Castle Toward

Castle Toward (not to be confused with the nearby 15th century ruin of Toward Castle) lies west of Toward Point, about eight miles south of Dunoon, Argyll, in the Firth of Clyde.

The grounds extend to some 57 hectares, and include other features such as a walled garden, and to the southwest of the mansion, the south lodge or gatehouse, with Toward Quay on the shore across the road.

The house was requisitioned for military training during World War II, then became a residential school offering outdoor experiences, and then became an outdoor activity centre. The facilities were also used as the setting for a number of children's television games shows.

Early history

Described as a fine Gothic mansion on the lower slopes of the Cowal peninsula facing Rothesay Bay, the house was designed and built between 1820 and 1821, attributed to architect David Hamilton^[1] for Kirkman Finlay (1773 � 1842), a successful Glasgow merchant. The date places places the building just into the period between Regency (1811 to 1820) and Victorian (1832/1837 to 1901), but commonly referred to as a Victorian building.

Following Finlay's death, the estate passed through several owners until the 1920s, when it was bought by the Coats family of Paisley, famous for the thread. Coats extended the original structure during the years between 1920 and 1924, adding several towers and expanding the building to its final 20th century appearance. These extensions can be seen in early pictures of the front fa�ade held in Castle House Museum, Dunoon, where differing sandstones can be seen to have been used in their construction.

In 1947, the Coats family sold the house to Glasgow Corporation, which used it as a residential school. Glasgow was then a large industrial city, and the Corporation used the school as a place where children from the city could be sent to experience the countryside. The school was also used as a place of convalescence, where children recovering from illness could be sent to benefit from the open air.

Kirkman Finlay

Kirkman Finlay (1773 � 1842) was born in Glasgow's Gallowgate, and became a successful Glasgow entrepreneur, businessman and merchant, with interests in cotton and textiles. He was also a Member of Parliament, and Lord Provost of Glasgow.

In 1818, while still MP for the Clyde Burghs and Lord Provost of Glasgow, Finlay bought the land at Toward, on the southern part of the Cowal peninsula near Dunoon, including the old Toward Castle which would inspire the name of his new house which would be built nearby.

World War II

Nissen huts

As with many great country houses, Castle Toward was requisitioned for military purposes during World War II, and commissioned by the Royal Navy.

HMS Brontosaurus

Castle Toward was commissioned as HMS Brontosaurus, and began by providing training in basic naval procedures for the operation of major landing craft by officers and crew, in particular, the techniques of loading personnel and armoured vehicles (including tanks) onto all types of landing craft. The castle had its own quay, which was used together with the surrounding castle grounds for training exercises. Infantry training was carried out at Lochailort, at places such as Inverailort Castle.

Personnel belonging to the Royal Engineers, Royal Artillery, Royal Armoured Corps, and other logistical units took place at Toward, and operations developed over time, and would eventually include personnel from all forces involved in Combined Operations, and ultimately in the preparations for operations such as D-Day, when the facility would come to be known as No 2 Combined Training Centre, CTC Castle Toward. Training included instruction in beach landing control, and the logistics of an army once ashore.

Hut bases and remains

Some of the original Nissen huts have survived in the grounds next to the house, and a number of concrete hut bases remain in the grounds between Castle Toward and Toward Castle, largely hidden by trees which have grown in the area. However, some of this forestry has been cleared, revealing partial remains of the huts which once occupied the area.

Toward Quay has survived on the shore, where the local sailing club has its clubhouse.

Postwar development

Castle Toward Gatehouse or south lodge, 2006, Zak

Castle Toward gatehouse or
south lodge
© Zak

Since the 1950s, Castle Toward has operated as a residential school, offering children and young people the opportunity to experience the facilities of a residential outdoor education centre. In that time, it has also played host to numerous music, drama and arts groups from across the country.

Since 2002, the BBC children's game show Raven has recorded on location in the grounds of Castle Toward, with further locations in Scotland providing the setting for related productions. Raven: The Island, was filmed at Auchengillan Outdoor Centre, with the final Nevar's Fortress scenes taking place at Mugdock Castle, Mugdock Country Park.

In 2005, following claims that Argyll & Bute Council intended to sell the Castle Toward site to developers for housing and leisure use, the Castle Toward Trust^[2] and Friends of Castle Toward^[3] were formed in an attempt to raise the money needed to buy the facility, preserve the history of Castle Toward, and allow the existing residential and outdoor facilities to continue. The web site associated with this appeal appears to have been abandoned since 2007, with �10,998 being shown as raised.

Inspection and closure 2009

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During November 2009, following an inspection by officers from Argyll & Bute Council and Strathclyde Fire & Rescue, the council told the centre to cease operating as a residential facility, on the basis that it was unfit for purpose due to the number of fire related and Health & Safety problems identified.

Argyll & Bute Council�s executive met on December 17, 2009, when the future of Castle Toward was discussed as part of the meeting's agenda, from which the press and the public were excluded. A statement issued after the meeting gave the cost of bringing the premises up to a standard suitable for residential use as being in the region of �595,000, while the cost of restoring the building to an acceptable standard would raise this sum to �977,000.

Consequently, the committee recommended the sale of the buildings and 57 hectares of adjoining land. Actual Reality, the sitting tenant and organiser of events at Toward, are described as possible purchasers.^[4]

Following these announcements, a number of web sites opposed to the closure appeared, generally intent on saving the facilities at Toward, including a site targeting the council^[5], a Facebook group^[6], and an online petition^[7].