In the Scottish Argyll and Bute region, at the northeastern tip of Loch Awe, sits the abandoned Kilchurn Castle. The Campbells of Glenorchy built the castle for the first time in the middle of the 15th century to serve as their home base, and over the following 150 years, they expanded both the castle and their domain in the region. Kilchurn was abandoned and in ruins by 1770 after the Campbell family moved to Taymouth Castle after becoming Earls of Breadalbane. It is currently under the protection of Historic Environment Scotland and accessible to the public during the summer. Since the 1430s, the Campbells of Glenorchy, the strongest cadet branch of the Clan Campbell, have dominated the central Highlands. A crucial aspect of their territorial expansion at this time was the construction of various castles, the first of which was Kilchurn. In 1432, father of Sir Colin gave him access to Glen Orchy and other territories; he later founded Kilchurn in 1450. The initial castle was made up of a tower house with five stories and a courtyard enclosed by an outer wall. Kilchurn was then located on a little island that was hardly bigger than the castle itself, and it would have been reached by a causeway that was either submerged or low to the ground. Another Sir Colin Campbell, the 6th Laird, 1499–1583, substantially enhanced the accommodations of the castle by constructing several chambers to the north of the tower house and remodeling the parapet during the second half of the 16th century. This comprised the addition of the corbel-adorned circular corner turrets. In 1614, Sir Duncan had the south range of the castle repaired and expanded, and in the southeast corner of the courtyard, he built a new range that included a chapel. The remains of a tower turret, still upside-down in the courtyard, testify to the severity of the storm that severely wrecked the castle in 1760 and caused it to be abandoned. By 1770, the castle had lost its roof. Historic Environment Scotland is now responsible for maintaining the ruin, which is accessible to the public throughout the summer
[Information and Image Credit : Kilchurn_Castle, Wikipedia]
[Wikipedia-Link : https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kilchurn_Castle ]
[Image : Kilchurn Castle by David Farquharson, 1901]
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[Wikipedia-Image-Source-URL : https://shorturl.at/dehuZ ] #History#Castles
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Monuments and Architecture
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