Auchenbreck Castle
Encyclopedia
Auchenbreck Castle is located in Argyll
, Scotland
. Its remains are situated in Kilmodan
parish, near the mouth of Glendaruel
, 9 kilometres (5.6 mi) north of Tighnabruaich
on the Cowal
peninsula. Little remains of the castle, other than a flat rectangular platform, around 35 by, between Auchenbreck farmhouse and the Auchenbreck Burn. This is partially bounded by a revetment
wall up to 2.2 metres (7.2 ft) high.
The castle was held by the Campbells of Auchinbreck
, a branch of the Clan Campbell
descended from Duncan, a younger son of Duncan Campbell, 1st Lord Campbell
. He was granted lands near Dunoon
in 1435, and further lands in Glassary. By the 16th century, the family were known as "of Auchinbreck", and the castle appears on Timothy Pont
's map of the late 16th century. Around 1703 the castle was purchased by John Fullarton
, former minister of Kilmodan, and later Bishop of Edinburgh
. Fullarton renamed the estate Greenhall, and was the last person to live in the castle. When the estate was sold in 1728, after Fullarton's death, it included a mansion which may have been built from the stones of the castle. The castle itself was in its current ruined state by 1870.
Argyll
Argyll , archaically Argyle , is a region of western Scotland corresponding with most of the part of ancient Dál Riata that was located on the island of Great Britain, and in a historical context can be used to mean the entire western coast between the Mull of Kintyre and Cape Wrath...
, Scotland
Scotland
Scotland is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Occupying the northern third of the island of Great Britain, it shares a border with England to the south and is bounded by the North Sea to the east, the Atlantic Ocean to the north and west, and the North Channel and Irish Sea to the...
. Its remains are situated in Kilmodan
Kilmodan
The parish of Kilmodan is situated in Argyll and Bute, Scotland. It includes the valley of Glendaruel and surrounding areas, with Kilmodan Church located in the Clachan of Glendaruel. The alternative historical spelling, Kilmadan, is no longer used....
parish, near the mouth of Glendaruel
Glendaruel
Glendaruel is a glen in the Cowal Peninsula in Argyll, Scotland.The main village in Glendaruel is the Clachan of Glendaruel.-Features:The present Kilmodan Church was built in the Clachan of Glendaruel in 1610...
, 9 kilometres (5.6 mi) north of Tighnabruaich
Tighnabruaich
Tighnabruaich is a village on the Kyles of Bute in Argyll and Bute, Scotland.Tighnabruaich is part of Argyll's Secret Coast, just an hour and a half west of Glasgow, and is nestled along the east coast of Loch Fyne and stretching into the beautiful Kyles of Bute.Tighnabruaich is popular for...
on the Cowal
Cowal
thumb|Cowal shown within ArgyllCowal is a peninsula in Argyll and Bute in the Scottish Highlands.-Description:The northern part of Cowal is mostly the mountainous Argyll Forest Park. Cowal is separated from the Kintyre peninsula to the west by Loch Fyne, and from Inverclyde and North Ayrshire to...
peninsula. Little remains of the castle, other than a flat rectangular platform, around 35 by, between Auchenbreck farmhouse and the Auchenbreck Burn. This is partially bounded by a revetment
Revetment
Revetments, or revêtements , have a variety of meanings in architecture, engineering and art history. In stream restoration, river engineering or coastal management, they are sloping structures placed on banks or cliffs in such a way as to absorb the energy of incoming water...
wall up to 2.2 metres (7.2 ft) high.
The castle was held by the Campbells of Auchinbreck
Campbell of Auchinbreck
The Auchinbreck of Campbell family , was founded by Duncan Campbell of Kilmichael, in Glassary, Argyllshire, Scotland. He was the son of Duncan, first Lord Campbell of the Clan Campbell, by his second wife Margaret, daughter of Sir John Stewart of Blackhall, the illegitimate son of King Robert III...
, a branch of the Clan Campbell
Clan Campbell
Clan Campbell is a Highland Scottish clan. Historically one of the largest, most powerful and most successful of the Highland clans, their lands were in Argyll and the chief of the clan became the Earl and later Duke of Argyll.-Origins:...
descended from Duncan, a younger son of Duncan Campbell, 1st Lord Campbell
Duncan Campbell, 1st Lord Campbell
Duncan Campbell, 1st Lord Campbell Duncan Campbell, 1st Lord Campbell Duncan Campbell, 1st Lord Campbell (Classical Gaelic Donnchadh mac Cailein, and also called Donnchadh na-Adh of Loch Awe, (died 1453), was an important figure in Scottish affairs in the first half of the fifteenth century and...
. He was granted lands near Dunoon
Dunoon
Dunoon is a resort town situated on the Cowal Peninsula in Argyll, Scotland. It sits on the Firth of Clyde to the south of Holy Loch and to the west of Gourock.-Waterfront:...
in 1435, and further lands in Glassary. By the 16th century, the family were known as "of Auchinbreck", and the castle appears on Timothy Pont
Timothy Pont
Timothy Pont was a Scottish topographer, the first to produce a detailed map of Scotland. Pont's maps are among the earliest surviving to show a European country in minute detail, from an actual survey.-Life:...
's map of the late 16th century. Around 1703 the castle was purchased by John Fullarton
John Fullarton
John Fullarton , of Greenhall, Argyll, was a Scottish clergyman and nonjurant Episcopal Bishop of Edinburgh between 1720 and 1727.-Origins:...
, former minister of Kilmodan, and later Bishop of Edinburgh
Bishop of Edinburgh
The Bishop of Edinburgh is the Ordinary of the Scottish Episcopal Diocese of Edinburgh.The see was founded in 1633 by King Charles I. William Forbes was consecrated in St. Giles' Cathedral as its first bishop on 23 January 1634 though he died later that year...
. Fullarton renamed the estate Greenhall, and was the last person to live in the castle. When the estate was sold in 1728, after Fullarton's death, it included a mansion which may have been built from the stones of the castle. The castle itself was in its current ruined state by 1870.