We are currently watching (and loving) season 2 of The Traitors. Like many others, I have often wondered where the Traitors Castle is located and how old it is. In this post, I give a very brief history of Ardross Castle or The Traitors Castle!
Location
The Traitors Castle is in fact named Ardross Castle. It is located in the Scottish Highlands in Ardross. The nearest city to the castle is Inverness which lies some 30 miles away. The closest town is Alness. Castle Ardross lies within a small community. There is a local primary school which educates some 35 pupils. Most people in the local area work in the oil and forestry industries.
The local area is rather mountainous and hilly. The castle is rather isolated making it the ideal Traitors Castle!
A Brief History of Ardross Castle
The first Ardross Castle was built in the 14th century. Its ruins can still be seen. However, it is located some 172 miles from the modern Ardross Castle.
The first landowner of the site was the 1st Duke of Sutherland George Granville Leveson-Gower, (1758-1833). He purchased the property in the late 18th century. During the latter years of his life, he was considered one of the wealthiest men in Britain. He built a hunting lodge on the grounds. The Duke was unpopular with the local farmers. He drove them from their lands and homes forcing many to emigrate to Canada and America.
After his death, his son sold the estate to Sir Alexander Matheson (1805-86). He was a local man whose family had made their fortune in tea and opium. He purchased the property in 1839 for the princely sum of £90,000. The estate was huge encompassing 60,000 acres.
Matheson decided to develop the land with the hopes of attracting tenant farmers to rent and work the land.
Matheson employed architect Alexander Ross (1834-1925) to design and build Ardross Castle. Ross used the Scottish Baronial style of architecture to build the castle we see today. The castle incorporated an existing structure and added an additional 30 rooms.
Upon Matheson’s death, the estate passed to his son, Sir Kenneth Matheson who sold the land in 1898. It was purchased by a military man, C. W. Dyson Perrins (1864-1958), a Captain in the Highland Light Infantry. Perrins extended the property and developed the gardens. His family enjoyed spending time at the estate and often hosted parties there.
In 1937, Perrins broke up the estate and sold it. Pictured below is a newspaper article which appeared in The Times advertising the sale of the estate in that year.
A Mr & Mrs Austin Mardon purchased the portion of the estate which included the castle and 80 acres of land. They resided at the castle until 1983 when it was once again sold.
Ardross Castle Today
The McTaggart family bought the castle in 1983 and have owned it ever since. They have completed much restoration work within the castle as well as maintaining and improving the castle grounds.
Now no longer a residence, Ardross Castle can now be hired for weddings or corporate events. And, contrary to popular belief, Ardross Castle is not a hotel. Rooms will only become available for an overnight stay if the venue is hired.
Even the cast of The Traitors do not stay at Ardross Castle. Rather they are all comfortably accommodated at the Inverness Airport Hotel which is a 45-minute drive away.
Some beautiful images of the castle can be seen on Ardross Castle’s website.
I hope you enjoyed this brief history of Ardross Castle or the Traitors Castle!
For a similar post from me, see The Crown of Thorns – From Jerusalem to the Cathedral of Notre Dame.
Featured Image Courtesy of Sylvia Duckworth / Ardross Castle – Wiki Commons.
