Bernera Barracks is in Glenelg in the

West Highlands The Highlands (; , ) is a historical region of Scotland. Culturally, the Highlands and the Lowlands diverged from the Late Middle Ages into the modern period, when Lowland Scots language replaced Scottish Gaelic throughout most of the Lowlan ...

Scotland Scotland is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It contains nearly one-third of the United Kingdom's land area, consisting of the northern part of the island of Great Britain and more than 790 adjac ...

. The barracks were constructed between 1717 and 1723 as part of a campaign by the British government to subdue the local population which had risen up in arms in the

Jacobite Rising of 1715 The Jacobite rising of 1715 ( ; or 'the Fifteen') was the attempt by James Francis Edward Stuart, James Edward Stuart (the Old Pretender) to regain the thrones of Kingdom of England, England, Kingdom of Ireland, Ireland and Kingdom of Scotland ...

, and which would do so again in 1745. The barracks were designed by Andrews Jelfe and John Lambertus Romer of the

Board of Ordnance The Board of Ordnance was a British government body. Established in the Tudor period, it had its headquarters in the Tower of London. Its primary responsibilities were 'to act as custodian of the lands, depots and forts required for the defence ...

, or possibly their predecessor James Smith, and built by Sir Patrick Strachan. Some of the stone used in the construction was taken from

Dun Telve Dun Telve () is an British Iron Age, iron-age broch located about southeast of Kirkton, the main village of the community of Glenelg, Highland, Glenelg, Inverness-shire in the Highland Region of Scotland. It is one of the best preserved brochs ...

and

Dun Troddan Dun Troddan () is an iron-age broch located about southeast of the village of Kirkton,Glenelg, Highland, in Scotland. It is one of the best-preserved brochs in Scotland. Location Dun Troddan () stands on a level rock platform north of the Abha ...

, nearby iron-age

broch In archaeology, a broch is an British Iron Age, Iron Age drystone hollow-walled structure found in Scotland. Brochs belong to the classification "complex Atlantic roundhouse" devised by Scottish archaeologists in the 1980s. Brochs are round ...

s. The Government troops who were garrisoned here during the Jacobite uprisings were also intended to control the crossing to

Skye The Isle of Skye, or simply Skye, is the largest and northernmost of the major islands in the Inner Hebrides of Scotland. The island's peninsulas radiate from a mountainous hub dominated by the Cuillin, the rocky slopes of which provide some o ...

. Following the 1715 rising, Glenelg was chosen along with Fort George, Fort Augustus and Fort William as one of four sites in the Highlands for military barracks. The barracks (and indeed the broch) are now in ruins, a state which they appear to have entered shortly after the withdrawal of troops in 1797. The barracks is protected as a

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, visu ...

. Major William Caulfeild engineered the

military road A military road is a type of road built by an armed force A military, also known collectively as armed forces, is a heavily Weapon, armed, highly organized force primarily intended for warfare. Militaries are typically authorized and ma ...

from

Fort Augustus Fort Augustus is a settlement in the parish of Boleskine and Abertarff, at the south-west end of Loch Ness, Scottish Highlands. The village has a population of around 646 (2001). Its economy is heavily reliant on tourism. History Early histo ...

to Bernera Barracks in 1755 but

Thomas Telford Thomas Telford (9 August 1757 – 2 September 1834) was a Scottish civil engineer. After establishing himself as an engineer of road and canal projects in Shropshire, he designed numerous infrastructure projects in his native Scotland, as well ...

’s commissioners remade it in the 1820s. It initially headed west through Inchnacardoch Forest climbing to a height of over before dropping into

Glen Moriston Glenmoriston or Glen Moriston () is a river glen in the Scottish Highlands, that runs from Loch Ness, at the village of Invermoriston, westwards to Loch Cluanie, where it meets with Glen Shiel. The A887 and A87 roads pass through Glenmoriston. ...

. It appears to have crossed the

River Moriston The River Moriston () is a river in Inverness-shire, Scotland. It flows broadly east-north-east from the outfall of the dam at Loch Cluanie to Loch Ness. Its waters and those of its tributaries have been harnessed to generate hydro-electric powe ...

somewhere near the confluence of the River Doe with the Moriston, and then taken a route somewhat to the north of the present day A887 road and

A87 road The A87 is a major road in the Highland region of Scotland. It runs west from its junction with the A82 road at Invergarry (), along the north shores of Loch Garry and Loch Cluanie, then down through Glen Shiel and along Loch Duich to Kyle ...

north of

Loch Cluanie Loch Cluanie (Scottish Gaelic: ''Loch Cluanaidh'') is a loch in the Northwest Highlands of Scotland at the south-east end of Glen Shiel. It is a reservoir, contained behind the Cluanie Dam, constructed by Mitchell Construction and completed in 195 ...

. The road descended

Glen Shiel Glen Shiel (; also known as Glenshiel) is a glen in the Northwest Highlands of Scotland. The glen runs approximately from southeast to northwest, from the Cluanie Inn () at the western end of Loch Cluanie and the start of Glenmoriston to se ...

to Ratagan before rising over the Bealach Ratagain (Ratagan Pass) and into Glen More and thence to the barracks.

References

External links

{{Commons category-inline Barracks in Scotland Scheduled monuments in Highland Ruins in Highland (council area)