Eilean Aigas
Encyclopedia
Eilean Aigas is an island in the River Beauly
, Scotland
, in Kiltarlity
parish in traditional Inverness-shire
, now Highland Region. It is most notable for the mansion on it at its north end, which was formerly owned by the Sobieski Stuarts
and rented by author and Scottish nationalist Compton Mackenzie
from Lord Fraser of Lovat
. It is joined to the bank by a narrow white bridge.
The Eilean Aigas estate was owned by the Lovat Frasers until 1995, when it was bought by King Chong Chai, a Malaysian businessman, for around £600,000. Chai put the island up for sale in 2001, for an asking price of £3 million. It was purchased by Brendan Clouston, a Canadian businessman, who was formerly president of Tele-Communications Inc.
. As authors of a dubious book on Scottish tartans and clan dress, the Vestiarium Scoticum
, they are the source of some current tartan traditions.
In the 1830s they moved to Eilean Aigas in to a hunting lodge granted them by the Earl of Lovat. Here they "held court" and surrounded themselves with royal paraphernalia: pennants, seals, even thrones. During their time here, they adopted the final version of their names, using the surname 'Stuart', and became practising Roman Catholics.
Much of the furniture in the house was designed by the Sobieski Stuarts.
They had to keep the place heated for seven out of twelve months of the year and the ceiling of one of the rooms once collapsed on Compton while he was asleep. However, Faith also recollected that the garden was particularly beautiful:
They left in May 1933, in violation of the lease. Compton MacKenzie was of Jacobite
sympathies and, like the Sobieski Stuarts, a Roman Catholic convert.
River Beauly
The River Beauly is a river in the Scottish Highlands, about 15 km west of the city of Inverness.It is about 25 km long, beginning near the village of Struy, at the confluence of the River Farrar and the River Glass...
, Scotland
Scotland
Scotland is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Occupying the northern third of the island of Great Britain, it shares a border with England to the south and is bounded by the North Sea to the east, the Atlantic Ocean to the north and west, and the North Channel and Irish Sea to the...
, in Kiltarlity
Kiltarlity
Kiltarlity is a small village in the Highland council area of Scotland. It is west of Inverness, and south of Beauly, on the Bruiach Burn. It has a population of under 1000 people, and a primary school, Tomnacross Primary...
parish in traditional Inverness-shire
Inverness-shire
The County of Inverness or Inverness-shire was a general purpose county of Scotland, with the burgh of Inverness as the county town, until 1975, when, under the Local Government Act 1973, the county area was divided between the two-tier Highland region and the unitary Western Isles. The Highland...
, now Highland Region. It is most notable for the mansion on it at its north end, which was formerly owned by the Sobieski Stuarts
John Sobieski Stuart
John Sobieski Stuart and Charles Edward Stuart were names used by John Carter Allen and Charles Manning Allen, two 19th century English brothers who are best-known for their role in Scottish cultural history...
and rented by author and Scottish nationalist Compton Mackenzie
Compton Mackenzie
Sir Compton Mackenzie, OBE was a writer and a Scottish nationalist.-Background:Compton Mackenzie was born in West Hartlepool, England, into a theatrical family of Mackenzies, but many of whose members used Compton as their stage surname, starting with his grandfather Henry Compton, a well-known...
from Lord Fraser of Lovat
Simon Fraser, 14th Lord Lovat
Brigadier-General Simon Joseph Fraser, 14th Lord Lovat and 3rd Baron Lovat KT, GCVO, KCMG, CB, DSO , was a leading Roman Catholic aristocrat, landowner, soldier, politician and the 23rd Chief of Clan Fraser. He was the son of Simon Fraser, 13th Lord Lovat, and Alice Mary Weld-Blundell...
. It is joined to the bank by a narrow white bridge.
The Eilean Aigas estate was owned by the Lovat Frasers until 1995, when it was bought by King Chong Chai, a Malaysian businessman, for around £600,000. Chai put the island up for sale in 2001, for an asking price of £3 million. It was purchased by Brendan Clouston, a Canadian businessman, who was formerly president of Tele-Communications Inc.
Tele-Communications Inc.
Tele-Communications, Inc. or TCI was a cable television provider in the United States, for much of its history controlled by Bob Magness and John Malone....
Sobieski Stuarts
John Sobieski Stuart and Charles Edward Stuart were names used by John Carter Allen and Charles Manning Allen, two 19th century English brothers who are best-known for their role in Scottish cultural history. The Sobieski Stuarts were frauds, who claimed to descendants of Charles Edward StuartCharles Edward Stuart
Prince Charles Edward Louis John Casimir Sylvester Severino Maria Stuart commonly known as Bonnie Prince Charlie or The Young Pretender was the second Jacobite pretender to the thrones of Great Britain , and Ireland...
. As authors of a dubious book on Scottish tartans and clan dress, the Vestiarium Scoticum
Vestiarium Scoticum
The Vestiarium Scoticum was first published by William Tait of Edinburgh in a limited edition in 1842...
, they are the source of some current tartan traditions.
In the 1830s they moved to Eilean Aigas in to a hunting lodge granted them by the Earl of Lovat. Here they "held court" and surrounded themselves with royal paraphernalia: pennants, seals, even thrones. During their time here, they adopted the final version of their names, using the surname 'Stuart', and became practising Roman Catholics.
Much of the furniture in the house was designed by the Sobieski Stuarts.
Compton and Faith Mackenzie
The MacKenzies rented Eilean Aigas for £450 per annum from December 1930. As his wife Faith recalled:- "On the north side rugged purple and grey cliffs flanked the narrow, turbulent river, small pine trees hung at all angles over the water from rock crevices. Walking against the stream up on the grassy path of the cliff, you suddenly went downhill and came upon the same river tranquil as a pool."
They had to keep the place heated for seven out of twelve months of the year and the ceiling of one of the rooms once collapsed on Compton while he was asleep. However, Faith also recollected that the garden was particularly beautiful:
- "Free for nearly three years from all restraint, climbing roses had scaled the heights... the ground was a carpet of tulips: Iris germanicaIris germanicaIris germanica, the German Iris, is a species in the genus irisThe Iris Germanica grows up to 90 cm high and 10 cm wide. The roots can go up to 10 cm deep. It is an outdoors plant that blooms most in May-August, but planting it would be best in February-April..It is a European hybrid, rather than a...
in every possible variety... The acaciaAcaciaAcacia is a genus of shrubs and trees belonging to the subfamily Mimosoideae of the family Fabaceae, first described in Africa by the Swedish botanist Carl Linnaeus in 1773. Many non-Australian species tend to be thorny, whereas the majority of Australian acacias are not...
s in the sunk garden, now big trees, filled the air with their scent... Dear God! This was a garden in a dream."
They left in May 1933, in violation of the lease. Compton MacKenzie was of Jacobite
Jacobitism
Jacobitism was the political movement in Britain dedicated to the restoration of the Stuart kings to the thrones of England, Scotland, later the Kingdom of Great Britain, and the Kingdom of Ireland...
sympathies and, like the Sobieski Stuarts, a Roman Catholic convert.