Sometimes, it seems, mottos are more than mere heraldry. The motto of the Bute family, who are Stuarts, is Avito Viret Honorem, which means He flourishes in an honourable ancestry'. And John Bute is living that motto to the full.

His father, the 6th Marquis of Bute, was a major force in the world of architecture and heritage until his death in the early 1990s, and now John, his son, the 7th Marquis, is making his first, but perhaps not his last, move into the public sphere, by joining the board of The Lighthouse in Glasgow.

It is also apt that Bute has joined the board of the body whose remit is architecture and design in Scotland. After all, his father was a chairman, vice-chairman and president of the National Trust for Scotland and the Historic Buildings Council for Scotland.

Perhaps most importantly, he was also a pivotal figure in the building of the strikingly modernist Museum of Scotland, backing its, at the time, controversial design by Benson & Forsyth architects. He was, as his son said last night, a supporter of both the built heritage and the new and innovative. Indeed, before he died he left a permanent legacy for the body politic too: he donated Bute House, in Edinburgh, to the National Trust, and now it is the official residence of the First Minister.

But for many, stationary objects are the last thing you would associate with John Bute. To some he is still known as Johnny Dumfries, the name he used in his successful career as a racing driver. He became Formula Three champion in 1984 and four years later, he won Le Mans, the arduous 24-hour French race.

He raced for one troubled season in Formula One with Team Lotus. He also gained a reputation as a great car tester, at one point testing cars for Ferrari. With better luck - and better cars - he could have had more success in the F1 age of Ayrton Senna and Alain Prost, but he has few regrets. "I could have won more, but it wouldn't have made me a better person," he said.

But it was when his father died in 1993, that more solemn responsibilities became plain: the care of the tens of thousands of acres of the family's estates, and especially the ancestral home of Mount Stuart, near Rothesay on Bute. He initially gained some less than flattering headlines as he got to grips with his new business, modernised the estates, opening up Mount Stuart, a masterpiece of the Gothic revival, to the public and selling part of the family's art collection to raise £6m to pay death duties on his late father's estate.

Perhaps some rough handling then might explain his reticence to talk to the press now - his public utterances were few even during the very public sale of Dumfries House to the nation for £45m, last year. But yesterday he spoke to The Herald with candour on his new move into the public realm.

His decision came after a series of meetings with the new director of The Lighthouse, Nick Barley, last summer.

"I am delighted about joining the board, and I think The Lighthouse is a fantastic organisation, and I hope to bring my experience and my own views on architecture and design to the organisation," he said.

"Also, because I was born on Bute, and having my business on Bute, I am very interested in the west of Scotland, and The Lighthouse is very much part of the west, being based in Glasgow.

"I have always been interested in buildings, that's a lot to do with being brought up in Mount Stuart. Mount Stuart is such a deeply eclectic place, and it has meant my interest is broad, both the old and the new. I became more involved in Mount Stuart since the death of my father in 1993, and I suppose I have inherited his eclectic views as well: he wasn't a man who just stuck to classical architecture, he had a broader view."

He added: "From a personal point of view, I have always been reluctant to be on boards. But this is a subject close to my heart, its close to my home and that's the most simple reason why I have joined. I just hope I am going to make a contribution. Up until this point I have not been on boards because I have always been aware that my primary concerns have to be my business and my family.

"I've had a few offers over the years but they have been figurehead-type positions, and I am not interested in that. But I am excited about this because I am going to be working with people of expertise and focus and with a subject in which I am very interested."

Bute has made his own contributions to the built environment of Scotland. At Mount Stuart, which has attracted nearly 400,000 visitors since 1995, Mr Bute commissioned Alfred Munkenbeck, a leading architect, to design the visitors' centre. The modernist design won a RIBA award in 2002.

He is also interested in saving the derelict St Peter's Seminary in Cardross, designed by Glasgow architects Isi Metzstein and Andy MacMillan. The marquis does not want to buy and renovate the building himself but would be interested in backing a scheme to save and maintain the seminary, which is A-listed and one of the 100 most endangered sites identified by the World Monument Fund.

"I think it's a disgrace that it has got to that condition," he said, "but to be honest, I would only like to be part of saving that building if there was a coherent plan. It has to be a plan that is viable economically. There has been speculation in the press, but I was never going to just wade in there and save it.

"So far, it seems like there has been a lot of good intentions but no detailed plans, a lot of people interested but nothing coming forward. But at least it is now back on people's radar screens."

Last night, Nick Barley added: "Johnny Bute has had over the past 10 years an unflinching commitment to design and architecture, both in his ground-breaking work on the Isle of Bute and his business activities elsewhere. This, together with the internationally acclaimed contemporary art programme at Mount Stuart, makes Johnny unique in Scotland, and I can't think of anyone more appropriate for the board at The Lighthouse."



Track record

  • John Bute. Born in 1958 in Rothesay.
  • He enjoyed a successful motor racing career in the 1980s - after the British Formula 3 Champion in 1984, he went on to drive in Formula 1 in the 1986 season and won, with Jaguar, the Le Mans 24-hour race in 1988.
  • Since succeeding his father, as the 7th Marquis of Bute, in 1993 he has overseen, amongst other projects, the completion of the chapel decoration scheme at Mount Stuart and the building of a visitor centre, which won a top architectural award in 2002.
  • Last year he put the family's home of Dumfries House in Ayrshire, complete with its unique furniture designed by Thomas Chippendale, on the market. At the 11th hour it was bought for the nation for £45m, some £20m of which came from Prince Charles's charities foundation.