View of interior of ballroom from N

Description View of interior of ballroom from N

Date 12/5/1997

Catalogue Number SC 621624

Category On-line Digital Images

Copy of D 12142 CN

Scope and Content Dance floor, Ballroom, Mar Lodge, Aberdeenshire, from north This shows the dance floor of the timber-framed ballroom which was built in 1883 and reconstructed on this site in 1898. The building is lined with Caledonian pine and has, attached to the ceiling, around 2,500 stags' heads which were killed on the estate. The skulls are affixed to an arch-braced roof of hammerbeam type. The Duke of Fife would hold lavish parties in the ballroom for guests even although the building was originally meant for the use of tenants and servants on his estate. When Queen Victoria was present the duke's piper would lead her and the other guests from the house to the ballroom along an avenue of kilted Highlanders holding blazing torches. William Duff of Dipple who became the 1st Earl of Fife in 1759 built the original Mar Lodge (or Dalmore House) in 1750. The 6th Earl was created the 1st Duke of Fife when he married Princess Louise, who was a daughter of King Edward VII. When Mar Lodge was destroyed by fire in 1895, Alexander Marshall Mackenzie (1848-1933) designed a new lodge and Queen Victoria laid the foundation stone later in the same year. The duke and duchess used the house mainly as a sporting lodge and an autumn home. The building had another serious fire in 1991 but was subsequently restored. The 29,380-hectare estate had several owners from 1959 until 1995 when The National Trust for Scotland bought it, with the help of a £10 million lottery grant. The lodge has been divided into five self-catering holiday apartments which can be rented by the public. Source: RCAHMS contribution to SCRAN.

Permalink http://canmore.org.uk/collection/621624

File Format (TIF) Tagged Image File Format bitmap