Ballancleroch House in Campsie Glen, photographed in 1870 by Thomas Annan.
The house was built in 1665, on the estate which had been purchased in 1620 by Patrick M'Farlan and remained in the hands of his descendants in the 1870s. At the beginning of the 19th century John McFarlan (1767-1846), a friend of the Radical Thomas Muir, opened part of the Ballancleroch estate to visitors - an unusual step for a landowner to take at that time, and one which brought many tourists to the scenic glen. The house was modified in 1812 under the direction of the architect David Hamilton.
Ballancleroch became the Campsie Glen Hotel and in 2004 it is a Retreat and Conference Centre run by the Schoenstatt Sisters of Mary.
Reference: Sp Coll Dougan Add. 73
Glasgow University Library, Special Collections
Keywords:
Ballancleroch House, Campsie Glen Hotel, Conference Centres, country houses, mansions, Retreats, Schoenstatt Sisters of Mary, tourism