Overtoun (site of)

Overtoun was a castle belonging to the Colquhoun family but has been replaced with a 19th century baronial mansion.

The Colquhouns owned the lands of Overtoun in the 13th century until the Jacobite Rising when they were obtained by James Duncanson, the Town Clerk of Dumbarton. The property later passed to the Laing family in the 18th century.

In 1859 Overtoun was bought by James White, a wealthy chemical manufacturer from Rutherglen, and by 1863 a new house had been built in the Scots Baronial style by the architect James Smith. White’s son was made Lord Overtoun in 1907.

In 1939 the house and some of the estate were given to Dumbarton Town Council, and after use as a convalescent home during World War II it housed a maternity hospital until 1970. It is currently used as a Christian centre.