Support Us
At Mount Stuart Trust, we’re dedicated to caring for the heritage, creativity and natural environment of Bute, ensuring this remarkable place continues to inspire and benefit everyone.
We are a charitable trust and every visit, event and donation helps us conserve the house and gardens, support local people and create opportunities to learn, grow and connect.
Our Vision
To play our part in promoting an island that cherishes its history, optimises its present, and ensures its sustainable future.
Our Mission
- Conservation – Developing and promoting best practice in the care of the House, Gardens, Collections, and Rural Sector.
- Engagement – Providing access and high-quality experiences to a diverse audience: onsite, offsite and online.
- Sustainability – Creating a resilient and sustainable organisation, investing in people and technology to deliver Net Zero by 2045.
- Community – Developing our networks of supporters and working collaboratively with the island community for the benefit of Bute.
Our Values
Transparency, communication, adaptability, diversity, responsibility and a commitment to best practice in all we do.
What Your Support Makes Possible
Your generosity enables us to:
- Care for our gardens and estate, providing apprenticeships and training opportunities in horticulture, forestry and traditional skills.
- Deliver education and learning programmes for local schools, nurseries, and community groups, as well as visiting students and researchers.
- Preserve and share our libraries and archives, supporting access for volunteers, visitors and scholars.
- Host community events like our Christmas Fair – a free celebration of local creativity featuring talented craftspeople and makers from across Bute – support of which is in the DNA of the Crichton-Stuart family.
Together, we are supporting, enabling, and promoting learning, innovation and creativity while providing stewardship of the heritage assets in our care.
Our History
Mount Stuart Trust was founded in 1989 by John Crichton Stuart, Marquess of Bute (1933–1993), with the aim of entrusting the historic Mount Stuart, together with the land and resources of the former Bute Estate, to a charitable trust governed by a board of trustees.
Since opening Mount Stuart House and Gardens to the public in 1995, the Trust has remained committed to conservation, environmental sustainability, innovation, public access, and education.
You can read more about our aims and objectives in our Strategic Aims & Objectives document (2024).
A Shared Effort
We are deeply grateful to our visitors, community partners, volunteers, and local craftspeople who make our work possible. Every visit and every donation helps protect Mount Stuart for future generations and keeps our programmes open and accessible to all.
How You Can Help
If you’d like to support the Mount Stuart Trust, you can make a donation via our secure JustGiving page. Every contribution, large or small, makes a difference. Donations made this way allow us to claim Gift Aid, which means your contribution goes even further.
Donate to Mount Stuart Trust on JustGiving
All donations go directly towards our charitable work in heritage preservation, education, and community engagement.
Mount Stuart Trust Ltd., a Scottish Registered Charity, No. SC009584