Carnasserie Castle
Carnasserie Castle | |
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Kilmartin, Scotland | |
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Coordinates | 56°09′05″N 5°28′51″W / 56.1515°N 5.4809°W |
Site information | |
Open to the public | Yes |
Condition | Partially ruined |
Carnasserie Castle (also spelled Carnassarie) is a ruined 16th-century tower house, noted for its unusual plan and renaissance detailing. It is located around 2 kilometres (1+1⁄4 miles) north of Kilmartin, in Argyll and Bute, western Scotland, at grid reference NM837009.
History
The castle was built by reforming churchman
On Carswell's death in 1572, the castle passed to the Earl of Argyll and was sold in 1643 to
Architecture
![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/3/30/CarnasserieCastle002.jpg/250px-CarnasserieCastle002.jpg)
Carnasserie has only ever been slightly altered, in the late 17th century, and so presents an accurate picture of 16th-century architecture. Although sited on raised ground close to a strategic pass at the head of Kilmartin Glen, it was designed more for domestic rather than military purposes.[6]
The castle comprises a 5-storey tower house, with a longer three storey hall house, providing a substantial range of accommodation. At basement level are the remains of cellars and a kitchen with a large fireplace and water inlet. Above this is the large hall. This is connected to a large drawing room in the tower house, which retains its stone floor and large fireplace with finely carved stone decoration.[4] A broad stair rises from the entrance to the hall, contained in a small tower to the north-west. A second smaller stair leads up from the hall to the parapet walk on three sides of the tower house. Upper rooms would have contained bedrooms.
The exterior displays numerous "double keyhole" gunloops, as well as decorative string courses and corbelling. Over the entrance are blank panels framed by carved supports, as well as the arms of the 5th Earl of Argyll with the Gaelic motto DIA LE UA NDUIBHNE, "God be with O'Duine", referring to the semi-legendary ancestors of Clan Campbell.[7] At the top of the tower are the remains of open rounds along the parapet, and a cap-house above the stair. Fragments of carved drain spouts have been found, and are on display in the cellars.
To the south and west is a partially walled courtyard garden. An archway bears the inscription SDC LHL 1681, for Sir Duncan Campbell, 4th Baronet and Lady Henrietta Lindsay, whose support for Argyll's uprising led to the castle's destruction.
References
- ^ McCaulay, Murdo. "Religious History of Lewis" (PDF). www.alastairmcintosh.com. Retrieved 13 December 2017.
- .
- ISBN 978-1276718639.
- ^ a b "Carnasserie Castle, castle, garden, enclosure and cup-marked stone. SM90061". Historic Environment Scotland. Retrieved 15 March 2017.
- ^ "Carnasserie Castle". Historic Environment Scotland. Retrieved 15 March 2017.
- ^ Walker, p.76
- ^ "Carnasserie Castle". Canmore. Historic Environment Scotland. Retrieved 15 March 2017.
- Coventry, Martin The Castles of Scotland (3rd Edition), Goblinshead, 2001
- Lindsay, Maurice The Castles of Scotland, Constable & Co. 1986
- Walker, Frank Arneil The Buildings of Scotland: Argyll and Bute, Penguin, 2000
External links
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