Ardvreck Castle is a castle, now ruinous, standing on a rocky promontory in

Loch Assynt Loch Assynt ( gd, Loch Asaint) is a freshwater loch in Sutherland, Scotland, east-north east of Lochinver. Situated in a spectacular setting between the heights of Canisp, Quinag and Beinn Uidhe, it receives the outflow from Lochs Awe, Maol a ...

Sutherland Sutherland ( gd, Cataibh) is a historic county, registration county and lieutenancy area in the Highlands of Scotland. Its county town is Dornoch. Sutherland borders Caithness and Moray Firth to the east, Ross-shire and Cromartyshire ( ...

, Scotland, UK. The structure dates from about 1490 and is associated with the then landowners, the Macleods of Assynt.

History of Ardvreck

The castle was built in the 15th century by the MacLeods of Assynt. It replaced

Assynt Castle Assynt Castle was a castle, located on Eilean Assynt located in Loch Assynt, Highland in Scotland. History The Murray of Culbin family held lands in Assynt in the 12th century. The castle was granted to Torquil MacLeod Torquil MacLeod (Scott ...

which was four miles north-west of Inchnadamph. Ardvreck is notable as the place where the royalist James Graham, 1st Marquess of Montrose was handed over in 1650 to the

Covenanter Covenanters ( gd, Cùmhnantaich) were members of a 17th-century Scottish religious and political movement, who supported a Presbyterian Church of Scotland, and the primacy of its leaders in religious affairs. The name is derived from '' Covena ...

forces by MacLeod, Laird of Assynt after the Battle of Carbisdale. The true history of this event is unclear. One account is that MacLeod, loyal to the Covenanters, arrested the weary, fleeing, Montrose and held him. Another is that he provided comfortable shelter, but betrayed Montrose for a £25,000 reward.

Clan Mackenzie Clan Mackenzie ( gd, Clann Choinnich ) is a Scottish clan, traditionally associated with Kintail and lands in Ross-shire in the Scottish Highlands. Traditional genealogies trace the ancestors of the Mackenzie chiefs to the 12th century. However ...

attacked and captured Ardvreck Castle in 1672, and then took control of the Assynt lands. In 1726 they constructed a more modern manor house nearby, Calda House which takes its name from the Calda

burn A burn is an injury to skin, or other tissues, caused by heat, cold, electricity, chemicals, friction, or ultraviolet radiation (like sunburn). Most burns are due to heat from hot liquids (called scalding), solids, or fire. Burns occur mainl ...

beside which it stands. A fire destroyed the house in 1737 and both Calda House and Ardvreck Castle stand as ruins today. They are designated as

scheduled monument In the United Kingdom, a scheduled monument is a nationally important archaeological site or historic building, given protection against unauthorised change. The various pieces of legislation that legally protect heritage assets from damage and d ...

Architecture

The castle was a simple rectangular keep with a round staircase tower at the south-east angle. It was

corbelled In architecture, a corbel is a structural piece of stone, wood or metal jutting from a wall to carry a superincumbent weight, a type of bracket. A corbel is a solid piece of material in the wall, whereas a console is a piece applied to the st ...

out on the upper floors to form square rooms. The small stair turret to these upper rooms being carried on corbelling. There were three compartments on the ground floor which were all vaulted. There appears to have been four floors and the first of these is also vaulted with the other floors being simply joisted. The castle also had several gunports.

References

External links

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Ardvreck Castle Virtual Tour
{{Authority control Buildings and structures in Sutherland Castles in Highland (council area) Clan Macleod Houses in Highland (council area) Listed castles in Scotland Scheduled Ancient Monuments in Highland Lowland castles