Interior, 1st. floor, white bedroom, view of fireplace with ornate mirror above. Digital image of D 41690 cn

Description Interior, 1st. floor, white bedroom, view of fireplace with ornate mirror above. Digital image of D 41690 cn

Date 16/11/1998

Collection Records of the Royal Commission on the Ancient and Historical Monuments of Scotland (RCAHMS), Edinbu

Catalogue Number SC 767330

Category On-line Digital Images

Copy of D 41690 CN

Scope and Content Chimneypiece in 'White Bedroom', Drumlanrig Castle, Dumfries & Galloway This late 18th- or early 19th-century Classical chimneypiece forms the focal point of the White Bedroom', the principal bedroom on the first floor of the east wing. It has a stone insert with a semicircular cast-iron register grate, and a stone or wood surround and mantelshelf, painted white to match the panelled dado. The brick hearth is modern. The elaborately carved gilt overmirror is by John Thomson, Edinburgh, and dates from c.1770. The electric bell-pushes with brass plates, positioned on either side of the chimneypiece, date from the early 20th century. The fireplace, burning wood or coal, was the only source of heat in the room. A servant set and lit a fire in the grate early in the morning, and maintained it throughout the day with coal and wood for burning being brought into the room when required. A servant also had to black-lead and polish the cast iron grate on a daily basis, and remove the spent ashes from the fireplace. Servants were summoned to the room by the bell-pushes, placed conveniently at sitting-height on either side of the chimneypiece. One bell-push would be the 'upstairs' push, wired to a maid's room on the upper floor; the other would be a 'downstairs' push, wired to the servants' room in the basement or service wing. Choice of bell summoned either a female or male servant. Drumlanrig Castle, one of the great Renaissance courtyard houses of Scottish domestic architecture, was built between 1679 and 1690 for William Douglas, 1st Duke of Queensberry, on the site of a late 14th-century Douglas stronghold. The castle passed to the Dukes of Buccleuch in 1810, and is now the home of the 9th Duke (11th Duke of Queensberry). It houses many great family treasures and important works of art, including magnificent carvings and a fine collection of paintings. Source: RCAHMS contribution to SCRAN.

Permalink http://canmore.org.uk/collection/767330

File Format (TIF) Tagged Image File Format bitmap