Day out to Rozelle House

ROZELLE HOUSE

This is one of the places Jackie took me while I was staying with her. It's called Rozelle House and was originally a mansion house at the centre of an estate built in the 1700s. The Hamilton's of Rozelle gifted the mansion, and grounds, to the people of Ayr in 1968 to be used for culture and recreation purposes.

The History of Rozelle House

The Royal Burgh of Ayr held the Rozelle lands as part of the Barony lands of Alloway until an auction in 1754 aimed at reducing the Burgh debt. Robert Hamilton bought the lands for just £2,000 in the 1754 auction. The Hamilton family were merchants and wealthy land owners who made their fortune in the sugar and tobacco industries in the West Indies. The first mansion house was finished by 1760 and was in the classical style of Robert Adam (not actually designed by Adam).

The House and estate did well for the family throughout the 18th and 19th centuries and added to their accumulated wealth, but by the 1960s, like many other families in a similar position, the Hamilton family found them selves struggling with high death duties and taxation. This led to the sale of large areas of land surrounding the house. In 1968 the house,( sadly with none of its historic interior remaining), was gifted to the Royal Burgh of Ayr. This ultimately resulted in the establishment of the Council's Museum and Art Gallery. Between 1975 and 1976 the servants' quarters and stable block were converted into the Maclaurin Art Galleries with funds bequested by Mrs Mary Ellen Maclaurin in memory of her late husband.

Rozelle House Now

Rozelle House is now the major display venue in Ayrshire, it is currently showing the impressive collection, ‘’Tam O' Shanter’’, a series of 54 paintings, by Alexander Goudie depicting the classic  Burns  tale. ( more of this later) There are also a number of smaller exhibitions, art workshops and classes which are all open to the public.

The house is also home to the Ayrshire Yeomanry museum, The museum collection traces the history of the Regiment from its formation in 1793, through its service as cavalry in South Africa, infantry in World War I and artillery in World War II. The displays include uniformed figures, medals , weapons, maps, photographs, paintings and memorabilia from the Regiment’s various campaigns. A military museum is not really my thing but the history aspect of it was very interesting.

The Maclaurin Galleries

The servant quarters and stable block at Rozelle House were converted into art galleries and a gift shop at the request of Mrs Maclaurin, benefactor. The Maclaurin Galleries opened in June 1976, and consists of four galleries, which are attached via corridors to Rozelle House. I loved these galleries because while we were there they had huge exhibitions of art work from almost all schools in the area. Some of the exhibits were from children as young as 4 or 5 and some were submitted by 18 year olds just about to start university. 

The Maclaurin Collection also included paintings, drawings, sculptures and prints acquired by commission or purchased from artists or art dealers. The emphasis is on the modern period, loosely defined as 1900-1990. There is also a collection 19th century work which was  previously the property of the last private owners of the estate.

 

Rozelle Craft shop

Rozelle Craft shop is housed in another part of the stable block, it opened in 1996 and has become well known for its specialist hand blown glass and other local craft produce. 

The only thing I didn’t manage to find out was who made the stone sculptures sitting in the grounds of the house. I was quite impressed with these, they complimented the landscape but unfortunately, I couldn’t see anything that said who made them or when they were made.

This was another wonderful day out and the full set of pictures are here

http://forgetmenot525.multiply.com/photos/album/273/Rozelle_House_..._The_Pictures