Arden House, Loch Lomond

[TerriG]

Does anyone have information about Arden House during the 1950/60s?  My maternal grandfather lived and worked on the estate when Lord & Lady Lumsden owned it.

[rosie17]

The Buchanan family sold Arden in 1964 to the Lumsden family, they lived there until 1980 when it was sold and converted into flats

[TerriG]

Thank you very much rosie for the interesting information.

[jennie77]

Does anyone have information about Arden House during the 1950/60s?  My maternal grandfather lived and worked on the estate when Lord & Lady Lumsden owned it.

  My great great grandfather worked at Arden House as the games keeper in the late 1800's.  He worked for Lord Lumsden.  I have some delightful family photos of them.  So if they owned the estate in the 1890's, maybe they sold and then repurchased it (looking at the one response you received this would have to be the case).  This seems unusual.  I do know it has been converted to apartments, but the workers cottage where my great aunt was born is still there. Looking at the family photo it has the date 1887 as the birthdate for Susan Elizabeth Campbell Lumsden and she appears to be 6 or so in the photo.  That brings the date to around 1893 or so.

[TerriG]

That is very interesting about Arden House being in the Lumsden family before the Buchanans owned it.  I believe my grandad lived in one of the gardener's cottages with my mum & aunt.  We visited the gardener's cottages last Easter, and the new owners very kindly showed us round.  They live in one of the cottages and the others are used as holiday lets.  The Carriage House is also a holiday let, and the people at the lodge also very kindly spoke to us about the people who used to live at the lodge.

[jennie77]

That is very interesting about Arden House being in the Lumsden family before the Buchanans owned it.  I believe my grandad lived in one of the gardener's cottages with my mum & aunt.  We visited the gardener's cottages last Easter, and the new owners very kindly showed us round.  They live in one of the cottages and the others are used as holiday lets.  The Carriage House is also a holiday let, and the people at the lodge also very kindly spoke to us about the people who used to live at the lodge.

THanks TerriG for the information.  I would love to visit someday (I am in Minnesota, USA).  My Great Aunt was born in one of the cottages and I spent the afternoon looking through my Victorian era photo album.  Seems I have the "Downton Abbey" equivalent of servants pictures, the head cook, gardener etc.  How fun you got to visit!  There is a lot of info online for Arden House history and also for Lord James Lumsden (he was even Knighted in the late 1800's). 

[TerriG]

Any idea which cottage your great aunt was born in?

[jennie77]

Any idea which cottage your great aunt was born in?

  Her dad was the game keeper so whatever cottage they used.  I assumed there was only one servant's quarters, but maybe there were several.

[HOUSE2000]

Just found your post about Arden House. There is information on http://www.valeofleven.org.uk/ about the house. It says that the Buchanans sold it to the Lumsden family in 1864 and they owned it until the 1980's. They still own some land and houses on the estate which are rented out. I was born and brought up a few miles from Arden and I remember going to the annual Christmas party held in the small hall next to the house. In the 1990's when the main road was widened the South lodge was demolished and rebuilt in the grounds of the house