Lennox Castle
| Lennox Castle | |
| Stirlingshire | |
|---|---|
 Lennox Castle | |
| Location | |
| Grid reference: | NS607783 |
| Location: | 55°58’40"N, 4°14’2"W |
| History | |
| Built 1837-1841 | |
| Country house | |
| Information | |
| Condition: | Ruinous |
Lennox Castle is a large, Victorian mansion to the west of Lennoxtown in Stirlingshire, built in the form of a castle. It was first a private home, later part of a huge mental hospital, and now stands in a ruinous condition caused by neglect and fire.
The house as built is a three-storey red sandstone mansion, in the style of a Norman castle. The walls are castellated and battlemented, and an imposing porte-cochere frames the northern entrance. At each corner stands a four-storey pavilion and a tower reaching to five storeys contains a display decorative embattled parapets. An enclosed courtyard lies to the west side.
History
In 1833, John Lennox Kincaid, son of John Kincaid of Kincaid and Cecilia Lennox, succeeded to the estates here. He was determined to prove his right to the ancient title 'Earl of Lennox', long vacant, and in pursuit of that claim he set, from 1837, building a castle fit for an earl of such ancient honour, engaging David Hamilton as architect. The castle was completed in 1841 and Kicaid adopted the name "Lennox". His claim to the earldom was unsuccessful but his new castle served as.a fine mansion. The Kincaid-Lennox family retained the castle until the early twentieth century.
In 1914, Lennox Castle served as hospital for war-wounded.
In 1927, Glasgow Parish Council bought the castle and its estate of with 1,222 acres from William George Peareth Kincaid Lennox for £25,000, to serve as a Mental Deficiency Institution: the castle was of the right size and reachable from Glasgow, from where the majority of mental patients would be coming, and easily reached by either train or road. Plans were drawn up for what was intended to be the largest and best equipped hospital of its type in Britain. The hospital was built in the grounds, providing 1,200 beds. Lennox Castle itself was adapted into a nurses' home. A maternity unit was subsequently established on the site in 1941 which operated until 1964.
The hospital built in the grounds was opened in 1929. It was ambitious, and American specialists, who visited, believed it to be one hundred years in advance of its time. Although Lennox Castle was recognized as the largest and best-equipped institution of its kind in Britain, there was much criticism because of the cost.
In 1948 the hospital became part of the National Health Service, competing for resources and priorties, often unsuccessfully. By the 1980s, the hospital had deteriorated and a major renewal programme was carried out, and patients were transferred to the Castle for the time being. Throughout the 1990s, a phased closure of the hospital was carried out. A planned resettlement of all the residents was also implemented. The hostial finally closed in 2002, and the hospital buildings have since been demolished.
In 2007 Glasgow Celtic Football Club, having acquired the site, opened its new training ground on the Lennox Castle estate, a facility it cost the club £8million to build.
In 2008 the Castle was ravaged by fire. A large part of the tower was destroyed and the rest of the castle left dilapidated and possibly unstable. This position hhas discouraged applications to convert the castle into flats. The building remains on the Buildings at Risk Register.[1]
Outside links
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("Wikimedia Commons" has material about Lennox Castle) |
References
- ↑ Lennox Castle – Buildings at Risk (RCAHMS)
