Mingary Castle: Mingary Castle in the 1890s

Sunday, 27 October 2013

Mingary Castle in the 1890s

This photograph of Mingary Castle has been sent me by Iain Thornber, a local archaeologist and historian who lives on Morvern. Iain writes a weekly column in the Oban Times, our local paper.

Iain dates the picture to some time in the 1890s.

The nearest equivalent picture I have in my library is this one, taken from a little further away and not so far out on the rocks - and before the scaffolding went up. The main differences one notices are that two of the chimneys have gone. Otherwise, the castle has survived the 120 years remarkably well.

Next time we have a very low tide, I'll try to get out on the wave-cut platform and take the identical view.

Many thanks to Iain for letting us publish his photograph.

3 comments:

Anonymous28 October 2013 at 10:39
The kind of work that's being done to restore Mingary Castle should be applied to Wingfield Manor as well. I certainly would love to see that ruined site follow in the footsteps of Mingary Castle. Do you agree? Here is the link:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wingfield_Manor

http://www.flickr.com/search/?q=wingfield%20manor
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Anonymous28 October 2013 at 17:30
Only one of the chimneys is still accounted for. Does this mean that the debris are mostly inside of the castle? or in the moat. Have they been identified?

Denis M.
Canada
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Jon28 October 2013 at 17:35
The rock from the other chimneys is probably inside the castle and moat. It can't be identified as from a chimney, so all this material has been taken up to the dry store to be cleaned, and will be used in the rebuilding process.
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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