Craigends of the 20th Century a Renfrewshire estate remembered

In 1857 Alexander Cuninghame commissioned a new mansion house at Craigends in Renfrewshire. What he built was one of the finest Scottish mansions of the era. However, just over a century later it faced the wrecking ball.

The unlikely Laird

Alexander Cuninghame was the second son of John Cuninghame, 13th Laird of Craigends. Having been raised as a child at the family estate Alexander made his way in the world as an industrialist. In the 1840s he profited greatly from the boom of the Scottish pig iron industry. In a short time he became an incredibly wealthy man: a half-millionaire by the mid 19th centuryThis is an old snippet. Citation deprecated..

Alexander's wealth afforded him great influence, and from 1850, he rented Craigends from his elder brother. For a man with enough wealth to live practically anywhere he wished, it is revealing that Alexander chose his family's seat. The old mansion – in which he lived with his wife and young son - was an ancient but modest structure which did little to reflect his wealthThis is an old snippet. Citation deprecated.. His attraction, it must be assumed, was more sentimental than material.

However, things were to change. Remarkably, in 1858 Alexander purchased the family estate and title from his nephew, who had since inherited itThis is an old snippet. Citation deprecated.. He planned grand changes to the ancient estate: at its heart would be a spectacular new Mansion House.

Out with the old

To accommodate his new designs the old mansion was demolished. For someone inspired by their heritage this must have been an agonising decision to make.

Eleven generations of his family had preceded him in the old house, and the very walls were steeped in his family's history. Successive improvements that had been made over the centuries spoke of the lairds who had made them. And just a few years earlier centuries old artefacts were still being uncovered within the house's hidden recesses. Alexander himself would also have countless personal, and no doubt poignant, associations with the place. He had lived there throughout his childhood, with his large family of brothers and sisters, and, in more recent years, he had seen the birth and tragic death of his second son within those walls.

By demolishing his ancestral home Alexander was described by some as a vandal. As he watched the old walls being blasted with gunpowder did he have any misgivings? If he did they were resolved by a burning conviction in what he was building to replace it.

In with the new

No expense was spared in the design and construction of the new Craigends House. The project was undertaken with characteristic Victorian zeal. Its towering sandstone walls were a celebration of a virtuous new era. Craigends House was to be the culminating achievement of Alexander's life. By the time construction had started he was already approaching old age; more so than himself, the house was being built for future generations of his family.

Within the laden features of his grand construction it is tempting to interpret insights to Alexander's mindset. The house was designed, by David Bryce, in the Scottish Baronial styleThis is an old snippet. Citation deprecated.: a blending of Gothic with ancient Scottish motifs. Does the mock antiquity, which characterises his new construction, speak of Alexander's guilt of the heritage he had destroyed?

Symbols of his ancestors also abounded: Cuninghame family crests were prominent at both the front and rear entrances, and their heraldic emblems (the lion and the unicorn) were ubiquitous. Passages of scripture mounted around the building speak of a humbleness in the face of God. Do the rooftop figurines, said to represent the lairds of old, speak of a humbleness in the face of his ancestors?

Legacy

In practical terms the new Craigends House provided a suitably ostentatious display of wealth and power, and it duly delivered in its main purpose: to play host to high society. During the remainder of the 19th century its dozens of bedrooms and public rooms are known to have hosted significant social events, and entertained the elite of both business and politics This is an old snippet. Citation deprecated.. (note) Sadly, though, Alexander enjoyed the house for only a few short years (foot). He died there in 1866, at the age of 62This is an old snippet. Citation deprecated..

An enduring family legacy also failed to materialise; the family line ended in his only surviving son, John Charles. John Charles was the playboy of his era. He remained a bachelor for much of his life, and, as the owner of an exclusive Mayfair residence (as well as several Scottish estates), he resided at Craigends only intermittently. For the wealthy socialite the grand family seat built by his father was a mere summer home.

After John Charles' death in 1917 his widow, Alison, was awarded life tenancy of Craigends. Accompanied only by her sister, and their small staff of servants, she went on to live in the mansion for another four decades. The two sisters were dwarfed by their huge, empty house. No longer did Craigends see the grand balls that once brought life to the house. Dramatic changes had taken place in wider society. And like the old ladies, Craigends House, had outlived its era.

When the last of the two ladies finally passed away in 1961 the mansion had become a burden to its inheritors. The cost of upkeep was prohibitive and within months the house contents were sold at auction. When no buyer could be found the roof was removed (to avoid paying taxes), and rapidly the once grand mansion became a dangerous, burn-out ruin. Though still regarded with awe by those that saw it (it was considered by some observers to be more spectacular in ruin than its original gloryThis is an old snippet. Citation deprecated.) the civil climate at the time regarded Craigends' architecture in low esteem. Within just a few years it was demolished.

Since that date Craigends House has been largely forgotten from history. In 1998 a sea of private houses covered the site, leaving no trace of what had come before. A passage of scripture that was engraved above the main entrance now appears as a somewhat ironic reminder of the story of Alexander Cuninghame's Craigends House:

“EXCEPT THE LORD BUILD THE HOUSE, THEY LABOUR IN VAIN THAT BUILD IT”