Meggernie Castle
| Meggernie Castle | ||
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_p.296_-_Meggernie_-_John_Preston_Neale.jpg) Drawing of Meggernie Castle by Thomas H. Shepherd (1829) |
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| Creation time : | 1582 | |
| Castle type : | Niederungsburg | |
| Conservation status: | restored | |
| Standing position : | Scottish nobility | |
| Construction: | plastered | |
| Place: | Fortingall | |
| Geographical location | 56 ° 34 '47.5 " N , 4 ° 22' 26.8" W | |
| Height: | 230 m ASLTemplate: height / unknown reference | |
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Meggernie Castle is a restored low castle in the parish of Fortingall in the middle of Glen Lyon in the Scottish administrative division of Perth and Kinross northwest of Loch Tay . From the 1920s to the 1950s, the castle belonged to Sir Ernest Wills, 3rd Baronet .
history
There is evidence that a thatched donjon was built on the site before the actual Meggernie Castle was built. The time of construction of the oldest parts of Meggernie Castle is unknown, although some sources claim that John Campbell had the castle built around 1585. But there is a document called the Register of the Great Seal, in which King James VI. the Campbells transferred ownership of land in the area to form the Baronate of Glenlyon. It is said there that the chief of this baronate resides in “a tower called Meggernie”, and since the document is from March 4, 1603, one can conclude from this that the year of construction 1585 could be correct. The thatched donjon received a slate roof on behalf of Robert Campbell of Glenlyon, and further additions were made in later years.
MacGibbon and Ross estimate the original building to be at the beginning of the 17th century; the year 1683 is attached to a lintel. The extension in the east with two full floors and an attic was added in 1673 and a further extension with three full floors and an attic in 1848. In the 19th century, a courtyard with an entrance in the middle was added to the east. The south wall was redesigned in 1959 and provided with battlements .
description
The walls of the castle are around 1.5 meters thick, which is in line with its role as a defensive structure, and the donjon has four full floors and an attic. At each corner of the castle is a tower with a square floor plan that protrudes from the main building. The original castle only had a few windows and they are narrow slits in the wall. This architectural style was quite common at the time and you can see it on numerous other fortified castles and donjons from this period. A more modern country house was added to the original donjon, although it is similar in style to the old castle. Many architectural details of Meggernie Castle can be seen in photos, for example the four small turrets at the corners of the donjon and the long, flat country house that extends to one side from the donjon. All buildings are plastered with Harl and the gable walls have stepped gables .
Historic Scotland has listed Meggernie Castle as a Category A Historic Building.
Park and gardens
Remnants of the park and gardens from the 17th century are still preserved. Parts of the original Scottish pine forest can still be found . Therefore, Meggernie Castle's gardens and park were included in the Inventory of Gardens and Designed Landscapes .
Ghosts
Various ghost stories surround Meggernie Castle, the most famous of which dates from the time when the Menzies of Culdares inhabited the castle: an early member of the family married a pretty woman, much younger than himself. But her youth and beauty made him jealous and he is said to have killed her in a fit of rage. After hiding her body in a locked box in one of the castle's towers, he left the castle for a while and on his return spread a story of how his wife tragically died by drowning while they were traveling through Europe. Even if the local people believed the story, Menzies was scared and decided to move the body to the nearby church cemetery. He cut the body in half and buried the lower half in the cemetery one night; the top half remained in the box. But before he was able to bury the upper half, he himself fell victim to a crime and his body was found the next morning at the entrance to the tower in which the upper half of his wife's body was still lying. While it was clear that Menzies had been murdered, no one was ever punished for the crime and his death remains a mystery.
Most of the ghost sightings were reported by guests at the castle who said they saw the top of a female corpse floating in the air. A visitor to the castle said that he woke up one night after feeling a red, hot kiss on his cheek. As he sat up in bed, he saw the ghostly shape of a female torso moving from his bed towards the wall and then disappearing through it into the next room.
During restoration work on the castle in the mid-19th century, workers are believed to have excavated the skeletonized remains of the upper half of a female corpse. These were recovered to be buried, but ghost sightings were also reported after this event. It was also reported that the lower half of the body, already buried, was in the nearby church cemetery.
Individual evidence
- ↑ a b c d e f g h i Listed Building - Entry . In: Historic Scotland .
- ↑ Garden and Designed Landscape - entry . In: Historic Scotland .
swell
- Paul Hopkins: Glencoe and the End of the Highland War . John Donald Publishers.
- John Canning (Editor): Fifty Great Ghost Stories . Souvenir Press.
- Grant Campbell: Scottish Hauntings . Piccolo.
Web links
- Entry on Meggernie Castle in Canmore, Historic Environment Scotland database