Dunstaffnage Castle

Did You Know?

• The name Dunstaffnage comes from Gaelic 'dun' meaning 'fort' and Norse 'stafa nes' meaning 'headland of the staves'.
• Flora MacDonald, who helped Bonnie Prince Charlie escape, was briefly imprisoned here while en route to London.
• The gatehouse was gutted by an accidental fire in 1810, after which the Captains moved to Dunstaffnage House 2 km to the south-east.

History

Before the castle was built, the site may have held a Dál Riatan stronghold called Dun Monaidh as early as the 7th century. John Monipennie recorded in 1612 that the Stone of Destiny was kept here after being brought from Ireland, before moving to Scone Palace in 843, though Iona and Dunadd are considered more likely locations. Hector Boece wrote that the stone was kept at "Evonium", traditionally identified with Dunstaffnage, though one source suggests Evonium refers to Irvine in Ayrshire.

A castle existed here in the time of Somerled, Lord of the Isles, but it became the seat of Duncan MacDougall, Lord of Lorn and grandson of Somerled, in the second quarter of the 13th century. Duncan travelled to Rome in 1237 and founded nearby Ardchattan Priory. His son Ewen MacDougall inherited the title in the 1240s, expanded MacDougall influence, and likely built the three round towers and enlarged the hall. During the Wars of Scottish Independence they supported the Balliol side.

Robert Bruce defeated the Clan MacDougall at the Battle of the Pass of Brander in August 1308, then took Dunstaffnage after a brief siege. He appointed a constable and provisioned the castle rather than destroying it, and gave much MacDougall land to his friend Angus Og Macdonald, Lord of the Isles.

Description

Dunstaffnage Castle is an irregular quadrilateral built for strength, with round towers at three corners. Its walls, made of coursed rubble with sandstone details, rise up to 18 metres high, including the bedrock platform, and are up to 3 metres thick. The parapet walk, which once ran the full length of the walls, has been partly restored with new stone flags, though the original parapet is lost. The only openings are arrow slits, later turned into gunloops, and brass cannons from Spanish Armada wrecks were once mounted on the walls.

Three round towers were added soon after the main walls: the north tower, or donjon, the largest, originally had three or four storeys and likely held the lord's private rooms. The west tower barely sticks out from the curtain wall and could only be reached from the parapet walk; its basement has a pit prison entered from above. The east tower was largely rebuilt in the late 1400s as a gatehouse. Each tower probably once had a conical roof.

The gatehouse, built by the Campbells in the late 1400s, is a four-storey harled tower house. The entrance passage runs through half the vaulted basement, with the other half holding guard rooms that have arrow slits facing the gate. A stone stair now leads to the gate, replacing an earlier drawbridge. In the 1700s, the tower was remodelled to include reception rooms and a private suite.

The dormer windows at the top are capped with pediments from the 1725 house, which show the date, Campbell coat of arms, and the initials AEC and DLC. These pediments were moved here during 1903 restoration. The east range, between the north and east towers, survives only as foundations; it held a large hall above vaulted cellars, with double-lancet windows later blocked up, their outlines still visible in the east curtain wall.

Dunstaffnage Chapel

A ruined chapel lies about 150 m south-west of the castle, built by Duncan MacDougall of Lorn as a private chapel in the second quarter of the 13th century. It measures 20 by 6 m and formerly had a timber roof. The lancet windows feature dog-tooth carving and wide-splayed arches internally. By 1740 the chapel was already ruinous, when a burial aisle was added at the east end for the Campbells of Dunstaffnage.