Dumfries House and contents

When the house was threatened with sale in 2007, HRH Prince Charles led a consortium of organisations and individuals to rescue it for the nation, in what was described as the 'save of the century'. The Art Fund acted as the formal legal purchaser of the house and its heritage contents and passed them to the newly formed independent charity, The Great Steward of Scotland's Dumfries House Trust. The Art Fund gave its highest ever grant of £2,250,000 using money set aside from the normal Grants budget. Dating from the time of the Scottish Enlightenment, Dumfries House contains an outstanding collection of untouched 18th century furniture selected specifically for the house. This includes what is recognised as the most significant collection of pieces by Thomas Chippendale from the period and an outstanding collection of 18th-century Scottish furniture by contemporary Edinburgh craftsmen Francis Brodie, William Mathie and Alexander Peter.