The Sutherland estate came into the Leveson-Gower family when the 2nd Marquess of Stafford, George Granville Leveson-Gower, married Elisabeth Sutherland, the 19th Countess of Sutherland and heiress to the Earldom of Sutherland. The Sutherland Estate occupied most of the county of Sutherland in the northernmost part of mainland Scotland, and after some additional purchases reached one million acres in size. The estate continued to be owned by the Countess and following her husband’s support for the Great Reform Act, he was made 1st Duke of Sutherland in the last year of his life, and on his death their eldest son inherited both the estate and the new title of Duke.
.jpg){kind=link}
The traditional seat of the earls was Dunrobin Castle, which was remodelled by Charles Barry who was also commissioned to remodel the family’s Trentham Hall seat in Staffordshire. Due to differing inheritance rules for the earldom, estate, and the dukedom, the castle and earldom went to the niece of the 5th Duke while the dukedom went to a distant male cousin.
The castle remains owned by the family and is open to the public from April to October.