Overview of Threave House

A grand B-listed baronial mansion, Threave House lies 1¼ miles (2 km) southwest of Castle Douglas in Dumfries and Galloway. Built 1871-3 in the form of a red sandstone tower for William Gordon, a Liverpool businessman, who had acquired the estate four years previously. The architect was Charles Kinnear (1830-94) of Peddie & Kinnear who took inspiration from Castle Fraser (Aberdeenshire). Perhaps the most notable feature is the balustraded drum tower which faces northeast and contains the entrance, leading to a remarkable staircase. The principal rooms face west, overlooking the beautiful Threave Gardens. The house, gardens and surrounding estate were given to the National Trust for Scotland by Major Alan F. Gordon in 1948. The house is the base for the Trust's School for Practical Gardening, which offers residential courses. A single-storey stable-block to the northeast also dates from 1872 and now forms the Threave Countryside Centre.