Mingary Castle: Progress on the North Range

Tuesday, 5 August 2014

Progress on the North Range

With the workforce down to four - several of the men are away on holiday - progress on the castle just at the moment is steady rather than spectacular. The east and central gables in the north range, with their chimney stacks, are now complete, and stonemason H is seen here working on the west gable.

Nick Smith is completing the process of laying the 'felt', a polypropylene breather membrane which, while air permeable, will help to keep Ardnamurchan's rain out.

This lies on top of the sarking boards, and now awaits the laying of the slates which will cover the whole roof except for the flat areas above the windows on the north side of the building.

The laying of the plyboard flooring is almost complete - this picture shows the attic room - while the Swedish students Lars and Adam are soldiering on with the pointing.

2 comments:

Anonymous8 August 2014 at 14:00
Great occasion to observe the quality of the workmanship and the integration of wood structures within such an historical building.
Thank you.
DM
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Anonymous12 August 2014 at 13:35
Fantastic to see the castle being restored! There are ruins aplenty waiting to crumble so great to see one being saved! Looking forward to seeing it when it's finished.
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The Mingary Castle Preservation and Restoration Trust

"The most intact thirteenth century castle in Scotland" is how archaeologist Tom Addyman describes Mingary Castle. Seat of Clan MacIain, commanding the sea route through the Sound of Mull, Mingary dates back to the thirteenth century and may be much older - there is some evidence, not least from the name, that the Vikings fortified the site. However, since it was last inhabited in the mid-nineteenth century, the castle has been deteriorating. A recent survey showed that, unless urgent restoration work was carried out, the castle was in danger of collapse.

The Mingary Castle Preservation and Restoration Trust, which is Scottish registered charity SC043705, was set up in 2013 to address this problem. Work started on the site in April 2013, and it is hoped to have the building fully restored to its mediaeval grandeur by the end of 2014.

Mingary Castle stands on Ardnamurchan Estate land, near the village of Kilchoan on the Ardnamurchan peninsula. Donald Houston, who owns the Estate and is responsible for the upcoming work on the castle, is determined that the many written records that are being prepared as part of the work should be fully available to the public on-line. This will be done through the main Mingary Castle website, of which this blog will be a part.

Businesses Involved in the Project