Prestigious house on Scottish whisky island on market for £3m

Islay House has welcomed several high-profile guests over the years, from prime ministers Harold Macmillan and Margaret Thatcher to Queen Elizabeth II

Islay House – arguably the most prestigious building on the island famed for its whisky – has come back on the market with a price tag of £3 million.

The house, which has its origins in the 17th century, has most recently been used by a hotel following its sale in 2014 by the family of retired United States Navy Top Gun, Captain Thomas Friedrich, who lived in the property for 20 years.

Major renovations were carried out followed the building’s purchase by a group of investors, with the property first opening as a hotel in 2016.

Islay House is on the market for £3m. PIC: Knight Frank

Closed since last year – although with self-catering accommodation still running – the property is now being marketed as a 13-bedroom house with 13 bathrooms and six public rooms. The entire property has been rewired and replumbed.

The new owner will have the option to complete the renovation of 16 further bedrooms at the house, which sits at the head of Loch Indaal and enjoys “unparalleled” sunset views across to the Rhinns mountains.

Agent Tom Stewart-Moore said: “Islay House is probably the most iconic building on the island full stop. It has had many guises over the years from a private home to a hotel, which our client has run until last year. It offers a multitude of uses to a buyer.

"It could be a large hotel, a corporate or a wedding venue or perhaps someone would like to keep it as a private home again.”

Originally known as Kilarrow House, the building was built for Sir Hugh Campbell of Cawdor around 1677 and has sat at the centre of an evolving Islay ever since.

Author and historian David Caldwell, in his book Islay, The Land of the Lordship, described the house as “considerable investment in money and effort”, which “marked the progress of Islay from hostile, undeveloped territory to a settled estate that paid its way”.

Major changes to the house and landscape in 1760 led to the property becoming known as Islay House, with further improvements made by Walter Frederick Campbell, who inherited the island in 1916 as a teenager and served as an MP for Argyllshire between the 1820s and 1840s.

He expanded Islay House, with architect William Playfair hired to create a Baronial-style wing at the rear, which mainly served as servants quarters.

However, Campbell's own poor financial management twinned with the onset of the potato blight pushed a growing island population into deep poverty. He was declared bankrupt in 1847 with the Campbell’s days at Islay House coming to an end.

The property was sold to English banker and Liberal MP James Morrison in 1853. Harold Macmillan was guest of the Morrison family in 1957, with Margaret Thatcher a guest in 1979. At that time, she was reportedly looking for a holiday home on the island. Queen Elizabeth II visited the following year.

The Morrison family ended their affiliation with Islay House in 1985 with its sale to Captain Thomas Friedrich, who served as personal pilot for Ugandan President Idi Amin. Mr Friedrich was passionate about the island despite the burdens of running the house, which for many years had no heating and poor electrics.