Tour Scotland Autumn 4K travel video of Castle Campbell on ancestry visit to Dollar Glen, Clackmannanshire. This was the seat of the earls and dukes of Argyll, chiefs of Clan Campbell, and was visited by Mary Queen of Scots, in the 16th century. This Scottish tower house was built in the early 15th century and was known as Castle Gloom. The castle was originally a property of the Clan Stuart but passed by marriage to Colin Campbell, 1st Earl of Argyll and Lord Chancellor of Scotland. The acquisition of Castle Gloom expanded the power of the Campbell family, from Argyll in the west into central Scotland, and suited Colin Campbell's position as Master of the Household to King James III of Scotland, which required his frequent presence at court. In February 1490, Campbell petitioned the newly crowned King, James IV of Scotland, to formally change the name of Gloom to " Castle Campbell ", and this was done by an act of parliament. In 1590 King James VI of Scotland was displeased with the captain of the castle, Alexander Menteith, who had released a condemned prisoner Henry Mersair, found guilty of fire raising, murder, slaughter, and other crimes. Mersair was given a horse in the nearby village of Fossoway to make good his escape. The Earls of Argyll continued to support the Protestant cause, and in the religious conflicts of the middle of the 17th century Archibald Campbell, 8th Earl of Argyll, became the leader of the Presbyterian Covenanters, in opposition to the leading Royalist James Graham, 1st Marquess of Montrose. In 1645 Montrose's troops, on their way to the Battle of Kilsyth, laid waste to the lands around Castle Campbell, including Dollar and Muckhart. Many of Montrose's men were MacLeans, long standing adversaries of the Campbells. The castle itself was undamaged, and no siege was attempted. In response, Argyll ordered the destruction of Menstrie Castle and Airthrie Castle, both seats of Royalists. After the execution of King Charles I in England the Campbells initially supported King Charles II, with Argyll placing the crown of Scotland on Charles' head at Scone by Perth, Perthshire, in 1651. However, Argyll opposed Charles' invasion of England, and in 1652 he submitted to Oliver Cromwell's Commonwealth. Cromwell's forces were garrisoned in Castle Campbell in 1653. In July 1654, Royalist rebels attacked and burned Castle Campbell over two nights. Argyll was executed following the Restoration of 1660 and his son, the 9th Earl, built Argyll's Lodging in Stirling rather than renovate Castle Campbell. Apart from being briefly garrisoned during the Jacobite rising of 1715 the castle was abandoned, and in 1805 the 6th Duke of Argyll sold it to Crawford Tait of Harviestoun, an adjacent estate. In 1859 Harviestoun, and Castle Campbell, was bought by businessman and former Lord Provost of Glasgow Sir Andrew Orr.
All photographs are copyright of Sandy Stevenson, Tour Scotland,
and may not be used without permission.
View the most recent
Tour Scotland photographs
No comments:
Post a Comment