Killochan Castle
We were asked to add character and elaborate detail to the Salon of the Castle by the new owners.
Client: Killochan Castle
Category: Projects
Location: South Ayrshire
First, we had to provide a physical sample to show what the finished article would look like. We decided that the chimney breast was the best place to showcase our craftsmanship. We wanted to add more ornament to the plain cornice, create a unique piece above the mantlepiece that would complement the heritage of the property then finish all the surfaces to look like aged hardwood finishes.
A full description of our work can be found below the gallery. read more
Image Gallery
Our brief
The new owner of the castle showed us a photograph of one of the large rooms in Dumfries House, the room was almost identical to the Salon in his castle regarding layout with a similar height ceiling and double mitred chimney breast and wood panelling on the walls.
The photograph showed timber panelled walls, presumably mahogany, unpainted and aged through time, timber ornate cornicing, a carved relief above the fireplace and an intricate enriched plaster panel ceiling.
The Salon in Killochan Castle has a plain ceiling, a very plain cornice and gloss painted wood panelling, the chimney breast had a poor fitting mirror over the fireplace although there were traces that something more substantial had been on the wall previously.
We began by designing a framed plaster detail to fit above the fireplace, we took impressions from the stone coat of arms above the entrance to the main tower.
In our workshop, we used all the details that we had copied then added some plaster mouldings to either side of the main coat of arms to fit the dimensions we required.
We gave the Knight a “new” head and helmet suitable for the period, we restored and repaired the eroded sections using clay and plaster and fitted all to the chimney breast.
We fashioned a section of cornice to fit over the existing profile that could house the corbels, dentil blocks and patraes we thought were suitable for the piece.
We fitted these to the chimney breast and prepared for the painting techniques required to transform plaster and painted wood into something that looked like the sample photo.
The paint effect was applied over the course of two weeks, the finished sample is now ready for inspection.
