Castle Toward

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Type of Site

Extensive 19th century estate incorporating the ruined 15th century Toward Castle and with many Edwardian and inter-war additions.

Location and Setting

The Castle Toward designed landscape occupies a site at the southern end of the Toward Peninsula, 10km (6.2miles) southwest of Dunoon and accessed from the A815. The house and grounds occupy the lower south-facing slopes of Toward Hill, at the southernmost point of the Toward Peninsula with views south to the Island of Bute and beyond to the Firth of Clyde.

The designed landscape at Castle Toward extends northwards up Toward Hill to include the Chinese Lakes (reservoirs to supply the estate which were made into an attractive landscape feature) and Ardyne Farm to the northwest. The A815 road forms the southern and western boundaries, and to the east, the boundary takes in old estate parkland and is bounded by a commercial coniferous plantation on what was probably former policy woodland. A belt of old policy woodland is included in the designed landscape, which stretches east of the old ruins of Toward Castle. The principal features of the designed landscape, except for the Chinese lakes (reservoirs constructed on Toward Hill), are contained within the current estate boundary comprising approximately 150ha (370 acres).

Landscape Components

Architectural Features

Castle Toward is a large castellated mansion of ashlar with octagonal tower at the rear. It was designed by David Hamilton and built in 1821 for Kirkman Finlay, a Glasgow merchant and MP. Extensions were added to this building in the 1920s in a style in keeping with the original building. Toward Castle is a Scheduled Ancient Monument which was built in 1475 with bailey and domestic range added in the seventeenth century. The surviving masonry is three storeys high and built of random rubble. It is presently roofless and in a ruinous state. Auchawilling Chapel is a small chapel to the northeast of the modern Castle Toward and is presently ruinous.

The East Walled Garden was built by Finlay in the 19th century. In the 1920s an ogee-roofed glass-fronted loggia, octagonal conservatory and wrought-iron gates were added, very much in the style of Robert Lorimer. Old Auchavoulin House is the end or side of a building situated at the north east angle of the Walled Garden, with a notable group of Crinodendron hookerianum shrubs growing here. There is a formal water garden to the south of the 19th century walled garden. This contains a lily pond and is believed to have been built on top of an old vegetable garden at the instigation of Mrs Coats. There is a large 20th century North Walled Garden to the north of the house which is now abandoned. Both walled gardens and their associated additions are constructed from the same dark grey schist and were designed by the architect Frank W. Deas. A range of heated glasshouses and cold frames which were built by Mackenzie and Moncur beside the North Walled Garden, and workshops were added to the northeast of the house, incorporating the west gate with a finely detailed set of steps incorporating decorative carving in the style of Sir Robert Lorimer with flowers, fruit and animals. West Lodge which incorporates estate offices and garages is positioned to the south west of the house. All other lodges have been demolished.

The Viaduct, which carries the Main Drive across the burn, features rustic stone balustrades, gothic stonework and a pedestrian route below. The Chinese Lakes which lie to the north on Toward Hill are a series of stone-lined ponds with islands, linked by finely detailed semi-circular bridges. They are linked to the other landscape features of Castle Toward by a path network. Evidence of a stone-built summerhouse ahs been uncovered beside the Chinese Lakes. This would have afforded a very impressive sweeping view over the entire estate and over to Bute and the Hebrides. There are two other architectural features that are linked to the estate historically but lie outwith the southwestern designed landscape boundary: Toward Lighthouse was built in 1812 and is a circular tower of ashlar; Toward Quay is an early 19th century rubble built pier.

Drives and Approaches

The Main Drive and approach originally came past the now demolished East Lodges. This route passes the rock garden and travels below the foot of Toward Castle crossing the burn across the Viaduct. Passing the south side of the water garden, the drive ends at the forecourt of Castle Toward. This drive is currently not used by vehicles because the viaduct is believed to be unsafe. A secondary drive runs around the north side of the mansion and then southwest through woodland, leaving the site via the West Lodge and giving direct access to Toward Quay. Originally the two drives met at the front (i.e. the south side) of the house, but were replaced by the present terrace.

Paths and Walks

Footpaths are primarily concentrated around the burn in the valley to the east of the house. These connect features including Toward Castle, the rock garden, the walled garden, a summer house (demolished) and the Chinese Lakes to the north. A tunnel carries the burnside path beneath the viaduct and east drive.

There are many specimen Rhododendrons throughout the burnside area, alongside Gunnera manicata. South of the approach road viaduct there are large clumps of bamboo, forming a tunnel effect through parts of the burnside walks. Some clumps are quite overgrown but still in good health. There are extensive clumps of bamboos throughout the designed landscape at Castle Toward, and sale particulars of 1919 refer to the bamboos as ''possibly the finest collection in the west of Scotland.'

Parkland

Parkland areas originally extended north, south and east of the mansion. The area to the south was planted with parkland specimen trees and featured a ha-ha. However the ha-ha was filled in and the trees felled to create playing fields. The area remains open today as lawn and a specimen cypress survives from the old parkland planting. To the north of the house and walled garden, the area of parkland is kept as grazed land, rising steeply above the mansion. A modern dwelling has been built in this area. North of the old Toward Castle ruin (to the east of the house) is a small area of parkland with some notable specimen trees including sycamore and cedar of Lebanon.

Woodland

East and west of the mansion, there are two north-south strips of woodland extending from the high ground to the north down to the shore-line road A815. From a line to the north of the mansion the 19th century plantations have been removed and replanted with commercial coniferous forestry of Sitka spruce, except for the area around Chinese lakes where birch, beech, oak and Scots pine predominate. From a line roughly south of the mansion, mature deciduous woodland predominates with beech, oak, elm, sycamore, lime and horse chestnut. Locally there are also ornamental conifers including Scots pine, Western hemlock and Douglas fir.

There are some notable specimen trees still surviving in the Castle Toward landscape, including a remarkable huge-girthed Griselinia littoralis immediately beside the old ruins of Toward Castle, and some interesting cut-leaved Japanese maples to the north of the old East drive near the viaduct. A mixture of broad-leaved trees including sycamore and oak grow on either side of the burn, providing a sheltered canopy.

Walled Garden

The North Walled Garden is abandoned while the East Walled Garden contains little of plant interest. There is, however, an interesting collection of wall-mounted shrubs on the outer west wall of the East Walled Garden, including an unusual wall-trained Ginkgo biloba, the maidenhair tree more commonly grown as a tree. The south walled garden and loggia are currently (2005) leased to the BBC for the making of a children's television series. To the east of this walled garden and towards the burn are good specimens of Crinodendron and some large-leaved Rhododendrons.