DUNLOSSIT HOUSE
Dunlossit House
Dunlossit House is a large baronial mansion situated a short distance south of Port Askaig. Originally, a small shooting lodge, it was converted into Dunlossit House by Kirkman Findlay in about 1868. It was then purchased in 1890 by Donald Turner Martin of Kintour, Kildalton. Donald Martin married Isabella Buchanan Gilmour from Eaglesham and when Dunlossit House was destroyed by fire Donald had the present Dunlossit House built. Isabella’s father Allan Gilmour of Eaglesham came to Islay to stay. In 1900 Isabella died in Edinburgh. Her father died on Islay in 1905 of a stomach condition. A memorial cross is erected in the grounds of Dunlossit similar to the Gilmour memorial cross at Eaglesham Castle graveyard.
Dunlossit was purchased from the Martin family in 1911 by WA Bankier and then sold to Nathaniel Dunlop who owned the house from 1918 until his death in 1931, aged 66.
The house was then purchased in 1937 by Helmut B Schroder, whose son,
Bruno L Schroder, is the current owner.
(Information supplied by Dunlossit Estate)
Rear of Dunlossit House, seen from the Sound of Islay
(pictures from Museum of Islay Life)
Dunlossit House has not changed much in the last 100 years or so
(picture from Museum of Islay Life)
Memorial cross erected in memory of Isabella Gilmour and
her father Allan Gilmour
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Facing Dunlossit House’s entrance is the Schroder Coat of Arms. This was carved from Ground Bath Stone, quarried in Box near Chippenham, Wiltshire.
The structure depicts a lion and a unicorn on either side of the Schroder Shield.
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In 1997, Dunlossit House purchased two cannons, which were discovered partially buried at Port Askaig pier. They had previously been used as bollards . The wish was for the cannons to be fired at the launch of the new lifeboat, donated by Bruno L Schroder in memory of his father.
The restoration of the cannons was done by Royal Armoury at Fort Nelson. The repair of the cannons involved them being grit-blasted and then re-painted to the same standard as the guns in the Royal Armoury collection. Special care was taken to clean the bores of the guns, as they had been buried without the normal procedure of blocking the bore holes first. Pressure and stress calculations were then carried out to measure the performance of the guns. The carriages were constructed from imported hardwood which could withstand long exposure to Islay elements and then painted with micro-porous paint.
As it was, only one of the cannons was deemed safe to fire. This cannon was from the Walker Furnace Company founded in 1741 which undertook government contracts from 1773. The second gun was from the John Cookson of Whitehill Foundry, County Durham.
(information from Royal Armoury letter to Dunlossit Estate)
This cannon was from John Cookson of Whitehill Foundry.
Unfortunately, it was deemed unsafe to fire from this cannon
as years of wear and tear had taken their toll
This is the Walker Furnace Company cannon which was fired
at the launch of the new lifeboat
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At one time Dunlossit House had a wonderful walled garden. This garden housed many plants and flowers and also had several vegetable allotments and fruit used by the cooks. The gardens and the surrounding lands were so popular that people would take a day trip on the ferry just to come and walk through the land and marvel at the garden.
Unfortunately time took its toll and the gardens fell into a state of disrepair until father and son team, Jim and John Logan from Keills, began the mammoth task of digging and weeding flowerbeds and vegetable plots (aided by Dunlossit's first pigs). The gardens soon sprang back into life and once again provide the house with fruit, vegetables and flowers which are enjoyed by guests and staff alike.
 
John Logan with his prize winning vegetables and a rose in full bloom in
Dunlossit House Gardens
The Schroder Flag
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