Callendar House
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Callendar House is an imposing mansion set within the grounds of Falkirk's Callendar Park. Built in the style of a French château, the house has a 600-year history, playing host to many prominent historical figures, including Mary, Queen of Scots, Oliver Cromwell,Bonnie Prince Charlie and Queen Victoria. The current building is by far the most substantial historical building in the area, with a 300 ft frontage.
[edit] History
A building was present on the site from at least the 11th century (originally 'Callendar Castle'), when the Callendar family was granted land in the Falkirk area by Alexander II of Scotland. One of the Callendars became involved in a plot against the King in 1345 and therefore had to forfeit his lands, which were granted to Sir William Livingston, who had fought with the King at the Battle of Durham. The Livingstons, Earls of Linlithgow and Earls of Callendar, played an important part in the history of the area, but their hold on the lands came to an abrupt end in the 18th century when James Livingston, 5th Earl of Linlithgow and 4th Earl of Callendar, was forced into exile abroad because he had sided with the "Old Pretender", son of King James II of England (James VII of Scotland). His daughter, Lady Anne Livingston, gave hospitality to Bonnie Prince Charlie before the Battle of Falkirk, but after his defeat at Culloden, Lady Anne's husband, the Earl of Kilmarnock, was beheaded for treason and she fled the estate never to return.
In 1783 the estate went to auction and was bought by Aberdeen coppersmith Sir William Forbes, a self-made businessman and captain of industry who founded Carron Iron Works and was a driving force behind the industrial revolution in Scotland. Sir William bought the house and estate for £100,000, though it was rumoured at the time that the timber alone on the estate was worth double that. Forbes made significant alterations to the House, and his son and grandson further enlarged the building into its current form. Forbes' descendants kept the house for almost 200 years, after which the house fell into disrepair until being purchased in 1963 along with some of the parkland. The majority of the estate is still owned by the family, under the company 'Callendar Estates', who are still the largest landowners in Falkirk.
[edit] Current role
The house has since been restored to its former Georgian glory, and is being developed as a major heritage centre. It is the principal museum in Falkirk district and has two magnificent reception rooms, the Pink Room (the Drawing Room) and the Green Room (the Morning Room), as well as a fully working Georgian kitchen, dominated by a huge open fire, offering visitors to step back into a world that has now gone. Staff in period costumes give insights into working conditions in the house over the centuries and prepare the same food that was enjoyed at the grand social occasions that once took place there. "William Forbes' Falkirk" is the permananent exhibition at the House; another permanent exhibition, "The Antonine Wall", will open in February 2007. The other galleries show around seven different exhibitions a year from all around the world.
There is also a history research centre, where all of Falkirk's historical archives are kept, housed in the Victorian oak-panelled library.
The grounds of the house contain a pitch and putt course, crazy golf, a children's adventure playground (with the largest slide in Scotland), a boating lake and the Antonine Wall. There is also a gallery of modern art, the Park Gallery. Callendar Estate extends to 500 acres and is open for walks through the woodland and also home to the Forbes family mausoleum, a large domed circular Grecian-Doric building which contains the remains of many of the Forbeses.
Various events are held in the grounds throughout the year, including the annual firework display, which is regularly attended by over 70,000 people, as well as the national street arts festival, Big in Falkirk and the Scottish National Cross Country Championships.
Callendar House was voted Favourite Visitor Attraction by Forth2.
