page_title: Rothesay
section_title: History
hierarchical_section_title: Rothesay / History
caption_attribution_description: English: Rothesay Castle, Isle of Bute. Showing the Gatehouse and the Pigeon Tower.
context_page_description: Rothesay is the principal town on the Isle of Bute, in the council area of Argyll and Bute, Scotland. It can be reached by ferry from Wemyss Bay which offers an onward rail link to Glasgow. At the centre of the town is Rothesay Castle, a ruined castle which dates back to the 13th century, and which is unique in Scotland for its circular plan. Rothesay lies along the coast of the Firth of Clyde.
context_section_description: The old town centred around Rothesay Castle, which dates from the 13th century. Long-ruinous it is nevertheless picturesque, and formed a focal point for tourists from the beginning of its evolution into a seaside resort.
  Rothesay was the county town in the civil parish of Rothesay  in county of Bute, which included the islands of Great Cumbrae, Little Cumbrae and Arran. The county buildings, now partially closed down, overlook the castle.
  During the Victorian era, Rothesay developed as a popular tourist destination. It became hugely popular with Glaswegians going "doon the watter" (lit: down the water, where the 'water' in question is the Firth of Clyde), and its wooden pier was once much busier with steamer traffic than it is today. Rothesay was also the location of one of Scotland's many hydropathic establishments during the 19th century boom years of the Hydropathy movement. The town also had an electric tramway - the Rothesay and Ettrick Bay Light Railway - which stretched across the island to one of its largest beaches. However, this closed in the mid-1930s. The centre of activities was the Winter Gardens building (built 1923) which played host to some of the best known music hall entertainers of the day.
  During World War II Rothesay Bay was the home port of HMS Cyclops, the depot ship for the 7th Submarine Flotilla. HMS Cyclops and the 7th Submarine Flotilla served as the training facility for virtually all British submariners who saw service during the war. The Officer Concentration Station Rothsay was located here in 1941–1942.
  The war memorial (1922) is by Pilkington Jackson.
  Rothesay Pavilion, an example of International Modernist style architecture, was designed by the Ayr architect, James Andrew Carrick  and opened in 1938. It is a major landmark on the seafront and is currently undergoing a complete restoration having fallen into significant disrepair.
  From the 1960s onwards, with the advent of cheap foreign package holidays, Rothesay's heyday was largely over. The Winter Gardens closed and lay derelict for many years. However, in the 1990s, it was redeveloped and is now a tourist information and exhibition centre.
caption: Rothesay Castle in 2016
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