Kilchurn Castle, located on a tiny island in Loch Awe in Scotland, was made up of constructions dating from the 15th to the 17th centuries.
Kilchurn, like many other castles, has a rich and vivid history, a few hidden and spooky legends, and an amazing environment that surrounds it on all sides.
The castle was first mentioned in a charter dated March 1449, named “apud Castrum de Glenurquhay,” which translates to “at the castle of Glenurquhay.” The structure was modeled after the ancient mansion of the Campbells of Glen Orchy, who eventually became Earls of Breadalbane (the Breadalbane family line of the Clan Campbell).
The Kilchurn Castle ruins as seen from above. Photographer’s Credit The original architectural configuration included a courtyard and a five-story tower residence with a hall, private chamber, cellar, and, of course, a jail. Sir Colin Campbell, the first Lord of Glenorchy, commenced the construction of the tower in the 1400s. He also strengthened the fortifications by surrounding the courtyard with an outside wall.
Colin, Duncan Campbell’s second son, was awarded Glenorchy near the north end of Loch Awe in 1432. This was done to assure Colin’s devotion after his elder brother, Gillespie, died unexpectedly. Colin’s son Duncan, the 2nd Lord, afterwards erected the “Laich hall” (looks out into Loch Awe). He erected the courtyard hall before dying in the Battle of Flodden in 1513.
Throughout the 1500s, additional expansions to the principal castle features were erected, including the addition of a hall on the south side. More construction occurred in the 16th and 17th centuries. Colin, the 6th Lord, erected four noteworthy angle-turrets on the top of the tower house. He was also in charge of moving the Campbells of Glenorchy from Kilchurn to their new home in Perthshire, Balloch. In 1583, he went dead.
In 1689, Sir John Campbell of Glenorchy, 1st Earl of Breadalbane, withdrew to his ancestral seat and arranged for the castle to be converted into a military fortress. At this point, the tower house was converted to house officers, and a barracks with a capacity of 200 soldiers was built on the north side of the courtyard. According to Historic Environment Scotland, the barracks block is still remarkably intact and is the oldest remaining barracks on the British mainland.
During the Jacobite uprisings of 1715 and 1745, the fortress was taken seized by a government force. Nonetheless, it saw limited use as an outpost. By 1740, the Campbells had moved to their new house at Taymouth Castle, and they sought but failed to sell Kilchurn to the government.
One of the most intriguing episodes in the castle’s history occurred in 1760, when Kilchurn was hit by lightning and severely damaged before being abandoned. The turret from atop the tower, which is now upside-down in the midst of the courtyard, bears witness to the dramatic occurrence in 1760.
After the fatal lightning strike, the castle was never repaired, and it swiftly began to crumble. The castle’s roof collapsed throughout the years, and the remains eventually provided a source of free construction materials for other surrounding landowners.
As the water level of Loch Awe plummeted in the early nineteenth century, the island became connected to the shore, making the castle accessible on land for the first time in history. The castle is still standing on the lengthy peninsula today. MacGibbon and Ross, two renowned Scottish architects of the nineteenth century, investigated the complex about 1887, following which restoration work was initiated, which appears to have changed some of the castle’s original qualities.in
The ruin is presently in the care of Historic Scotland and is open to the public throughout the summer. Kilchurn Castle is a nationally significant site as well as a scheduled monument in the United Kingdom.
