History
The new Culloden House
is itself a fine Georgian mansion incorporating much of the original
fortified house/castle within its structure. Built in an elegant
style, it shows the influence, or actual handiwork, of John Adam,
considered to be the pre-eminent architect of the late 19th century.
In addition to the house having an obvious compatibility with
John Adam?s neo-classical style, his influence on the design
is buttressed by surviving letters showing him to be a friend
and houseguest during this period.
By the end of the 18th century Inverness, the largest town of
the Highlands, was acknowledged as its capital with its theatre,
Assembly Rooms and polite society. Its winter season dazzled
the eyes of the townsfolk - balls, concerts and plays all diverted
the local gentry and wealthy merchants who made the town their
base for the dark winter months.
As the capital of the highlands, Inverness increasingly provided
metropolitan sophistication and diversions as the town attracted
wealthy families from all over the Highlands to settle. A ring
of mansions and fine houses sprang up around the town where a
civilized living style could be enjoyed distant from the noise
and bustle of the town yet close enough to enjoy its facilities.
The finest of the country houses in the neighbourhood of Inverness
still survives, Culloden House, an exquisite Georgian mansion
set in open parkland.
But the existing house, already over 200 years old, is not the
first house to stand on this site. Timothy Pont's manuscript
and map of the area surrounding Inverness, dating from 1595-1596,
show Culloden as a fortified tower house, built in the traditional
Scottish style. |
