A new chapter for mansion

Nov 2 2012 by Cheryl McEvoy, Ayrshire Post

A fabulous Ayrshire mansion is set for a new chapter in its incredible history.

A drinks licence was last week granted for Kildonan House near Barhill.

And its owners hope to kick-start the business after several years in limbo.

Kildonan was a bit of a Downton Abbey in its heyday, solicitor Brian Dunlop told South Ayrshire Licensing Board.

It was built for dashing young Captain Euan Wallace, who inherited the estate on condition he made it his home.

Work started on the house in 1910, with Captain Wallace engaging architect James Miller, who had designed Turnberry Hotel.

Captain Wallace went on to marry Lady Idina Sackville in 1913, and they had two sons.

The couple divorced in 1919, and Lady Idina headed off to Kenya with a new husband, leaving Captain Wallace with the two young boys.

Captain Wallace married second wife Barbara Lutyens, daughter of architect Sir Edwin Lutyens, in 1920. And he was elected a Conservative MP in 1922.

Kildonan was finally finished in 1923, complete with a theatre, and a squash court reckoned to be the first in Scotland.

The world it was designed for had all but vanished. But Captain Wallace was still able to bring an entire retinue of servants from his London residence for the shooting season around the Barrhill moors.

Captain Wallace and his second wife had three sons, two of whom were killed in action in the Second World War. His two sons by Lady Idina were also killed in action.

The son who survived the war, Billy Wallace, died in 1977 aged 50, and was a friend and escort of the late Princess Margaret.

Captain Wallace didn’t know the tragedies that were to befall his sons, as he pre-deceased them in 1941, aged just 49.

Kildonan was run as a convent school by the Sisters of St Joseph of Cluny, between 1946 and 1978.

After the nuns ran Kildonan, it changed hands a number of times, but has been owned by family firm Blue Strand Ltd for the past 17 years.

Barrhill man Kevan McColm is a partner in the events side of the business, and is on-site site manager.

He said: “We think the time is right to get Kildonan back on the map, and we’re getting a lot of interest through the internet and facebook.

“We have a tearoom, and there’s also a restaurant with Indian cuisine proving popular.

“Now we have a licence we intend to widen the range of events to be held.

“And that could mean more jobs in the rural area.”