Mount Stuart House | Rothesay | Isle of Bute | Scotland | Britain’s prettiest Victorian mansion

Mount Stuart House, on the east coast of the Isle of Bute, Scotland, is a country house built in the Gothic Revival style and the ancestral home of the Marquesses of Bute. It was designed by Sir Robert Rowand Anderson for the 3rd Marquess in the late 1870s, replacing an earlier house by Alexander McGill, which burnt down in 1877. The house is a Category A listed building.
The original house was built in 1719 for The 2nd Earl of Bute, but was rebuilt for The 3rd Marquess of Bute following a fire on 3 December 1877. After his earlier creations of Cardiff Castle and Castell Coch in Cardiff, the Marquess used many of the builders and workman he had employed in South Wales, including William Burges and much of that architect's team. Burges built an oratory at the house.The main part of the present house is a flamboyant example of 19th-century Gothic Revival architecture, built in a reddish-brown stone. Mount Stuart's major features include the colonnaded Marble Hall at the centre of the main block and the Marble Chapel, which has an elaborate spired tower which is the tallest part of the building. Two earlier wings in a strikingly different style survive. They are much smaller in scale, have Georgian-style sash windows and are painted white.

Much of the furniture was custom-designed for the house by Robert Weir Schultz in the early years of the 20th century. He also laid out many sections of the gardens.

The Mount Stuart House claims to have the world's first heated pool in any house; it was also the first home in Scotland to be lit by electricity.

The house holds The Bute Collection, a private collection of artwork and artefacts. The Collection also houses archives, books, furniture, and silverwork reflecting the interests of the Bute family's various generations, including 25,000 books on topics including theology, botany, agriculture and Scottish history and literature. In April 2016 it was announced that a Shakespeare First Folio had been discovered in the House's Library. The folio belonged to Isaac Reed.

The house is open to the public.
Tickets are now available to book online

Adult House & Gardens £16.50
Concession (aged 60+) House & Gardens £14.00
Child (age 5-15) House & Gardens £9.50
Child (under 5) House & Gardens FREE
Family (2 adults, 3 children) House & Gardens £49.00
HHA & ASVA Complimentary Free Flow Admission to the House (exhibition charges apply)
Adult/Concession Gardens Only £7.50
Child (5-15) Gardens Only FREE
Groups of 15 or more House & Gardens from £9.50
Opening Hours
1st to 30th June

Open Saturday to Wednesday only, closed Thursday & Friday

ROUND-HOUSE TICKETS & SHOP: 10am-4pm
HOUSE: Guided house tours can be booked at the Round-house on arrival, tours run hourly at 11.30am, 12.30pm, 1.30pm and 2.30pm
COMICS UNCOVERED EXHIBITION: Open from 20th May, exhibition viewing is 11-11.30am daily. Please check in at the Round-house on arrival for up to date information.
COURTYARD CAFE: 11am-4pm (10am-4pm on Saturdays)
FAMILY ENTRANCE SHOP: 12-4pm

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1st July to 31st August

Open daily

ROUND-HOUSE TICKETS & SHOP: 10am-4.30pm
HOUSE: Self-guided free flow admission 12-4pm
COMICS UNCOVERED EXHIBITION: Self-guided free flow admission 12-4pm
COURTYARD CAFE: 11am-4pm (10am-4pm on Saturdays)
FAMILY ENTRANCE SHOP: 12-4pm
1st September to 29th October

Open Saturday to Wednesday only, closed Thursday & Friday

ROUND-HOUSE TICKETS & SHOP: 10am-4pm
HOUSE: Guided house tours can be booked at the Round-house on arrival, tours run hourly at 11.30am, 12.30pm, 1.30pm and 2.30pm
COMICS UNCOVERED EXHIBITION: Open from 20th May, exhibition viewing is 11-11.30am daily. Please check in at the Round-house on arrival for up to date information.
COURTYARD CAFE: 11am-4pm (10am-4pm on Saturdays)
FAMILY ENTRANCE SHOP: 12-4pm