When was duart castle built

Her father was not convinced — which lead to Wily Maclean kidnapping him! After the foundations of the castle were laid in the c14th, changes were made over the centuries to extend the living area, and to make the fortress entirely impregnable. The additions made by Hector Mor Maclean between included the completion of the thick curtain wall around the castle, and the construction of buildings adjacent to the keep — which gave the castle its present structure, of a collection of strongholds surrounding an spacious courtyard.

As a result of this, the castle remained a base for the Maclean Clan as they ventured and fought across Scotland during the Early Modern period. Unhappily, however, the Maclean Clan fell from grace in the s. The Clan aligned itself to a couple of losing causes, which left them poor, and, eventually, landless. In , the castle was invaded and overtaken by James VI after the Clan attempted to plot against him.

In addition, after disastrously aligning themselves with the Jacobites in , the castle was lost, and much of their land seized. From to , Duart Castle was used as a military garrison: and modern excavations have uncovered bottles and gun-rounds used by the soldiers during the period. After , though, the castle was left in ruins: and it slowly fell to waste over the years. The Keep was built by Chief Lachlan Lubanach Maclean and on the vunerable landward side is 29 feet 9m high and 10 feet 3m thick.

The walls facing the sea are less thick ranging from 5 to 9 feet 1. The Castle was completely refurbished around the oldest part in by Sir Fitzroy Maclean. Before this date, the Castle was a ruin from the 18th Century.

The Great Hall is magnificent. Adjacent to the Sea Room the walls are 10 to 23 feet thick 3m to 7m and over looks the Courtyard. The Macdonalds went on to give the Mackinnon lands as a dowry and thus the Macleans came to own much of Mull.

Lachlan then built the keep that stands today though the great curtain walls were probably of the previous century. The Macleans continued to use Duart as their base but they were always fighting for one cause or another.

They were part of the loose alliance of West Coast chiefs who supported the Lord of the Isles. Hector Mor, born in , succeeded his father in and was described as good, kind and brave.

The power of the Lord of the Isles was now broken, the Macleans were wholly independent and the King of Scotland, James Vth, was making himself felt in the islands.

Hector was only released when he agreed to the destruction of all his galleys. Hector Mor was also a builder.