IT COMES with its own private beach and was built for a princess by a world-renowned architect famed for the Cenotaph and New Delhi amongst his many masterpieces.
The Ferry Inn has stood next to the main jetty for the ferry which ran between Rosneath and Rhu on the opposite side of Gare Loch for more than 200 years.
Now the home which was built for Queen Victoria’s daughter Princess Louise in the 1890s, hasand it’s come to market for offers over £795,000.
It is one of only two in Scotland designed by the renowned Victorian architect Edwin Lutyens, the man who is known as possibly the greatest architect in the British Empire.
The only other Scottish house Lutyens – famous for the Cenotaph in Whitehall - designed is Greywalls at Gullane, East Lothian, now an upmarket hotel. He took on the commission for Ferry Inn when he was just 27.
During its history, the property, which sits on the banks of Gare Loch on the Firth of Clyde, has been used as a recovery home for Boer War veterans and as accommodation for US naval officers.
American entertainer Bob Hope stayed there during the Second World War while entertaining US troops.
The inn dated from 1800 and was extended three times between 1862 and 1897. In around 1896 Princess Louise instructed Lutyens to extend the inn as a private residence.
Princess Louise’s husband was the Marquis of Lorne, who succeeded his father in 1900 as the ninth duke of Argyll but the couple never moved in due to his ill-health.
The listed building has five bedrooms, three bathrooms, drawing room, dining room, breakfast room, study, spectacular loch views and four acres of well-manicured grounds.
The buyer will even get their own private beach to enjoy.
A sales brochure for the property by estate agents Savills reads: “An Arts and Crafts masterpiece by Sir Edwin Lutyens, Ferry Inn is set in four acres of its own grounds on the Rosneath Peninsula with 250 metres of frontage to Gare Loch and ownership of the shingle beach in front.
“The grounds form the corner of the promontory on the edge of Rosneath which juts out into the sea loch. There are magnificent views from the house over the loch and to the marina at Rhu on the opposite shore.
“The house is one of only two Lutyens buildings in Scotland and is a fine example of the architect’s style at this period. Lutyens created a two-storey house over a raised basement in the Arts and Crafts style.
“The house is unusual in that its three main elevations, to the south, east and north, are all very different.”
The house takes its name from the original inn on the site which served travellers on the ferry that linked the Rosneath peninsula to Rhu and Helensburgh on the other side of the loch.
The house is unusual in that its three main elevations, to the south, east and north, are all very different The house has been owned for the last 10 years by American dentist Dr Joe Brown, who with the help of his wife and several local tradesmen, renovated the property. Also included in the sale is Ferry Inn cottage, which sits adjacent to the main house, and a number of outbuildings.
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