Dunphail Castle
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Dunphail Castle is a ruined 14th-century
tower house A tower house is a particular type of stone structure, built for defensive purposes as well as habitation. Tower houses began to appear in the Middle Ages, especially in mountainous or limited access areas, to command and defend strategic points ...
, about south of
Forres Forres (; ) is a town and former royal burgh in the north of Scotland on the County of Moray, Moray coast, approximately northeast of Inverness and west of Elgin, Moray, Elgin. Forres has been a winner of the Scotland in Bloom award on several ...
,
Moray Moray ( ; or ) is one of the 32 council areas of Scotland. It lies in the north-east of the country, with a coastline on the Moray Firth, and borders the council areas of Aberdeenshire and Highland. Its council is based in Elgin, the area' ...
,
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 ...
, west of nearby
Dunphail House Dunphail House is an Italianate country house in Moray, Scotland. It was designed by William Henry Playfair for Charles Lennox Cumming-Bruce, and was completed in 1829. Originally designated a Category B listed building in 1971, it was upgraded ...
, and east of the
River Divie River Divie (Scottish Gaelic: ''Abhainn Divie'') is a river in Moray, Scotland, that is tributary to the River Findhorn. It begins near the Moray boundary, close to the ''Lùb Ghlas'' (shieling), from the junction of an unnamed stream with the All ...
.Coventry, Martin (1997) ''The Castles of Scotland''. Goblinshead. p.160


History

The castle was in existence before 1314. The Comyns owned Dunphail Castle, and the
Regent Moray James Stewart, 1st Earl of Moray (c. 1531 – 23 January 1570) was a member of the House of Stewart as the illegitimate son of King James V of Scotland. At times a supporter of his half-sister Mary, Queen of Scots, he was the regent of Scot ...
besieged them there in 1330, after their flight from
Darnaway Castle Darnaway Castle, also known as Tarnaway Castle, is located in Darnaway Forest, southwest of Forres in Moray, Scotland. This was Comyn land, given to Thomas Randolph along with the Earldom of Moray by King Robert I. The castle has remained t ...
. Moray beheaded five of the
garrison A garrison is any body of troops stationed in a particular location, originally to guard it. The term now often applies to certain facilities that constitute a military base or fortified military headquarters. A garrison is usually in a city ...
, whom he had captured when they had been foraging. He had the heads flung over the walls, supposedly saying, “Here’s beef for your
bannocks Map of lands traditionally inhabited by the Bannock The Bannock tribe () were originally Northern Paiute but are more culturally affiliated with the Northern Shoshone. They are in the Great Basin classification of Indigenous People. Their tr ...
”. (Five skull-less bodies were discovered buried near the castle, in the 18th century.) The remnant of the garrison were killed by the Regent's troops when attempting to escape. The Dunbars, came into ownership of Dunphail and may have occupied this castle afterwards. Dunphail House was, however, built for the Cummings.


Structure

The castle was built on Castle Hill, towards the south. Only a
vaulted In architecture, a vault (French ''voûte'', from Italian ''volta'') is a self-supporting arched form, usually of stone or brick, serving to cover a space with a ceiling or roof. As in building an arch, a temporary support is needed while ring ...
basement A basement is any Storey, floor of a building that is not above the grade plane. Especially in residential buildings, it often is used as a utility space for a building, where such items as the Furnace (house heating), furnace, water heating, ...
remains.


See also

*
Castles in Great Britain and Ireland Castles have played an important military, economic and social role in Great Britain and Ireland since their introduction following the Norman invasion of England in 1066. Although a small number of castles had been built in England in the 105 ...
*
List of castles in Scotland This is a list of castles in Scotland. A castle is a type of fortified structure built primarily during the Middle Ages. Scholars debate the scope of the word "castle", but usually consider it to be the private fortified residence of a lord or ...


References

{{Authority control Castles in Moray