshly cut. The original flat, crenellated rooflines were later modified by the addition of a third storey with pitched roof, dormer windows, and steep conical roofs to the four corner towers, giving the castle its present picturesque silhouette. The interior of the principal floor contains a sequence of neoclassical rooms created in the 1780s and 1790s for the 5th Duke of Argyll by the architect Robert Mylne, whose work replaced earlier decorative schemes. The State Dining Room, the Drawing Room, and the Tapestry Drawing Room — hung with a set of Beauvais tapestries commissioned for the house — are among the rooms open to visitors.

The castle’s armoury hall displays an exceptional collection of more than 1,300 pikes, muskets, swords and other weapons arranged in formal patterns on the walls and ceiling, a display assembled from the arsenal of Clan Campbell that represents one of the largest collections of historic weapons on show in any Scottish house.

In 1975 a fire started in the roof and caused severe damage to the upper floors and the central tower. The 12th Duke and his family lived in the basement during the years of restoration, which were funded by a worldwide appeal.

The 13th Duke of Argyll and his family continue to occupy private apartments within the castle, which are set between two of the four corner towers. The remainder of the castle is open to the public seasonally. The wider estate of 60,000 acres encompasses commercial forestry, tenanted farms, wind and hydro power installations, and deer stalking.

A Very British Scandal (Blueprint Television/Amazon Studios, BBC One, 2021, directed by Anne Sewitsky, written by Sarah Phelps, starring Claire Foy as Margaret, Duchess of Argyll and Paul Bettany as Ian Campbell, 11th Duke of Argyll) used Inveraray Castle extensively for exteriors and interiors representing the seat of the Argyll dukedom, which the drama concerns directly. The Diplomat (Netflix, Season 2, 2024, created by Deborah Cahn, starring Keri Russell) used the castle as a location. Downton Abbey (ITV, 2012) also filmed at Inveraray.