As art students, Lachlan and Annie Stewart decided that one day they would live in a castle. A pipe dream for some, perhaps, but not for this couple. In the 1920s, Lachlan’s family had restored Eilean Donan Castle on the west coast of Scotland, the story of which no doubt fired Lachlan’s ambition. And, by their mid-twenties, the couple had founded Anta, their Scottish homewares and fashion accessories company that prides itself on producing everything by hand using natural materials.
They began searching for their dream castle while living in Spitalfields with their young family. Keen to move back to Scotland, Annie and Lachlan searched the length of the country, before settling on Ballone Castle, a virtual ruin overlooking the Moray Firth. Within a day they had negotiated the purchase.
The castle had been derelict since 1715 and, as Annie says, it came their way at precisely the right time. A couple of years later, and there might not have been enough left of the original construction to warrant a restoration. Fifty years earlier and they would have lacked the technology to restore it. ‘We felt it was important to move in while the children were still young. They grew up on the building site: each day, helping paint and assisting the mason with mixing lime. It was a playground for all of them.’
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The restoration began in 1993 and, by 1999, the family were able to spend their first Christmas there. The building is a scheduled monument and all renovation and restoration had to be carried out following Historic Scotland’s strict guidelines. Eighty per cent of the masonry was still present, but everything else had been stolen, or stripped out for use on other buildings by local farmers. The challenge was to transform the castle into a comfortable family home, while also preserving its unique character.
Mirroring the ethos of their company, almost all of the building materials were locally sourced or recycled. The magnificent beams in the ceiling of the great hall are Douglas fir – the timber of choice in medieval times. ‘John Mackenzie, the 5th Earl of Cromartie and original owner of Ballone, had these firs on his estate. They were struck by lightning and he gave them to us for our restoration.’ The couple took them to a local sawmill and had them cut into 16 beams.
Add to that the countless family heirlooms scattered throughout the house (from Japanese tea bowls and ancestral portrait paintings to vintage armchairs and oak chests), wandering through the castle is like taking a trip back in time.
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‘We collect Scottish ceramics and early Scottish furniture – many of the 17th-century pieces have been passed down through the generations,’ says Annie. ‘We’re great believers in the William Morris philosophy of owning pieces that are either beautiful or useful, or preferably both. Nothing is just an objet d’art.’ Anta’s trademark tartans are the perfect foil to these simple – but beautiful – pieces of furniture. ‘Nothing in the home is exaggerated or over the top. That would not be in keeping with the castle,’ says Annie.
And has living in a castle lived up to expectations? ‘Ballone stands on a narrow, windswept peninsula with sea views on three sides and a 360 degree horizon. All you hear is the sea and the wind. It can be loud in a storm, but it’s familiar and calming,’ says Annie.
