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.
{
the information from here on is sketchy and needs confirming }
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. This includeed
the Spire Fellowship and Youth With A Mission, a missionary organisation.
YWAM 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...
