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Castles and Historic Buildings of Scotland, England, Wales and Ireland

 Castles of Scotland - Ardtornish Castle






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Location
near Lochaline, Morvern, Highland, Scotland

Description
Ardtornish Castle is located on a promontory a mile south-east of the village of Lochaline, on the west coast of Scotland. The castle now in ruins was made of dressed basalt blocks. The south wall contains an arched window added during a minor restoration attempt early in the 20th century. The castle was a "hall house" and probably only two storeys high. It was fortified and defended by the rocky site. The ground floor containing the entrance at the east side has three narrow slit windows in the south wall. These are blocked but their white sandstone sills are still visible from the outside. There is a passage leading to a small latrine tower at the northwest corner.

History
The castle was one of the main seats of the Clan Donald from the early 14th to late 15th century. Ardtornish Castle was forfeited to the Crown in 1493.and eventually given to the Clan MacLean chief of Duart Castle, who already had large tracts of land in the area. The castle was probably abandoned around the end of the seventeenth century, by which time Ardtornish had been taken over by the Campbell Earls of Argyll. Some minor restoration work was done in the late 18th century and early 19th century.


Other Castles in the Area
  Barcaldine Castle, Argyll and Bute
  Castle Stalker, Argyll and Bute
  Duart Castle, Argyll and Bute
  Dunollie Castle, Argyll and Bute
  Dunstaffnage Castle, Argyll and Bute
  Glenborrodale Castle, Highland
  Gylen Castle, Argyll and Bute
  Kinlochaline Castle, Highland
  Mingary Castle, Highland
  Moy Castle, Argyll and Bute
  Torosay Castle, Argyll and Bute







Torosay Castle
Ardtornish Castle

Photograph by Peter Bond. Some rights reserved.  (view image details)

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