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Mount Stuart Libraries and Archives
Street address: Mount Stuart, Rothesay, Bute, Argyll and Bute PA20 9LR, Scotland, United Kingdom
Telephone: 44 (0) 1700 503877
Fax: 44 (0) 1700 505313
E-mail: contactus@mountstuart.com
Website: http://www.mountstuart.com
Proprietor: Mount Stuart
Contact: Sophie Crichton-Stuart Director
E-mail: sophie@mountstuart.com
Opening hours: By appointment only
Admission: Call for details
Accessibility: Designated car parking areas, disabled car park situated at house if required; assisted wheelchair access to house (lift serves all floors); most areas of garden accessible, although there is some loose gravel and a few steep and uneven paths, map showing suitable routes available; designated toilet for wheelchair users situated within Visitors' Centre and at Mount Stuart; please ring in advance if special help is required
The libraries and archives at Mount Stuart contain one of the most important privately-held collections in the United Kingdom.
The extensive archives, dating from 1158, contain a wealth of information relating to the Bute family and associate branches, and are especially rich sources for architectural, economic, military and political history. The collection of printed books from the 15th century to present extends to some 25,000 volumes and includes many works from the celebrated collection developed by the 3rd Earl of Bute at his Bedfordshire seat, Luton Hoo.
The archives and libraries are currently undergoing an extensive programme of re-organisation and cataloguing. A new library storage facility was recently created to facilitate the storage of some 13,000 books as well as outsize volumes, architectural plans, maps, engravings, prints, photographs and posters. The long-term aim is to open these collections for the purpose of historical research and other educational uses, thereby making these important collections available for the first time.
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