The Castle
Location Map (115KB) Castle Grounds (152KB)
"... is located a mile north of Golspie in Sutherland on the east coast of northern Scotland, about 90 minutes north of Inverness.
It is the seat of the Earls and Dukes of Sutherland.
It has 189 rooms and is the largest house in the Northern Highlands. Parts of it date back to the 1300s.
It contains opulent collections of furniture, pictures, objets d'art, uniforms, china and family memorabilia on display in the drawing room, library, study, bedrooms, nurseries, etc. Among the rooms at Dunrobin is the "Clan Room" that includes a computer on which family trees can be entered. Visitors to the castle can also see a 19th century horsedrawn fire engine in the Sub Hall and look at the museum which is housed in the old summer house. The estate also features magnificent gardens and falconry displays.
The current owner is Elizabeth Janson, Countess of Sutherland, who inherited the castle in 1963 following the death of the 5th Duke of Sutherland whose funeral service took place in the drawing room. Although she holds the earldom, the dukedom went to his cousin the then Earl of Ellesmere.
For seven years in the late 60s and early 70s the castle was home to a Boys' Boarding School.
The formal gardens were laid out in 1850 by Barry, the architect who built the Victorian extension to Dunrobin and also the Houses of Parliament in London.
It is the ancestral home of Clan Sutherland, one of the most ancient Earldoms of Scotland. The Sutherlands may have been Pictish Thanes before being absorbed by the Scottish takeover of the Pictish kingdoms, which may have taken several centuries in these northern parts.
Many Pictish stones have been found in and around the castle grounds. First mentioned as a Sutherland stronghold in 1401, Dunrobin Castle was originally built in the late 13th century by Robert, 2nd Earl of Sutherland and the Sutherlands ruled these northern lands from here until their property passed by marriage to the Gordons in 1652. The lands again passed by marriage in the 18th century to the Trentham Marquis of Stafford.
The name "Dun Robin" in Gaelic means "Robin's hill" or "fort," may have come from Robert, the 6th Earl of Sutherland who died in 1427. The 13th century "keep" is no longer visible from the outside of the castle but can be seen from the corridor windows. This "keep", with walls six feet thick and a vaulted ceiling, stood isolated for some 200 years until a new staircase and a long high house were added. It was encased by a series of additions from the 16th century onwards. In 1785 a large extension was constructed.
In 1845, Dunrobin was extensively remodeled by the architect Sir Charles Barry, who had designed the Houses of Parliament. This renovation encased the early castle and gave the castle most of its current appearance with the conical spires. The massive baronial residence was inspired by Queen Victoria's new residence at Balmoral. Barry also laid out the gardens in the 1850s. After a fire in 1915, the Scottish architect Sir Robert Lorimer conducted repairs and altered the top of the main tower and clock tower at the north side of the building to the Scottish Renaissance style.
Septs of Clan Sutherland are: Cheyne, Clyne, Duffus, Federith, Gray, Keith, Mowat, Murray and Oliphant. There are additional families that are not actually septs, but come from Sutherlandshire or have been associated with Clan Sutherland. For example, Norman and O'May are associated with the Clan and recognized as such by the Standing Council of Scottish Chiefs.
The Interior
The Dining Room
Sir Robert Lorimer redesigned the Dining Room after a fire damaged the castle in 1915. The wall-top frieze is of Italian origin but the most striking feature of the room is the group of family portraits.
The Dining Room has a Khorassan carpet and the table is set for dinner with Georgian silver. The oak chairs are of Stuart period design and covered in needlework by Duchess Eileen, wife of the 5th Duke.
The Drawing Room
As with the other principle rooms in the castle, the Drawing Room was redesigned by Sir Robert Lorimer in 1915. To form it he threw together two smaller drawing rooms from Sir Charles Barry's original plans and thus created a light, spacious room in direct contrast to the cosy clutter of the Victorian Era and giving a fine view of the gardens and parterre surrounding the large fountains.
The principal items of furniture are of the Louis XV period, and include a set of two settees, while the walls are hung with 18th century Mortlake tapestries and family portraits.
The Library
Sir Robert Lorimer formed this room from a principal bedroom and dressing room. It is lined throughout with natural sycamore wood.
The focal point of this room is the magnificent portrait by Philip de Laszlo of Duchess Eileen. Born Lady Eileen Butler, elder daughter of the Earl of Lanesborough, she married the 5th Duke of Sutherland in 1912. The Duchess, who was Mistress of the Robes to Queen Mary, died in 1943.
On the opposite wall hangs a portrait of the 5th Duke painted in 1901 when he was Marquess of Stafford. This portrait was a gift from the tenantry of Dunrobin Estate to mark Lord Stafford's coming of age. The Library houses over 10,000 books, many of them fine and rare editions.
The Duke's Study
The Duke's Study is panelled in Scottish larch, and contains many fine family portraits. A small balcony enabled the 5th Duke to watch his piper playing on the terrace in the mornings.
Through secret doors and stairways, the room connects to Duchess Clare's bedroom, the Green and Gold Room and the Ladies' Sitting Room.
The Green and Gold Room
Queen Victoria visited Dunrobin in 1872 and slept in the gilt four-poster bed.
The Green and Gold Room and adjoining dressing room were redecorated in the French style for Duchess Eileen in 1921, the original room having been made in 1785 when the Countess of Sutherland married Lord Stafford. A Gobelin tapestry hangs on the wall opposite the windows and the curtains have a leaf design - a heraldic allusion to the Leveson family. Over the fireplace is a portrait of the daughter of the Duc de Bourbon by Nattier. The suite also contains a bathroom, which is the first installed in the castle.
The Nurseries
In the Day Nursery, which is lined with ash wood, the children of the family and its visitors amused themselves under the supervision of their nannies and nursery maids. The toys on display include a rocking horse and a doll's house, which was made for the present Countess of Sutherland's daughter, Lady Annabel.
The MuseumBuilt by William, Earl of Sutherland, as a Summer House and extended by the 3rd Duke, the Museum houses a collection of hunting trophies and other items brought from all over the world, together with many objects of interest presented to the museum by friends of the Sutherland family.
The Pictish Stones form a very important collection, giving an opportunity to study the devices carved on stones 1,500 years ago. There is also a section on geology, gold panning at Kildonan and the coal mine at Brora.
The Grounds
The Gardens were laid out in 1850 by the architect Sir Charles Barry, who was responsible for the Victorian extension to the Castle and who designed the Houses of Parliament.
Inspiration for the formal parterres came from the gardens of Versailles, and they have changed little from Barry's design, although new plants are constantly being introduced and avenues of blackthorn and whitebeams have been planted. Despite its northerly location, the sheltered gardens are able to support a surprising range of plants, which provide the cut flowers for the displays throughout the castle."
