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Douglas
White's Bequeath
Douglas White inherited Overtoun House
after Lord Overtoun's death in 1908, but unlike the two
previous owners he did not have the desire nor the funds
to run a country estate. Throughout his life he spent little
time at Overtoun and in 1939, on the eve of the war, he
gave the entire estate to the people of Dumbarton in perpetuity.
The
terms of the bequeath and the restrictions he placed on
the house's use - such as the ban of alcohol on the premises
- did much to shape Overtoun's later history.
The
War Years
In 1939 Overtoun House was the core of
the Dumbarton Town Council Parks Department in 1939 and
many ideas were forthcoming about what to do with the house
and the grounds. For the duration of the war (1939 - 1945)
the country had other things on its mind, and the house
remained in stasis, with most of its internal decoration
and furniture removed to London. The house itself escaped
damage despite it's proximity to Clydebank whose shipyards
were bombed by the Luftwaffe.
Maternity
Hospital
After the war it was quickly proposed
by the Council that Overtoun be turned into a maternity
hospital. The minutes of the council meetings show that
adaptations to the house were carried out by the Dumbarton
firm of Findlay McIntosh and Sons at an estimated cost of
£13, 340 14s 5d in 1947/48. The most noticable result
of this being a fire escape added to the north west side,
seen on the right hand side when standing in front of the
house. The maternity hospital opened on 23rd April 1948
with 25 beds and 9 wards. Coincidentally six days later
the first baby to born there was called Catherine Overtoun.
Babies born there became known as "children of the
rock" because Dumbarton Rock was clearly visible from
the upper floor.
In
1970 the inaccessibilty and high running costs of the house
caused the maternity units to be transferred out of Overtoun
on 1st September 1970 to the new maternity unit in the Vale
of Leven Hospital.
The
Quality of Life Experiment
The house then lay dormant for a period
of five years. The Director of Social Work in Dumbarton
wanted the house for residential accomodation for "maladjusted"
children but the cost of running the house again proved
prohibitive.
Then
in 1975 Overtoun House was one of 6 sites in Britain chosen
for the government's Quality of Life Experiment. It proved
to be a short lived scheme to try and improve leisure facilties.
So benches were put in, some of which remain, an observation
platform at the Spardie Linn waterfall, which has since
rotted away, and various other improvements to the pond,
footpaths and bridges over the burn. However the expirement
lapsed for reasons best know to central government and the
house was empty again.
YWAM
and the Spire Fellowship
With the government unsure of how to
use Overtoun House a number of religious groups offered
to take on the house. From 1976 to 1983 Spire Fellowship
were granted a lease for Renewal Ministry. Then in 1984
Youth With
A Mission, a missionary organisation, moved into the
house in the mid-1980s but in 1994 they consolidated their
missionary training at Seamill on the Ayrshire coast.
RSPB
The house was later taken on by the RSPB
for use as a wildlife park.
Film
Set
Due to its grand setting and Victorian
architecture Overtoun House was sought out as a location
for independant movies such as Regeneration and Tales
From The Madhouse.
Read
a full listing of Overtoun House's film credits...
The Present Day
At the turn of the millenium West Dumbartonshire
examined a number of proposals for the use of Overtoun House.
Eventually they opted for the Christian Centre for Hope
and Healing and Bob and Melissa signed a lease for the building
in 2001 and moved into the house at Easter 2002.
Read
about the vision for Overtoun House...
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