Lennox Castle

          The building of Lennox Castle began in 1837 and it was completed in 1841.  According to the New Statistical Account of that period, the �character of this building, which is in the boldest style of the old Norman architecture, from a design by Mr. David Hamilton of Glasgow, harmonizes well with its lofty and picturesque situation, nearly 500 feet above the level of the adjoining valley, and with the bold and striking scenery around�. The building of the Castle proved to be expensive, too expensive for Mr. and Mrs. Kincaid Lennox to pursue their claim to the Earldom of Lennox. There was a feeling, also, that had they been successful they might not have had enough money to maintain the dignity of a peerage. They had to be content, therefore, with �a castle fit for an Earl to line in�.

            The family took up residence at the castle, but it was let out on occasion. In 1890, for example, it was let for six years to a former Lord Provost of Glasgow, Sir James King. In 1914, at the outbreak of the First World War, the Laird, William George Peareth Kincaid Lennox, offered HM Government use of the castle as a hospital. This offer was taken up. Then, in 1922, the Laird decided to sell the castle, because of taxation burdens. He had previously sold homes at Usworth (in 1920), and Princethorpe (in 1921). However it proved impossible to find a purchaser for Lennox castle until 1927. At that time it comprised a �spacious Entrance Hall, 5 Reception Rooms, Billiard Room, 50 Bed and Dressing Rooms, Bathrooms with h. and c. supplies and complete Domestic Offices�. The purchaser of the castle (and 1,222 acres of the surrounding estate) was Glasgow parish Council, who decided to develop it as a hospital for mentally handicapped patients. Opened in 1936, the hospital comprised twenty 60-bed dormitory blocks in the Castle grounds, while the Castle itself was retained as a Nurses� Home. During the Second World War the male section of the hospital was requisitioned as an emergency hospital and its patients were transferred to huts in the grounds. Sadly, at the present time the Castle vicinity is unoccupied and is slated to be razed and the property developed.