A Very British Scandal: inside the castle of the ‘dirty duchess’ in Scotland, Inveraray Castle, also of Downton Abbey fame

The Duchess of Argyll spent a fortune restoring Inveraray Castle in western Scotland, now full of secret doors, ancient weapons and priceless artwork

Currently closed to the public, the castle and its grounds will reopen from March 28 to October 31, with private tours available

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Inveraray Castle in Scotland, which featured in A Very British Scandal and, in 2012, Downton Abbey, as the fictional Duneagle Castle.

Published: 4:15pm, 10 Jan 2022

It was love at first sight when glamorous Margaret Sweeny, the future Duchess of Argyll, set eyes on Inveraray Castle, in western Scotland. This was understandable, despite the castle’s neglected state, given the romantic-looking conical roofed turrets and glorious position in vast parkland edging Loch Fyne.

Rich and spoilt Margaret, debutante of the year in 1930 and the “Mrs Sweeny” namechecked in the Cole Porter song You’re the Top (1934), is said to have become enamoured with restoring the castle inherited by her married lover, Ian Campbell, the 11th Duke of Argyll.

In the new BBC and Amazon Studios drama series A Very British Scandal, Ian is depicted taking Margaret (played by Claire Foy) to Inveraray and dismissing it as “a plague pit” and “a pile”. But Margaret responds: “You didn’t tell me it was so beautiful. It just needs love and attention.”

And that’s what Margaret gave it, investing a small fortune in restoring the building, money from her self-made millionaire father George Whigham.

There was not to be a happy ending for the couple, who married in 1951 (his third, her second), however, with eyebrow-raising behaviour from both the duke and duchess, the television drama reveals.

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