CASTLE IN FLAMES

Evening Star, Issue 22722, 9 August 1937, Page 10

CASTLE IN FLAMES

ANCIENT SCOTTISH HOME Having blazed for hours through the night, ,a fierce fire last month left a large part of Beaufort Castle, the family seat of 1 .on 1 Lovat, 12 miles from Inverness, a blackened ruin. As the Inverness Fire Brigade raced to the castle Fireman George MacDougal.l, aged 45, fell from the engine while it was passing over a bridge, and received such injuries that he died almost immediately. Leaving one of the brigade with MacDougall, the firemen rushed on to the fire. The outbreak was discovered by some boys playing near the castle, and they gave the alarm while Lady Lovat and her daughter and brother-in-law, Major Fraser, of Moniack Castle, were at dinner. SEEN FOR MILES. Soon there was a terrific blaze, which could be seen for miles across the Highlands. The west wing, which contained the ballroom and the library, was severely damaged, and the roof of the central tower became a mass of flames. Meanwhile Lady Lovat, her daughter, and Major Fraser helped villagers and employees to save the art treasures in the castle, but many antiques were destroyed. The east wing and the centre portion of the castle were almost completely cleared of valuable contents, including armour, before they could be harmed. Hogarth’s famous portrait of Simon Lord Lovat, who was executed following the ’45 rebellion, and a portrait of Lady Enconde by G. F. Watts were among the pictures saved. RELICS REMOVED. Other relics which were removed included the guns of the Fraser Fenci'bles, an old Scottish armed force. Beaufort Castle was built about 50 years ago by the grandfather of the present Lord Lovat, and was considered to be one of the finest mansions in the Highlands. Jt is believed to be the thirteenth building on the same magnificent site by the river Beauly. Lord Lovat, who is 26, is a lieutenant in the Scots Guards, and succeeded his father to the ancient title in 1933. His castle was visited by the Duke of Windsor, when Prince of Wales, when he received the Freedom of Inverness.