Castle Sween
| Castle Sween | |
|---|---|
 Castle Sween |
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| Creation time : | early 12th century |
| Conservation status: | ruin |
| Geographical location | 55 ° 56 '52.6 " N , 5 ° 39' 55.7" W |
Castle Sween is a ruined castle in the Knapdale region of the Scottish Council Area Argyll and Bute . It is now considered to be the oldest stone castle on mainland Scotland. In the sparsely populated rural region of Scotland, the nearest settlement is four kilometers southwest of Kilmory . Castle Sween is located on the shores of Loch Sween , an inlet at the southern end of the Jurassic Sound .
history
Castle Sween probably originated in the early to mid 12th century. In older sources, the 11th century can also be found as the construction period. The builder of the complex was possibly a Danish prince named Sweno or Suibhne , ancestor of the Sweeney clan, who lived in Ireland from the 13th century . During the Scottish Wars of Independence , the MacSweens opposed Robert the Bruce and were expropriated from their possessions in Knapdale after he came to power. During the wars, Castle Sween was besieged by Robert the Bruce himself. The lands fell to the Earls of Menteith and finally to Aonghas Óg , son of Alexander Og MacDonald and Lord of the Isles . Later, the MacDonalds, as Lords of the Isles , left the castle to be manned by members of the MacNeill clan of Gigha Island . During the Wars of the Three Kingdoms , Sir Alexander Macdonald destroyed Castle Sween in 1647. After that, the castle remained uninhabited and fell into disrepair over the centuries.
Castle Sween is classified as a Scheduled Monument . and is now administered by Historic Scotland .
description
Castle Sween has a rectangular floor plan. There were two castle gates in the south and west flanks, the latter of which is no longer preserved. The masonry consists of coarse quarry stone and was reinforced, especially at the building edges. The remains of a fountain in the inner courtyard probably date from the time it was built. However, the foundations of buildings that were added later have also been preserved. In the later use of Castle Sween, buildings in the eastern part of the courtyard were probably torn down and this area was reserved for handicrafts, especially metal production. The outgoing on the northwest edge of the keep could have been built at the time of the Earls of Menteith together with the two western towers. The round McMillan's Tower in the southeast and a rectangular extension in the northwest were built around 1450.
literature
- Dunstaffnage and the castles of Argyll. Historic Scotland, Edinburgh 1994, ISBN 0-7480-0481-5 (reprinted 1996).
Web links
- Entry on Castle Sween in Canmore, Historic Environment Scotland database
- Information from Historic Scotland
Individual evidence
- ↑ a b Stell, 1994, p. 16.
- ↑ a b Castle Sween. In: David Munro, Bruce Gittings: Scotland. An Encyclopedia of Places & Landscapes. Collins et al., Glasgow 2006, ISBN 0-00-472466-6 .
- ↑ a b Entry in the Scottish list of monuments ( memento of July 9, 2012 in the web archive archive.today )
- ↑ a b c d Entry on Castle Sween in Canmore, the database of Historic Environment Scotland (English)
- ^ Castle-Swin. In: Francis H. Groome: Ordnance Gazetteer of Scotland: A Survey of Scottish Topography, Statistical, Biographical and Historical. Volume 1: (A - Coru). Thomas C. Jack, Grange Publishing Works, Edinburgh et al. 1882, p. 251 .
- ↑ Scheduled Monument - Entry . In: Historic Scotland .