When we purchased Dunans in 2003 we did not receive any of the historic documentation. While the Fletchers hand the paperwork on in good faith, the subsequent owner did not pass the plans on. It is a great pity, because without those plans and specifications we are unable to say that the work that Robin Kent, our architect, has put into creating these drafts has resulted in an entirely accurate rendition.
Certainly what we have here reflects our knowledge – won from the building over the years of clearance and renovation – but whether the family originally intended this layout is a moot point. There are a couple of revisions we have already noted given some of the clearance we have achieved, but it does seem an entirely selfish act on the part of the ex-owner to withhold these papers, unless of course they lost the archive entirely …
What these plans also show is how little service room the house originally had, and how essential the Dunans Steadings must have been to the household economy.
The plans above clearly show the way that the old house was used to service the main block, and also how reception rooms were located on the first storey, with Dining, the smoking room and all things “sporting” occurring on the ground floor.
Are these from the original castle or the bed and breakfast from 1700’s
Hi Debbe, The layout for the smaller part is probably c. 1900 and the castle was definitely as at 1864. With the older house you can see the adaptations in the floor plan. Originally the building would have been a single range of one or two floors between the gables where the kitchen and pantry are marked, with the Larder added on later, with a gable containing chimney to the exterior. The Cellar and rooms above were added c. 1904 to accommodate butler and storage which is why there is a chimney in the middle of the roof now. We were surprised to see so much accommodation in the roof of the castle …