Duart Castle

from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Duart Castle
View from the water side

View from the water side

Creation time : 13./14. century
Castle type : Niederungsburg
Conservation status: Reconstruction from the 20th century.
Geographical location 56 ° 27 '22.2 "  N , 5 ° 39' 18.7"  W Coordinates: 56 ° 27 '22.2 "  N , 5 ° 39' 18.7"  W.
Duart Castle (Scotland)
Duart Castle
View from the north. The location on the rock plinth and the outer walls to the right of the residential tower can be seen.

Duart Castle ( Gaelic : Caisteal Dhubhairt ) is a castle complex on the eastern shore of the island of Mull in the region Argyll and Bute in Scotland . In the immediate vicinity, on the other side of a small bay, lies the earlier films as Duart House called Torosay Castle . The castle complex was included in the Scottish List of Monuments in the A category in 1971.

location

Duart Castle stands on a rocky peninsula directly on the Sound of Mull , Loch Linnhe and the Firth of Lorn about 3 km east of Craignure . Within sight are other castles along the coasts of Mull and Morvern such as Dunstaffnage , Aros , Dunollie and Ardtornish . From the position of the castle one of the most important waterways on the Scottish west coast can be monitored.

history

The oldest parts of the building are dated to the 13th century based on structural features, but there is no clear evidence of this. Initially the castle was on the land of Clan Mackinnon , who lost it to Clan MacDonald . Soon afterwards, the castle became the headquarters of the MacLeans and is mentioned in writing in 1390 as the dowry of the wife of the then clan chief Lachlan Lubanach Maclean . The large residential tower , which is an extension of the oldest parts to the north-west, also dates from this time . The expansion is believed to have occurred after the MacLean Clan acquired the facility.

Around the middle of the 17th century, the large house was added and rebuilt several times in the following centuries.

During the Jacobite revolt , the MacLean clan was one of their supporters, and during the War of the Three Kingdoms they were royalists. During this phase, Cromwell's troops besieged the fortress twice. During the second siege they lost three ships, one of which can now be found as a wreck in the waters in front of the castle. The property became the property of the Duke of Argyll in 1674 . After the end of the wars, a small English garrison was stationed on the damaged castle, but the castle was not completely repaired, so that as early as 1748 it was described as "without roofs and abandoned". It continued to deteriorate until the beginning of the 20th century, when the ruins were bought back by the MacLeans and Sir Fitzroy MacLean, 26th chief of the clan , had them restored from 1911 according to plans by the Scottish architect John James Burnet (1857-1938) .

architecture

The residential tower occupies the entire northwest side and is one of the oldest parts of the castle. It is three storeys high and provided enough space inside for living and state rooms. The first floor is occupied by the main hall with a large fireplace.

The walls on the remaining sides of the complex are probably older than the residential tower. The entrance to the castle courtyard is slightly above the surrounding level on the southwest wall and is now accessible via a staircase.

The two-story house with its L-shaped floor plan and its large spiral staircase was built directly onto the old walls in the eastern corner of the castle courtyard. In order to create window openings, the castle walls had to be broken through. The time of construction and the owner can be identified by the inscription "SAM 1653" above the northeast entrance.

At one point of the masonry there was a badly weathered Sheela-na-Gig .

The castle today

The facility has been the location of several films, such as I know where I'm going , The Murderer Ship and Tempting Trap .

In 2013, water penetrated the building and caused serious damage, necessitating a thorough renovation, for which public funding was requested and for which the MacLean clan started an extensive fundraising campaign.

The castle can be visited and offers, among other things, an exhibition on the history of the MacLeans. There is a café in the farm buildings.

photos

References and comments

  1. a b c d e Description of Duart Castle on the website of the book The Castles of Scotland . Retrieved March 7, 2019.
  2. Description of the situation on the website of Caledonian MacBrayne . Retrieved March 7, 2019.
  3. a b Description of Duart Castle on the undiscoveredscotland website . Retrieved March 7, 2019.
  4. ^ History of the Clans MacLean on the Duart Castle homepage. Retrieved March 7, 2019.
  5. ^ Description of Duart Castle on the website of Simon Ford. Retrieved March 7, 2019.
  6. a b Summary of the history of Duart Castle. Retrieved March 7, 2019.
  7. Entry on Duart Point  in Canmore, the database of Historic Environment Scotland (English)
  8. The sources are contradicting here. The RCAHMS and The Castles of Scotland date the transition to Clan Campbell to 1674, Historic Environment Scotland writes from 1692. The website undiscoveredscotland names 1689 as the last year the MacLeans were present at Duart Castle, the Clan MacLean homepage states 1688 .
  9. "SAM" stands for the initials of Sir Allan Maclean, the 19th clan chief of the MacLeans.
  10. Filming locations for I know where I'm going in the IMDb. Retrieved March 6, 2019.
  11. Filming locations for The Murderer Ship in the IMDb. Retrieved March 6, 2019.
  12. Filming locations for Tempting Traps in the IMDb. Retrieved March 6, 2019.
  13. article in the New York Times about the history and status of the castle on August 30, 2016. Accessed March 7 of 2019.
  14. ↑ Appeal for donations on the Clan MacLean homepage. Retrieved March 7, 2019.

literature

  • Duart Castle. Jarrold Publishing, Norwich 1996.

Web links

Commons : Duart Castle  - collection of images, videos and audio files