THE REVIVAL

At the start of 2003, Katharine Pooley, Robert's daughter and her team took on the challenge of re-designing the interior of the castle. A huge amount of imagination, time and details have been spent on transforming Forter. Each room has been personalised with antiques, paintings and objets d¹art from Katharine's extensive travels. From Tasmania to Nepal, there are trinkets to interest and intrigue. Forter has always had character, but now it is truly fit for a king with the added bonus of numerous modern comforts. The castle also boasts practical new additions, including a new heating system, a completely new kitchen with all the mod-cons and an extra en-suite bathroom.

THE CEILING

The inspiration for the mural on the Great Hall ceiling came from extensive research that Jenny and her friend Suzy Kennard did, and from material already seen from ceilings of great buildings like Forter throughout Scotland. There is a fantastic reference book that was found to be very useful called "Renaissance Decorative Painting in Scotland" by Michael Bath. It took Jenny thirty very long days to complete the entire work. She first prepared the timbers to give them an almost 'limed oak' look, ideal as a background for the designs she had chosen. The paint used is a permanent high density pigment which is used extensively for murals and dries with intense colour that has a completely matt finish.

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