Duart Castle
Encyclopedia
Duart Castle or Caisteal Dhubhairt in Scottish Gaelic is a castle
Castles in Scotland
This list of castles in Scotland is a link page for any castle in Scotland.A castle is a type of fortified structure built 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 noble...
on the Isle of Mull
Isle of Mull
The Isle of Mull or simply Mull is the second largest island of the Inner Hebrides, off the west coast of Scotland in the council area of Argyll and Bute....
, off the west coast of 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...
, within the council area
Subdivisions of Scotland
For local government purposes, Scotland is divided into 32 areas designated as "council areas" which are all governed by unitary authorities designated as "councils"...
of Argyll and Bute
Argyll and Bute
Argyll and Bute is both one of 32 unitary council areas; and a Lieutenancy area in Scotland. The administrative centre for the council area is located in Lochgilphead.Argyll and Bute covers the second largest administrative area of any Scottish council...
. The castle dates back to the 13th century and was the seat of Clan MacLean
Clan MacLean
Clan Maclean is a Highland Scottish clan. They are one of the oldest clans in the Highlands and owned large tracts of land in Argyll as well as the Inner Hebrides. Many early MacLeans became famous for their honour, strength and courage in battle. They were involved in many clan skirmishes with...
.
History
In 1350 Lachlan Lubanach Maclean of DuartLachlan Lubanach Maclean of Duart
Lachlan Lubanach Maclean of Duart was the 5th Chief of Clan Maclean. He was the first Maclean to occupy Castle Duart. His brother, Hector Reaganach Maclean was the progenitor of the Lochbuie Macleans.-Biography:...
, the 5th Clan Chief, married Mary, daughter of the John of Islay, Lord of the Isles
John of Islay, Lord of the Isles
John of Islay was the Lord of the Isles and chief of Clan Donald. In 1336, he styled himself Dominus Insularum, "Lord of the Isles"; because this is the first ever recorded instance of the title in use, modern historians count John as the first of the later medieval Lords of the Isles, although...
and she was given Duart as her dowry.
In 1647, Duart Castle was attacked and laid siege to by the Argyll government troops of 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:...
, but they were defeated and driven off by the Royalist troops of Clan MacLean
Clan MacLean
Clan Maclean is a Highland Scottish clan. They are one of the oldest clans in the Highlands and owned large tracts of land in Argyll as well as the Inner Hebrides. Many early MacLeans became famous for their honour, strength and courage in battle. They were involved in many clan skirmishes with...
.
In September 1653, a Cromwellian task force of six ships anchored off the castle, but the Macleans had already fled to Tiree
Tiree
-History:Tiree is known for the 1st century BC Dùn Mòr broch, for the prehistoric carved Ringing Stone and for the birds of the Ceann a' Mhara headland....
. A storm blew up on the 13 September and three ships were lost, including HMS Swan
HMS Swan (1641)
Swan was a 200 ton warship of the English Royal Navy, launched in 1641. She was the last ship to be built for Charles I. She carried a number of iron cannon, which were cast by John Browne.-Capture:...
.
In 1678, Archibald Campbell, 9th Earl of Argyll
Archibald Campbell, 9th Earl of Argyll
Archibald Campbell, 9th Earl of Argyll was a Scottish peer.He was born in 1629 in Dalkeith, Scotland, the son of Archibald Campbell, 1st Marquess of Argyll....
, son of the Marquess of Argyll, successfully invaded the Clan MacLean lands on the Isle of Mull
Isle of Mull
The Isle of Mull or simply Mull is the second largest island of the Inner Hebrides, off the west coast of Scotland in the council area of Argyll and Bute....
and Sir John Maclean, 4th Baronet
Sir John Maclean, 4th Baronet
Sir John Maclean, 4th Baronet of Morvern was the 20th Clan Chief of Clan Maclean from 1674 to 1716. In 1691 he lost Castle Duart to Archibald Campbell, 1st Duke of Argyll. The castle wasn't recovered by Clan Maclean until 1912 by Fitzroy Donald Maclean, 221 years later.-Biography:He was born in 1670...
fled the castle and withdrew to Cairnbulg Castle
Cairnbulg Castle
Cairnbulg Castle is a z-plan castle situated in Cairnbulg, Aberdeenshire, Scotland. Originally known as Philorth Castle it was built in the early 14th century, destroyed in winter of 1308-1309 in the Wars of Independence, and re-built by the Fraser family in 1380. Subsequently, a courtyard and...
, and afterward to Kintail
Kintail
Kintail is an area of mountains in the Northwest Highlands of Scotland. It consists of the mountains to the north of Glen Shiel and the A87 road between the heads of Loch Duich and Loch Cluanie; its boundaries, other than Glen Shiel, are generally taken to be the valleys of Strath Croe and Gleann...
under the protection of the Earl of Seaforth
Earl of Seaforth
Earl of Seaforth was a title in the Peerage of Scotland and Peerage of Great Britain. It was held by the family of Mackenzie from 1623 to 1716, and again from 1771 to 1781....
.
In 1691 Duart Castle was surrendered by Sir John Maclean, 4th Baronet
Sir John Maclean, 4th Baronet
Sir John Maclean, 4th Baronet of Morvern was the 20th Clan Chief of Clan Maclean from 1674 to 1716. In 1691 he lost Castle Duart to Archibald Campbell, 1st Duke of Argyll. The castle wasn't recovered by Clan Maclean until 1912 by Fitzroy Donald Maclean, 221 years later.-Biography:He was born in 1670...
to Argyll. The Campbell clan kept a garrison there, but soon after the that defeat, the Campbells also demolished the stone house of Torloisk, and after loading the furnishings, the door and window sills, joists and slates from the house aboard a galley, they carried away their loot. The stones from the walls they scattered over the moor. Donald Maclean, 5th Laird of Torloisk
Donald Maclean, 5th Laird of Torloisk
Donald Maclean, 5th Laird of Torloisk was the 5th Laird of Torloisk.-Biography:He was a son of John of Tarbert. John of Tarbert was the third son of Hector Maclean, 2nd Laird of Torloisk....
used some of the stones to build a cottage for his family close to the site of the castle .
In 1751 the castle was abandoned.
Descendants of Archibald Campbell, 1st Duke of Argyll
Archibald Campbell, 1st Duke of Argyll
Archibald Campbell, 1st Duke of Argyll, 10th Earl of Argyll was a Scottish peer.-Biography:The eldest son of Archibald Campbell, 9th Earl of Argyll and Mary Stuart, daughter of James Stuart, 4th Earl of Moray, Campbell sought to recover his father's estates...
sold the castle in 1801, to MacQuarrie, who in turn parted with it to Campbell of Possil, (who kept it as a ruin within the grounds of his own estate to the north, Torosay Castle), who later on sold the Torosay Estate to A. C. Guthrie in 1865, and on September 11, 1911, the ruin was separated from the rest of the Torosay Estate and was bought by Sir Fitzroy Donald Maclean, the 26th Chief of the Clan MacLean
Clan MacLean
Clan Maclean is a Highland Scottish clan. They are one of the oldest clans in the Highlands and owned large tracts of land in Argyll as well as the Inner Hebrides. Many early MacLeans became famous for their honour, strength and courage in battle. They were involved in many clan skirmishes with...
and restored.
Trivia
The castle was used as a location in the 1999 film1999 in film
The year 1999 in film involved several noteworthy events and has been called "The Year That Changed Movies". Several significant feature films, including Stanley Kubrick's final film Eyes Wide Shut, Pedro Almodóvar's first Oscar-winning film All About My Mother, science fiction The Matrix, Deep...
Entrapment, starring Sean Connery
Sean Connery
Sir Thomas Sean Connery , better known as Sean Connery, is a Scottish actor and producer who has won an Academy Award, two BAFTA Awards and three Golden Globes Sir Thomas Sean Connery (born 25 August 1930), better known as Sean Connery, is a Scottish actor and producer who has won an Academy...
(who has MacLean ancestry on his mother's side) and Catherine Zeta-Jones
Catherine Zeta-Jones
Catherine Zeta-Jones, CBE, is a British actress. She began her career on stage at an early age. After starring in a number of United Kingdom and United States television films and small roles in films, she came to prominence with roles in Hollywood movies such as the 1998 action film The Mask of...
. The castle also features prominently in the 1971 film
1971 in film
The year 1971 in film involved some significant events.-Events:*February 8 - Bob Dylan's hour long documentary film, Eat the Document, premieres at New York's Academy of Music...
When Eight Bells Toll
When Eight Bells Toll (1971 film)
When Eight Bells Toll is a 1971 action film set in Scotland, based upon Scottish author Alistair MacLean's 1965 novel of the same name. Producer Elliott Kastner planned to produce a string of realistic gritty espionage thrillers to rival the James Bond series, but the film's poor box office...
, starring Anthony Hopkins
Anthony Hopkins
Sir Philip Anthony Hopkins, KBE , best known as Anthony Hopkins, is a Welsh actor of film, stage and television...
.
It is also the setting for the base of Buffy Summers
Buffy Summers
Buffy Summers is a fictional character from Joss Whedon's Buffy the Vampire Slayer franchise. She first appeared in the 1992 film Buffy the Vampire Slayer before going on to appear in the television series and subsequent comic book of the same name...
in the first half of Buffy the Vampire Slayer Season Eight
Buffy the Vampire Slayer Season Eight
Buffy the Vampire Slayer Season Eight is a comic book series published by Dark Horse Comics. The series serves as a canonical continuation of the television series Buffy the Vampire Slayer, and follows the events of that show's final televised season. It is produced by Joss Whedon, who wrote the...
.