The Pineapple. Upon hearing this, most of the world would think of the fruit. However for those of us who live within a certain radius of Dunmore, a rather different image springs to mind.
I remember as a child, people would refer to it matter of factly. As if it was normal to talk about “The Pineapple” as being something to visit. It was all very confusing for my tiny brain. The reassuring thing is that the Pineapple continues to confuse people, even after they see it in person. You might even be confused as you read this.
So what am I wittering on about?
Built in the mid 18th Century, it was a summer house with an extravagant decoration on the top. At the time, pineapples were seen as fancy food in Scotland (and still in in many places) and as was so often the case with wealthy landowners of the time, the Earl of Dunmore was keen to demonstrate how rich and cultured he was. So we now have this interesting building that is hidden away in the woods. It’s not hard to get to but the turnoff is easy to miss and the road there is poorly maintained.
In all honesty, there’s not much to it, other than the outer design. There are some rooms on the inside that you can stay in for a long weekend. I’m not sure if it was unfinished or refurbished because there’s a serious style clash between the workmanship of the entrance and pineapple itself (which is amazing) and the surrounding building, which looks like post war social housing.
There is clearly some maintenance of the grounds but it’s not like some of the walled gardens that you can see around Scotland. The upkeep here is mainly to make sure you can get through the gates and walk about safely once inside.
The estate is extensive, though. And there are a few interesting sites to visit. The order that you find them depends on the direction you go when you leave the Pineapple. It loops round though so you shouldn’t miss anything when you walk round.
The first of the sites that I’ll talk about here is the smallest. The Mausoleum.
You can actually go inside the structure as the door lies open. I believe that it was a crypt. There are certainly spaces that would accommodate a number of coffins. As best as I could see, there’s not a lot more on the inside. I guess the idea was that it wasn’t for spending any more time in than was necessary.
Further round the ground lies the stables. At first sight, at least from the front, it could be mistaken for a medieval church. It was clearly designed with giving that impression. Once you get exploring, you can see that it’s in a sorry state. There are signs that some work has been done to secure certain stairwells but it’s a long way from being structurally sound.
And then there is Dunmore House. It was clearly the heart of the Dunmore empire back in the day but these days is mostly a forgotten ruin. The Pineapple is locally famous. My guess is that most of the visitors to the Pineapple are completely unaware of the mansion that once was.
There are several reasons for that, I suppose. You need to go to find it, for one. And as some friends found out recently, the paths there can be messy to traverse if you’re not wearing the appropriate footwear. Also, much like the stables, it’s not the safest of buildings to visit. There is a cellar level that is periodically accessible by a careless step. A fact that I nearly found out myself once when I stepped backwards while photographing an archway only to find that I had been inches away from plunging down into the darkness of a 19th century manor cellar.
I’ve been a lot more careful about where I put my feet since then.
It’s an interesting place for a few reasons. It was only abandoned in 1961, yet it’s getting to the point where it’s almost completely reclaimed by nature. Some places are inaccessible because they’ve collapsed or are blocked by trees and plants.
It also must have been impressive when it was in its heyday. There are dozens of rooms and many more dozens of fireplaces. I guess heating was a high priority of the Dunmore crew.
Anyone familiar with 80s fever dream ‘Labyrinth’ will get a familiar feeling. While I’m sure it felt more conventional when it was a functioning home, the remaining skeleton has all these stairways and doorways that lead to nowhere. I defy anyone to spend any amount of time there and not half expect to see David Bowie’s bulge to appear, soon to be followed by David Bowie himself.
Lastly, it made a brief appearance as a hospital in time travelling show, Outlander. They picked an apt location, as there would have been no shortage of spare needles.
