Latest Press Release
Dumfries House is opened to the public
6th June 2008
His Royal Highness The Prince Charles, Duke of Rothesay will today (Friday 6th June) be joined by thirty paying visitors, together with The First Minister of Scotland, as he officially opens Dumfries House to the public for the first time in its 250-year history. The internationally renowned house and its collection of Chippendale and other contemporary furniture, was saved from sale and certain break- up almost a year ago after a dramatic last minute intervention by The Prince, leading a consortium of heritage groups.
The opening marks a significant step towards realising The Prince’s vision for the project, which is to use the House and surrounding land as a catalyst for the economic regeneration of the whole local area.
With £25million contributed by the Scottish Government and heritage organisations and trusts, and £20million borrowed and provided by His Royal Highness personally, the House, its wonderful collection of furniture and its 2,000 acre estate were saved for the Nation only hours before expiry of the deadline for sale at auction. The acquisition was subsequently described by the First Minister Alex Salmond as the “save of the century”.
The organisations involved included The Prince’s Charities Foundation, the Scottish Government, The Art Fund, the Garfield Weston Foundation, The Monument Trust, the National Heritage Memorial Fund and SAVE Britain’s Heritage. The Art Fund acted as the formal legal purchaser of the house and its contents and subsequently passed them to the independent charity, The Great Steward of Scotland’s Dumfries House Trust.
Michael Schafer, the Chief Executive of the Trust which was established to preserve and maintain Dumfries House and to open it to the public, said:
“Since it was acquired last November, months of hard work have gone into turning the property from a private house into a visitor attraction. It has been a major task to ensure that it and we are ready to welcome public tours this summer.”
He stressed, “This is very much a continuing project and this summer’s visitors will see the House as a ‘work-in-progress’.
The Great Steward of Scotland’s Dumfries House Trust, to give it its full title, was determined that the public should be able to visit this year and we are looking forward greatly to welcoming many visitors from the surrounding communities and from further afield in the coming months”.
At the same time as Dumfries House was acquired for the Nation, The Prince’s Charities Foundation purchased land adjoining the nearby town of Cumnock for development. It is intended that the opening of the house to the public, and the development of this related land, will together act as powerful agents of economic regeneration for the immediate area and beyond. There is a continuing and extensive public consultation process for the development project led by The Prince’s Foundation for the Built Environment.
Dumfries House, in East Ayrshire, was designed by the Adam brothers and is internationally renowned for its unique collection of furniture originally bought for the house and made by Thomas Chippendale and the contemporary Edinburgh furniture makers William Mathie, Alexander Peter and Francis Brodie.
Notes for editors
Breakdown of contributions from individual bodies:
• The Monument Trust - £9m
• The National Heritage Memorial Fund - £7m
• The Scottish government - £5m
• The Art Fund - £2.25m
• The Garfield Weston Foundation - £1m
• Sir Siegmund Warburg's Voluntary Settlement - £250,000
• The Dunard Fund - $250,000
To protect the fabric of the building and its unique collection of British furniture – one of the finest in the world – access will be by booked guided tours only. Tickets can be arranged by telephone on 01290 551111 or by on-line booking request form at www.dumfries-house.org.uk/book-now.asp
An independent charitable body, The Great Steward’s Dumfries House Trust, was established to organise the presentation and maintenance of the House. For further please visit www.dumfries-house.org.uk