The Scotsman

It is a time capsule of eighteenth-century Scotland at its finest. One of the great country houses, it was commissioned by William, fifth Earl of Dumfries, who realised his imposing vision in the 1750s with the help of William Adam, the classical architect. It contains the earliest surviving commission by Thomas Chippendale, Britain's greatest cabinetmaker, and houses the largest group of his documented rococo furniture remaining in private hands. The house has remained little changed since then. But yesterday the twenty-first century intruded on the idyll when Lord Bute, or Johnny Bute as he prefers to be known, the former motor racing champion, announced he is to sell Dumfries House, raising fears its contents could be lost to the nation.