Cairndhu House

Cairndhu House, Helensburgh
� Paul McIlroy

Cairndhu House is located in Helensburgh, on the Firth of Clyde. The house was designed by William Leiper (1839 - 1916) and built between 1872 and 1873 for John G Ure (1820 - 1901), Lord Provost of Glasgow (1880 - 1883), whose son became Lord Strathclyde. Leiper designed a number of well regarded houses and mansions in Helensburgh.

The house sits on a low hilltop, set back from the shore and accessed along Cairndhu Gardens which skirts the lawn in front of the house. A more steeply sloped lawn area, just below the house, has the name CAIRNDHU picked out in large white letters formed by white stones set into the ground.

The building is described as a miniature French ch�teau in Fran�ois I style, with the interior is having a number of notable features including an impressive black and gold Anglo-Japanese ceiling decorated with sunflowers, bamboo and birds, and excellent examples of stained glass by Glasgow born designer Daniel Cottier. The figures of Fame, Fortune, and Love appear in windows in the house, with the figure of Death on a Cottier and Company tile which was formerly mounted in the dining room fireplace surround.

The basement it reported to have been used as the meeting place for the Helensburgh Amateur Radio Club,^[1] although the date of this use is unknown.

World War II - HMS Vernon

During World War II, the house was requisitioned by the Royal Navy in September 1940, and became home to part of HMS Vernon, along with nearby Ardencaple Castle. After the war ended, the house was returned in 1947.

Following its wartime service, the house became a popular hotel on the Helensburgh seafront, but was to close in 1984, re-opening c. 1993 as the Cairndhu House Nursing Home, able to care for about 40 residents.

Cairndhu Lodge

The house was provided with a lodge, or gatehouse, positioned at the start of the driveway leading from the coast road to the house. The main road is now Rhu Road Lower, the A814, while the driveway is now Cairndhu Gardens. The lodge was also the location a flush bracket, a form of bench mark used used by Ordnance Survey.^[2]