The fine series of Tower houses in the West Highlands dating from the last quarter of
the 14th century onwards may reflect the wealth and stability of the
builders rather than the insecurity of their environment.
Eilean Donan was built in the mid 13th century in Kintail. A Macrae stronghold, it was partially destroyed in a Jacobite uprising in 1719, Eilean Donan lay in ruins until restored in 1932. Dunvegan on the right is the oldest continuously inhabited castle in Scotland and has been the ancestral home of the Chiefs of Clan MacLeod for 800 years. It remains a family home today. |
Fyvie Castle is an ancient site which had a royal fortress predating the Wars of Independence. Robert III granted Fyvie to the Preston family in the late 14th century and they erected their tower house on the site of the earlier fortress. The original 'Preston' tower (illustrated on the left) is now the eastern part of the south frontage. The matching western tower was erected by the Meldrum family in the 16th century. The Seton tower in the centre of the South range (on right) was erected at the start of the 17th century by Alexander Seton, 1st Earl of Dunfermline and Chancellor of Scotland. Subsequent owners, the Gordon and Leith families have added substantially to this palatial residence on the Northern side.. When Montrose occupied the castle in 1644, his men built defensive entrenchments around it as the castle itself was not defensible. |
James Hamilton of Finnart, a noted soldier, architect of the Palace of Stirling, and favourite of James V was executed for treason in 1540. He designed his house of Craignethan for defence against assault with a deep stone-faced ditch, rampart and carponier, but it has been suggested that this was merely for show. Hamilton was responsible for a similar work at Cadzow and assisted James V in his unsuccessful assault on Tantallon in 1528, one of the most formidable private seats in Scotland. These examples were exceptional in Scotland during a period in which military technology advanced rapidly in Europe. The complex and expensive defences, so characteristic of much of Europe in the 16th and 17th centuries were otherwise almost unknown in Scotland. |
Following Flodden
in 1513, the derelict walls of Edinburgh were rebuilt although, in the
event, the English army did not approach the capital. The Scots and
English governments invested heavily in the defence of border strongholds
during the 16th century, but these were Royal fortresses not residences.
With the exception of the border zone up to 1603, the 16th century was
largely peaceful. Highland conflicts grew out of the vacuum created by the abolition of the Lordship of the Isles in 1492 and the subsequent growth of Clan Campbell but rarely spilled into the Lowland east and south. More than 300 blood feuds were documented in the period 1573-1625, but the numbers demonstrated increasing control by the crown, rather than levels of violence. Cases of actual murder and destruction of houses were very few. It is noteworthy that the conflicts of the 17th century religious wars took place mainly in the field, not in static sieges. Gentlemen preferred to abandon their houses, rather than have them destroyed by siege. |
Fenwick described
Glamis (on the left) as ‘the most ancient Scottish house which is actually a
castle and not a tower or a manor’ Glamis is situated on the plain
of Strathmore and does not have an elevated or strategic site. It has
a mid 15th century tower at its core, but is essentially a 16th century
chateau which has been much enlarged in the 17th, 18th and 19th centuries.
Its appearance owes everything to an architectural expression of the
wealth of its owners, but almost nothing to their defensive needs. At
least Glamis has always been the seat of a noble family. |
An Aberdeen timber merchant built Craigievar for his own use. It has become one of the most photographed of Scottish castles. |
Tranter described Methven (on the right) near Perth, as a great Stewart House, substantially remodelled by Esme Stuart, Sieur d’Aubigny in the 16th century, before being sold by the 2nd Duke of Lennox in 1664. McKean concluded that almost nothing remains of this earlier house, which was completely rebuilt by a successful Perth merchant, Patrick Smyth of Braco in 1684, as a compact new building aping the earlier forms with round towers at each corner. Smyth used many of the same craftsmen who had been employed on the rebuilding of the Duke of Atholl’s palace. At the same time, the House of Tarbat, the home of the Earl of Cromartie was ‘Methvenised’ with Smyth being described as a ‘servant’ of the Earl. |
Cawdor Castle is another example of an early castle converted into a country house. It dates from 1454 or earlier as a simple tower house but has been expanded numerous times in the succeeding centuries. In 1510 the heiress of the Calders, Muriel, married Sir John Campbell of Muckairn who set about extending the castle. Further improvements were made by John Campbell, 3rd of Cawdor. During the 19th century, the architects Mackenzie and Ross were commissioned to add the southern and eastern ranges to enclose a courtyard, accessed by a drawbridge. |
In summary, the War of Independence saw the destruction of almost all of the Norman fortresses. The turbulence of the later 14th and 15th centuries led to the construction and repair of some defensive castles although the monarchy kept a virtual monopoly of artillery and took care not to allow subjects to become over-mighty. Apart from border skirmishing and Highland feuding, from the 15th century there was no real prospect of invasion and little need for armed defence against neighbours. Increasing prosperity in the 16th century along with exposure to European ideas and renaissance thought saw a Scottish response, totally different from that of England, in terms of houses of increasing comfort, which continued to incorporate architectural elements symbolising ancient power. The decay of the buildings surviving from this time allied with misconceptions of Scotland’s past led to a mythology of grim, barbaric and uncomfortable defensive fortresses preceding the classical mansions of the 18th century. | |
Bibliography Brown, KM, Bloodfeud in Scotland 1573-1625, Edinburgh, 1986 Caldwell, D, Scottish Weapons and Fortifications 1100-1800, Edinburgh, 1981 Fenwick, H., Scotland’s Historic Buildings, London, 1974 McKean, C. The Scottish Chateau. The Country House in Renaissance Scotland. Stroud, 2001 McKean, C. The Politics of Architecture in 16th century Scotland, in History Scotland, Vol 3 No 5, October 2003, p13-19 Tranter, N. The Fortified House in Scotland, Edinburgh. 1977 |