BILL MCALLISTER: Castle is star of the show and a real boon for tourism...
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The concluding episode of what has been hailed as ‘the Highland Hunger Games’ is screened on BBC1 this Thursday (December 22). The real star of ‘The Traitors’, a psychological reality show, is a castle built by an Invernessian and funded by a man whose portrait hangs in Inverness council chamber.
Trending on Twitter, the show has run behind only the World Cup and Netflix’s Meghan and Harry documentary and is set to be a New Year tonic to Highland tourism.
Ardross Castle, near Alness, is the stunning backdrop to the show, which began with 22 contestants with one being ‘murdered’ every night and host Claudia Winkelman has raved about the castle, its atmospheric rooms, and lavish grounds.
The same owner and architect duo responsible for transforming a hunting lodge into a castle in Scots Baronial style also made their mark in Inverness – which is why Ardross Street and Ardross Terrace gained their names.
Sir Alexander Matheson was a merchant adventurer who made his fortune trading tea and opium in India and China after becoming a partner in his uncle’s famed Jardine and Matheson giant trading firm. He would go on to employ eminent Inverness architect Sir Alexander Ross over a significant period.
Returning to Scotland in 1845, Matheson bought the 60,000 acre Ardross estate, 25 miles from Inverness, from the second Duke of Sutherland for £90,000.
He had the funds to implement his vision to transform the estate. Between 1845 and 1854 he had 2600 acres of land reclaimed by trenching, draining and liming. He installed 67 miles of stone dykes and 11 miles of wire fencing plus 28 miles of road.
In addition, he had 3000 acres of ground enclosed and planted. The number of his agricultural tenants rose from 109 to over 500.
To replace the lodge with an architectural statement castle, Matheson turned to Ross. The Invernessian was supervisor of roads and buildings for the Highland Railway, of which Matheson was the first chairman.
Ross was paid £7000 and, from 1847, 400 workmen were engaged at peak construction of house and grounds.
The front arch of the two-storey castle contained the Matheson family crest. Ross designed a four-storey tower with Chinese railings, a nod to Sir Alexander’s trading past. Likewise, it is thought that the poppies engraved on the gatehouse referred to his opium trading!
Five bellcast turrets were included in the castle, which had north and south wings with 30 rooms.
In 1847, Matheson was elected MP for Inverness Burghs, which he was to represent for 21 years, marking his election by donating £100 to the improvement of Ness Islands. Four years later he acquired the feudal barony of Lochalsh, whose lands ranged from Eilean Donan Castle to Loch Ness-side and the western flank of Inverness.
Ross was appointed factor of the Inverness land, with a remit to develop it, including erecting Ardross House, Matheson’s town property. Extensive housing was created in the Muirtown area and Matheson gave the land on which Ross built St Andrew’s Cathedral.
In addition to Ardross Terrace and Ardross Street, Ross built Perceval Road, which was named after Matheson’s third wife’s father Spencer Perceval, the only British Prime Minister to be assassinated.
In 1880-81, Ross was back at Ardross Castle, commissioned to make considerable alterations, including creating the Great Hall. After Matheson’s death in 1898, Alexander’s son Kenneth sold the estate to businessman CW Dyson Perrins, of the Lea and Perrins sauce firm, who engaged Ross to build an East Lodge. Ross was Provost of Inverness at the time, a post he held until 1895.
Today, Ardross Castle is an event and conference venue, gaining new fame from ‘The Traitors’, so successful that the BBC has commissioned a second series. ‘TV tourism’ is a fact, with one in five visitors inspired to travel after seeing destinations on films or TV. The Matheson-Ross partnership can thus continue to help the Highland economy….
- Sponsored by Ness Castle Lodges.
