Duart Castle

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Duart Castle
Duart-Castle.jpg
Argyll and Bute UK location map.svg
Red pog.svg
Location within Argyll and Bute
LocationIsle of Mull PA64 6AP, United Kingdom
TypeCastle
Website https://duartcastle.com
Aerial of Duart Castle, Isle of Mull Mull Duart Castle alt.jpg
Aerial of Duart Castle, Isle of Mull
Duart Castle Duart Castle.jpg
Duart Castle

Duart Castle, or Caisteal Dhubhairt in Scottish Gaelic, is a castle on the Isle of Mull, beside the Sound of Mull off the west coast of Scotland, within the council area of Argyll and Bute. The castle dates back to the 13th century and is the seat of Clan MacLean. [1] One source states that the castle was "brought back from ruin in 1911". [2] The regimental colours of the WW1 Canadian Expeditionary Force 236th Battalion (New Brunswick Kilties), CEF are laid up in the Great Hall.

Contents

History

Duart Castle was probably built by Clan MacDougall in the 13th century, and appears to have come into the hands of Clan MacLean in the following century. [3]

In 1350, Lachlan Lubanach Maclean of Duart, the 5th Clan Chief, married Mary Macdonald, daughter of John of Islay, Lord of the Isles, and Duart was part of her dowry. [4] John of Islay's son, Donald Macdonald, Lord of the Isles, confirmed the castle by charter to the Macleans in 1390.

In 1647, Duart Castle was attacked and laid siege to by the Argyll government troops of Clan Campbell, but they were defeated and driven off by the Royalist troops of Clan MacLean.

In September 1653, a Cromwellian task force of six ships anchored off the castle, but the Macleans had already fled to Tiree. A storm blew up on the 13 September and three ships were lost, including HMS Swan. To the north of the castle is a Historic Marine Protected Area within which lie the remains of a wrecked 17th century warship, believed to be the Swan. [5]

In 1678, the 9th Earl of Argyll, Chief of Clan Campbell and son of the late Marquess of Argyll, successfully invaded the Clan MacLean lands on the Isle of Mull and Sir John Maclean, 4th Baronet, fled the castle and withdrew to Cairnbulg Castle, and afterward to Kintail under the protection of the 3rd Earl of Seaforth. [6]

In 1691, Duart Castle was surrendered by Sir John Maclean, 4th Baronet, to the 10th Earl of Argyll (who was later created, in 1701, the 1st Duke of Argyll). [1] The Campbell clan partially demolished the castle, and the stones from the walls were scattered. The 5th Laird of Torloisk used some of the stones to build a cottage for his family close to the site of the castle. [7]

By 1751 the remains of the castle were abandoned. [8]

Descendants of the 1st Duke of Argyll sold the castle in 1801, to MacQuarrie, who then sold it to Carter-Campbell of Possil who kept it as a ruin within the grounds of his own estate to the north, Torosay Castle. He later sold his Torosay Estate, which now included the ruins of Castle Duart, to A. C. Guthrie in 1865. On 11 September 1911, the ruin was separated from the rest of the Torosay Estate and was bought by Sir Fitzroy Donald Maclean, the 26th Chief of the Clan MacLean, and restored. [1] [9] [10]

By 2012, additional restorations were required and a fund was set up to accept donations for this purpose. Phase 7 of the project was underway in 2020. [11]

Lairds of Duart

Lairds are owners of an estate.

...

2014 restoration

In 2012, the centenary of the 1912 restoration, the Chief of Clan Maclean announced that his family could no longer afford the upkeep of the castle in light of the expense of major repairs. In the winter of 2013–14 the castle lost four ceilings, which were brought down by water penetration through the chimneys. In July 2014, a restoration appeal was launched. [12]

Film location

The castle was used as a location in the 1945 film I Know Where I'm Going! (as "Castle of Sorne"). It was also featured in the 1971 film When Eight Bells Toll , starring Anthony Hopkins and in the 1999 film Entrapment , starring Sean Connery (who has MacLean ancestry on his mother's side) and Catherine Zeta-Jones.

It is also the setting for the base of Buffy Summers in the first half of Buffy the Vampire Slayer Season Eight .[ citation needed ]

Lighthouse

To the south east of the castle is the Duart Point lighthouse. The lighthouse was built in 1900, as a memorial to Scottish novelist William Black. [13] [14] [15]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Clan Maclean</span> Highland Scottish clan

Clan Maclean is a Highlands Scottish clan. They are one of the oldest clans in the Highlands and owned large tracts of land in Argyll as well as the Inner Hebrides. Many early MacLeans became famous for their honour, strength and courage in battle. They were involved in clan skirmishes with the Mackinnons, Camerons, MacDonalds and Campbells, as well as all of the Jacobite risings.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Maclean baronets</span> Baronetcy in the Baronetage of the United Kingdom

There have been two baronetcies created for persons with the surname Maclean, one in the Baronetage of Nova Scotia and one in the Baronetage of the United Kingdom. Both creations are extant as of 2010.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Carter-Campbell of Possil</span> Branch of Clan Campbell, a Scottish clan

Carter-Campbell of Possil is a branch of Clan Campbell, a Scottish clan. Historically, they are part of Clan Campbell, which was regarded as one of the largest Scottish clans. The branch of the Campbell clan was historically centred in Lawers. Some of the clan, which originated with the original Campbells, had links to the lands of Argyll.

Donald MacLean, 1st Laird of Brolas, was a Scottish Laird of Clan MacLean who fought in the battle of Battle of Inverkeithing. He was the first Laird of Brolas.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sir Hector Og Maclean, 15th Chief</span>

Sir Hector Og Maclean (1583–1623), or Eachann Óg Maclean in Scottish Gaelic, was the 15th Clan Chief of Clan Maclean in Scotland.

Hector Mor Maclean of Dowart, or Eachann Mór Maclean in Scottish Gaelic, or Hector the Great, was the 16th Clan Chief of Clan MacLean from 1623 to his death in 1626. Mór or Mor translates as great when added to a name in Scottish Gaelic. He resided at Duart Castle on the Isle of Mull. He was the first Chief of MacLean to not produce an heir in four hundred years, breaking the direct male line from Gillean of the Battle Axe, the founder of the clan to himself. He was succeeded by his younger brother, Lachlan Maclean, 1st Baronet.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sir Lachlan Maclean, 1st Baronet</span> Scottish clan chief (c. 1600 – 1649)

Sir Lachlan Maclean, 1st Baronetof Morvern, was a Scottish nobleman and the 17th Chief of Clan Maclean. He was granted his Baronet title by Charles I and he became the Clan Chief on the death of his brother in 1626. He fought as a Royalist under James Graham, 1st Marquess of Montrose during the Wars of the Three Kingdoms at the Battle of Inverlochy, Battle of Auldearn and Battle of Kilsyth. From 1628 to 1633 he sat in the Parliament of Scotland as shire commissioner for Tarbert. From his rule onward, all Maclean clan chiefs are successive Baronets of Movern.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sir Fitzroy Maclean, 10th Baronet</span> 26th Chief of Clan Maclean (1835–1936)

Colonel Sir Fitzroy Donald Maclean, 10th Baronet of Morvern, KCB, DL was a Scottish officer who served as the 26th Clan Chief of Clan Maclean from 1883 to 1936, for fifty-three years. He lived to be 101 years old. He bought and restored Duart Castle in 1911 as the seat of the Maclean clan.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sir John Maclean, 4th Baronet</span> Scottish clan chief

Sir John Maclean, 4th Baronet of Duart and Morvern (1670–1716) was the 20th Clan Chief of Clan Maclean from 1674 to 1716. He was the 16th and last Laird of Duart, when in 1691 he lost Castle Duart to Archibald Campbell, 1st Duke of Argyll. The castle wasn't recovered by Clan Maclean until 1912 until it was purchased by Fitzroy Donald Maclean, 221 years later.

John Dubh Maclean, or Iain Dubh mac Gilliemore in Scottish Gaelic, or John Maclean the Black was the 4th Chief of Clan MacLean.

Lachlan Lùbanach Maclean, 5th Chief was Chief of Clan Maclean. He was the first Maclean to occupy Castle Duart as the 1st Laird of Duart. His brother, Hector Reaganach Maclean was the progenitor of the Lochbuie Macleans usually MacLaines.

Red Hector of the Battles Maclean (?-1411), or Eachann Ruadh nan Cath in Scottish Gaelic, was the 6th Chief of Clan Maclean.

Lachlan Óg Maclean, was the 8th Chief of Maclean.

Lachlan Catanach Maclean was the 11th Clan Chief of Clan MacLean from 1515 until his murder in 1523.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Hector Mor Maclean, 12th Chief</span> Scottish clan chief

Eachann Mór Maclean (1497–1568) or Hector Mor Maclean, or Hector Maclean the Great, was the 12th Chief of Maclean. Mór or Mor translates as great when added to a name in Scottish Gaelic. He was the 8th laird of Duart Castle.

Hector Og Maclean, or Eachann Óg Maclean in Scottish Gaelic, or Hector Maclean the Younger was the 13th Chief of Clan MacLean. At the death of his father, Hector Mor Maclean, 12th Chief, he became clan chief but lived only five years longer than his father.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Lachlan Mor Maclean</span>

Sir Lachlan Mór Maclean or Big Lachlan Maclean, was the 14th Clan Chief of Clan MacLean from late 1573 or early 1574 until 1598. Mór or Mor translates as big in English, or magnus in Latin, when added to a name in Scottish Gaelic.

Lachlan Maclean, 3rd Laird of Torloisk was a 17th-century Scottish nobleman. He managed the estate of Sir John Maclean, 4th Baronet with Lauchlan Maclean, 2nd Laird of Brolas during his minority.

Lachlan Maclean, 6th Laird of Coll succeeded his father Hector to this title to lands on the Scottish island of Coll. He was succeeded by his son John at some point in the 17th century.

The current chief of the Highland, Scottish clan, Clan Maclean is Sir Lachlan Hector Charles Maclean of Duart and Morvern Bt, CVO, Deputy Lord Lieutenant of Argyll and Bute, 28th clan chief and 12th Baronet of Morvern. The seat of the chiefs of Clan MacLean is Duart Castle on the Isle of Mull. Duart was given to Lachlan Lubanach Maclean as part of his wife's dowry.

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 "MacLean". Electric Scotland. Retrieved 26 August 2007. The castle dates from the thirteenth century, and was repaired and enlarged by Hector Mor Maclean, who was Lord of Duart from 1523 till 1568. In 1691 it was besieged by Argyll, and Sir John Maclean, the chief of that time, was forced to surrender it. After that date, though occasionally occupied by troops, the stronghold gradually fell to ruins, and the Duart properties passed to other hands till Sir Fitzroy repurchased Duart itself in 1912.
  2. ↑ CAPTURE THE CASTLES OF MULL!
  3. ↑ Roberts, JL (1999). Lost Kingdoms: Celtic Scotland and the Middle Ages . Edinburgh: Edinburgh University Press. pp.  102–103. ISBN   0 7486 0910 5.
  4. 1 2 "Duart Castle". Duart Castle. Archived from the original on 28 February 2009. Retrieved 6 March 2009. In 1350 Lachlan Lubanach, the 5th Chief, married Mary Macdonald, the daughter of the Lord of the Isles and she was given Duart as her dowry.
  5. ↑ Historic Environment Scotland. "Duart Point Historic MPA (HMPA7)" . Retrieved 12 April 2019.
  6. ↑ MacLean, John Patterson (1889). A History of the Clan MacLean from Its First Settlement at Duard Castle, in the Isle of Mull, to the Present Period: Including a Genealogical Account of Some of the Principal Families Together with Their Heraldry, Legends, Superstitions, Etc. R. Clarke & Company. p.  224. The MacLeans, not yet recovered from the disastrous effects of the battle of Inverkeithing, were upon this occasion illy prepared to resist the invasion of such a force. The Campbells landed in Mull in three different places, without opposition, the inhabitants contenting themselves with removing into the mountains and fastnesses of the island for protection, with their cattle. The young chief, to shield him from personal harm, was sent to the castle of Cairnbulg, and afterward to Kintail under the care of the Earl of Seaforth.
  7. ↑ Fryer, Mary Beacock, Allan Maclean, Jacobite General: The life of an eighteenth century career soldier, Dundurn Press, Toronto, 1987, p.16
  8. ↑ Historic Environment Scotland. "Duart Castle (Category A Listed Building) (LB17974)" . Retrieved 12 April 2019.
  9. ↑ "Sir Fitzroy Maclean". The Times . 23 November 1936. Retrieved 6 March 2009. Sir Fitzroy Donald Maclean, Bt., who died yesterday at Duart Castle, Isle of Mull, at the age of 101, Chief of his Clan and a Crimean veteran, was one of the best known of the "grand old men" of Scotland. When a boy in his early teens he was taken by his father to see the ruins of Duart Castle, burnt to the ground two centuries before, and then made a vow to restore it to its former glory. The vow was redeemed in 1912, when the yellow banner of the Chief of the Clan once more floated over the castle walls amid the rejoicings of the chieftains and clansmen from all parts of the world. ...
  10. ↑ MacLean, John Patterson (1912). Renaissance of the clan MacLean. The F. J. Heer printing co. p.  46. ... who in turn parted with it to Campbell of Possil, who later on sold it to A. C. Guthrie in 1865, and on 11 September 1911, it was sold to the present chief of MacLean, the official announcement having been made by MacIlleathan, himself, before the annual meeting of the Clan MacLean Association, held in Glasgow, on the evening of October 25, 1911. But the public journals had taken it up before, and the news rapidly spread to every place where the English language was spoken. Letters of warm-hearted congratulations were sent to the Chief from all quarters, and the event awakened a responsive enthusiasm in the hearts of the clansmen.
  11. ↑ Help to Save Duart Castle An appeal from the Chief of the Clan Maclean
  12. ↑ "Restoration appeal". Clan Maclean Website. Retrieved 26 July 2014.
  13. ↑ Historic Environment Scotland. "Mull, Duart Point, Black's Memorial Lighthouse (157682)". Canmore . Retrieved 10 October 2021.
  14. ↑ Historic Environment Scotland. "Lismore, Lighthouse (22660)". Canmore . Retrieved 10 October 2021.
  15. ↑ "Duart Point". Northern Lighthouse Board. Retrieved 10 October 2021.

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