Executive summary by darmansjah
Skibo Castle (Scottish Gaelic: Caisteal Sgìobail) is located
to the west of Dornoch in the Highland county of Sutherland, Scotland
overlooking the Dornoch Firth. Although the castle dates back to the 12th
century, the present structure is largely of the 19th century, and early 20th
century, when it was the home of industrialist Andrew Carnegie. It is now
operated as the Carnegie Club, a members-only hotel and country club.
According to William J. Watson, Skibo is the anglicisation
of Scottish Gaelic Sgìobal, which in turn comes from an Old Norse name meaning
either firewood-steading or Skithi's steading. It is also said that the name
Skibo derives from the word schytherbolle, which is Gaelic for fairyland.
Construction of Skibo Castle was started by Gilbert de
Moravia, the Bishop of Caithness, around 1186 at "Schytherbolle" in
the southern area of his bishopric.[citation needed] Skibo Castle remained the
residence of subsequent bishops until 1545, when the estate was, as a tactical
measure by the church, given to John Gray in order to reinforce its alliance
with a powerful family as the threat of a Protestant uprising spread towards
the north.
In 1745, Robert Gray surrendered the estate. It was later
bought by a relative who built a modern house before 1760.Its ownership changed
frequently until 1872, when it was bought by Evan Charles Sutherland-Walker,
who extended the house and improved the grounds. However, the condition of the
building had declined by 1897, when wealthy industrialist Andrew Carnegie took
a one year lease, with an option to buy. In 1898 he exercised that option for
£85,000. However its condition had declined so much by this time that a further
£2 million was spent on improvements, including an increase in area from 16,000
square feet (1,500 m2) to over 60,000 square feet (5,600 m2), plus the creation
of Loch Ospisdale and an 18-hole golf course.
Skibo stayed with the Carnegie family until 1982.It was later
purchased by businessman Peter de Savary and used as the foundation of a
private members club, the Carnegie Club. Establishment of the club required
restoration of the castle to recreate the luxury of an Edwardian sporting
estate. Similar renovation was undertaken on the many lodges located amongst
the castle grounds to provide additional accommodation for club members. De
Savary sold the club to Ellis Short in 2003, for £23million. In 2007, Mr. Short
allegedly threatened to shoot a retired couple’s dogs because they were walking
across the estate; in Scots law, the concept of trespass on open land does not
exist.[citation needed] In May 2011, a shoot manager on the Skibo Estate was
convicted of possessing over 10.5kg of carbofuran, a pesticide banned in the
UK since 2001.
The Carnegie Club
is a members-only hotel and club, with about 400 members. The Carnegie links
golf course has fewer than 1000 rounds played on it per annum. The funds raised
from membership fees are reinvested, including upgrading some holes of the golf
course. The club has received planning permission for restoration of the
swimming pool.
The Carnegie Club hosted Madonna's wedding reception to Guy
Ritchie on 22 December 2000. In 1995, it had hosted the marriage of golfer Sam
Torrance and the actress Suzanne Danielle. On 28 December 1997 it hosted the
marriage of actor Robert Carlyle and his wife Anastasia Shirley.
On 3 December 2006, the BBC Television programme Landward
featured the Burnett family who for several generations had been tenants of a
farm on Skibo estate. The programme highlighted their search for a new farm
following their eviction by the estate. The farm is now part of an off-road
driving facility for the use of paying guests of the castle. In March 2008,
Skibo became a "members only" club, with only members and guests
allowed to stay ther.
The grounds
include Lake Louise, a very small artificial lake, and one of only a few bodies
of water in Scotland known as lakes.[10] The estate is listed on the Inventory
of Gardens and Designed Landscapes, the list of nationally significant designed
landscapes in Scotland.
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