Scottish Serenade - 7
It’s time for a traditional Scottish mansion, typically dour but, possibly uniquely, brightened up to a riotous kaleidoscope of colour within. Girlahead descends on Mar Hall, 20 minutes’ drive from Glasgow Airport. Now owned by a Dubai duo, Align Partners and DUTCO, it’s part of JA (Jebel Ali Hotels & Resorts), and, as will be seen, it’s a riot of colour – inside, at least. Chris Wayne-Wills, above, has relocated back from Dubai to run it.
From the outside, JA Mar Hall looks exactly as it is: a 19th century Gothic mansion, built with 245 acres of land around it. It was designed by Sir Robert Smirke, of British Museum fame, in 1828 for Major General Robert Walter Stuart, 11th Lord Blantyre (1777–1830). It was named for earlier owners of the land, most notably a Jacobite leader. John Erskine, 6th Earl of Mar (1675–1732), the Jacobite leader associated with the Erskine estates. Sadly, the Major General died before it was completed – it was left to his widow to complete.
After World War I, Mar Hall was a hospital for limbless soldiers, and some of the first prosthetics were designed and fitted here. What a joy in such a ghastly world for the soldiers: these stately rooms, soaring ceilings, panelling, and beautiful views into gardens and hills in the distance. What, one has to wonder, would Lady Blantyre have thought of some of today’s wallpapers – below – apparently chosen by Timorous Beasties, overseen by Align Partners’ Design Director Lisa King and Project Overseer Jim Hamilton, of Glasgow-based design studio Graven….
