Builders John-Paul Ashley and Mark Rutherford Thompson were both on site to welcome two special visitors to the castle this morning, Libby Richardson (left) and her niece Sara Wright. Libby is from Wynyard and Sara from Saskatoon, both in Saskatchewan, Canada.
Libby is the
the great, great, great, grand-daughter of Margaret Riddell MacDougall who was born in Mingary Castle and lived there for approximately twelve years. Margaret was the great niece of Sir James Riddell, the third of the Riddells who held the Ardnamurchan Estate during the latter part of the 18th and early 19th centuries.
The sun came out for the ladies' visit, and we were able to show them over the main building, which is where Margaret would have been born and brought up. Its exterior now looks much as it would have done in Sir James' time. Margaret's family later emigrated to Canada, and most of her descendants remain there today.
In response to a reader's request, while we were there we looked in on the west wing, where work continues, to check on the two small alcoves. They've been repointed but will be covered by insulation, plywood and plaster, so they won't be visible when the room is completed.
Will Libby Richardson and her family become the first paying guests of Mingary Castle one its renovation and refurbishment are completed? It would be an interesting jester for the descendents of the last occupants to lived at the castle become the first to experience firsthand how their ancestors lives were like when the castle was habitable.
ReplyDeleteMargaret was the great niece of Sir James Riddell, the third of the Riddells who held the Ardnamurchan Estate during the latter part of the 18th and early 19th centuries.
ReplyDeletevisitors