For Want of Staff and a Roof

Abandoned Dunalastair Castle, Scotland 

Rebuilt in 1859 by General Sir John Macdonald. From the web site:

It was really only used as it was built to be used up until the First World War because after that the staff needed to run such a big house were no longer available.

During the Second World War it was requisitioned and used first as a Polish boys’ and then girls’ school and during this period it was considerably damaged, which included the loss of a Millais painting which was destroyed in a fire in the drawing room.

The house’s contents were sold in the mid fifties after the current owner’s grandmother’s death and the house was badly vandalised in the sixties when the lead was stolen from the roof. In those days it was not viable to repair it and no grants were available and it deteriorated very quickly from then on with most removable parts being stolen.