Dunstaffnage Castle
| Dunstaffnage Castle | ||
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| Creation time : | around 1220 | |
| Castle type : | Niederungsburg | |
| Conservation status: | Ruin, gatehouse reconstructed in the 20th century | |
| Geographical location | 56 ° 27 '16.9 " N , 5 ° 26' 15.5" W | |
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Dunstaffnage Castle is a castle north of the village Dunbeg in the region Argyll and Bute in Scotland . It is located on a peninsula at the confluence of Loch Etive in the Firth of Lorne .
location
The facility is located on a small rocky peninsula from which the coastal landscape north of Oban can be overlooked. Its location on the peninsula controls the sea routes through the Firth of Lorne and the Sound of Mull , and the land route east along Loch Etive and River Awe . Between the peninsula, the town of Dunbeg and the offshore island of Eilean Mor lies the sheltered Dunstaffnage Bay, which is still used as a harbor today. The immediate rock base on which the castle was built is between 6 m and 9 m high.
history
According to tradition, the castle is located on the site of an older fortification, in which the stone of Scone is said to have been before it was brought to Scone Castle in the 9th century .
The present fortress was around the year 1220 by Duncan Dubhgall, the grandson of Lord of the Isles Somerled , or his son Ewen for the MacDougall - communities built. Dunstaffnage Castle is considered one of the most powerful fortresses in western Scotland when it was built.
In 1308 or 1309 Dunstaffnage was captured by Robert the Bruce after the Battle of Brander and remained in royal possession for several years. In 1469, the fortress became the property of the Duke of Argyll and thus the Campbells clan . From this the castle was used militarily until the Jacobite uprisings . Flora MacDonald , who helped Bonnie Prince Charlie to escape from the English troops after his defeat at Culloden , was briefly imprisoned in Dunstaffnage in 1746 before she was taken to London .
After a fire in the gatehouse in 1810, the complex stood empty and fell into disrepair. The gatehouse was not reconstructed until 1904.
architecture
The rock base of the peninsula was used as the foundation for the complex, which gave it an irregular trapezoidal floor plan. The rock base should make it difficult for attackers to undermine the walls or to reach them directly with siege equipment.
Even the oldest surviving remains show impressive defenses and spacious living areas, from which it can be concluded that the master builder had excellent knowledge of fortress construction typical of the time. At the time of construction, such a large and elaborate stone construction was extraordinarily expensive and is more the exception than the norm for western Scotland. There are strong round towers at three of the corners, of which the tower in the northern corner is significantly more massive than the others. The north tower was probably originally the castle's residential tower . All three towers do not protrude very far above the walls, so their use for defense should have been limited.
The gate from the 16th century is now on the fourth corner. Until the late 15th century there was also a round tower in which the entrance to the fortress was located. Today you can still see the remains of a doorway and approaches for a drawbridge at a height of about 5 m.
The main walls are approx. 20 m high and 3 m thick. In them you can still see the filled remains of some arrow slits from the 13th century.
In the castle courtyard there are wall remains of accommodation buildings from the 16th and 18th centuries and a well shaft driven into the rock base. Several chimneys and fireplaces have been preserved in the remains of the building.
The castle today
Dunstaffnage Castle is largely in ruins today, but some well-preserved stone carvings still remain. The gatehouse is now privately owned. The remainder of the facility is operated by Historic Environment Scotland and is open to the public. The ruins of the Dunstaffnage Chapel are in the immediate vicinity .
photos
Area with Eilean Mor Island and Ardmucknish Bay
View of the rock base of the walls
View of the gatehouse from inside the castle
Remnants of a house with a well
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literature
- Martin Coventry: The Castles of Scotland . 4th edition. Polygon, Goblinshead, 2006.
- Geoffrey Stell: Dunstaffnage and the castles of Argyll . Historic Scotland, Edinburgh, 1994; Reprinted 1996, ISBN 0-7480-0481-5 .
- Dunstaffnage . In: Encyclopædia Britannica . 11th edition. tape 8 : Demijohn - Edward . London 1910, p. 684 (English, full text [ Wikisource ]).
Web links
- Scheduled Monument - entry . In: Historic Scotland .
- Entry on Dunstaffnage Castle in Canmore, Historic Environment Scotland database
Individual evidence
- ↑ a b c Christopher Abraham: Scottish Castles and Fortifications . 2nd Edition. Historic Buildings and Monuments, Edinburgh 1990, ISBN 0-11-492475-9 , pp. 42 f .
- ↑ The dates in the sources vary, as the dating of the Battle of Brander as a reference event is also disputed. The most likely time for the battle is August 1308.
- ↑ a b c d Christopher Abraham: Scottish Castles and Fortifications . 2nd Edition. Historic Buildings and Monuments, Edinburgh 1990, ISBN 0-11-492475-9 , pp. 18th f .
- ↑ Christopher Abraham: Scottish Castles and Fortifications . 2nd Edition. Historic Buildings and Monuments, Edinburgh 1990, ISBN 0-11-492475-9 , pp. 22 .
- ↑ Christopher Abraham: Scottish Castles and Fortifications . 2nd Edition. Historic Buildings and Monuments, Edinburgh 1990, ISBN 0-11-492475-9 , pp. 24 . also describes an old entrance located at a greater height above the surroundings.