Linda’s mother and Shandy the boxer at Glenfinart House 1968

As a young girl of 13, Linda Sinclair was on Holiday at Glenfinart House Hotel, Ardentinny in the summer of 1968. This was the week before fire destroyed the historic house on 24th August, of the same year. Linda’s brother Jim and his family were actually in the hotel when the fire alarm was sounded, they were in the second floor room of the Tower.

The following are some of Linda’s recollections.

I do have very vivid memories of Glenfinart House. I can remember exactly the way the house looked in August 1968.

The entrance into the hallway had a great sweeping staircase and deep red carpet. There was a large stained glass window on the curve of the staircase with its coats of arms and a huge chandelier hung in the hallway. To the right, at the bottom of the staircase, was a long corridor, on the right of that was the large dining doom to the front of the house with a view of the loch.

I remember the hallway was hung with very large oil paintings of past residents, and a battle scene with men in tartan (I didn’t like it, as there were dead horses and dead people in it!). Further along was a very large sitting room that was not very inviting, it had a huge ornate fireplace and the furniture was old dark mahogany. Nobody ever sat in this room. There was a bullet hole in one of the windows at the top I remember, and the curtains were heavy and dark. This window also looked out over to Loch Long.

On the left side of the corridor was a smaller room which was the bar, it had patio windows and steps down to the garden at the back, a door in the corner led to upper floor bedrooms.

The kitchens were also on this side of the corridor, across from the dining room. I remember there was a huge oil painting on the corridor wall. It was of Glenfinart House, from the shoreline of the Loch, with the forest behind the house. All purple and green hues. It was amazing and it took up the whole wall, and had an ornate gilt frame. Oh, what happened to these paintings? I reckon they were all destroyed in the fire (so sad).

I remember the hut with the biggest book in the world that was on your left as you came into the driveway. I also remember my room which was to the side of the house. It looked on to the stone bridge that led down to the little bay.

I was told of a ghostly lone piper who played the lament on the top of the tower and about a lady who was one of the inhabitants.

Also I remember the people who had the hotel were not Scots. They were Londoners. I think the lady who owned Shandy the dog was named Cath and there was a waiter named Dave who had a bad limp.

Glenfinart House burns on 24 August 1968

24.08.68
In one of the largest incidents of its kind in Argyll the Brigade were called on Saturday, August 24, 1968, at 0846 to the Glenfinnart Hotel, Ardentinny. Repeat calls had been received from Cove and Kilcreggan and crews arrived to face a serious fire which is well illustrated by the fireground message “A building of 2-3 and 4 floors about 120 feet by 230 feet, first floor, roof and tower well alight. Make pumps 3.”Seven jets were used on this fire and crews were in attendance for over 13 hours.
Courtesy: Dunoon Fire Service Centenary 1889 – 1989.

My niece Lesley was one of the children that was in the second floor room when the fire broke out. She told me that she was sitting on her potty at the time, and my brother picked her up potty and all and took her outside.

I had made great friends with the owners’ boxer dog named Shandy on my stay, and was completely devastated when the dog was killed in the fire. My brother had tried to save the dog, as it was in the room above, and he heard it run up and down the room in distress. He tried to get up the stairs to the room but the heat and smoke was too intense.

Glenfinart House today

My brother told me that the Dunoon Fire Brigade recovered the poor dog’s body and laid it to rest on the grass lawn on the right of the front of the door. I did go back some weeks later and found the grave of Shandy and cried my eyes out. In later years my family, who are in the demolition business from Glasgow, demolished the house. Only the tower remains today.

We are grateful to Linda Sinclair for sharing her memories with us. We would very much welcome any additional anecdotes related to the history of Glenfinart House.

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