Dunvegan Castle, Isle of Skye

pictures of Dunvegan

pictures of Skye

DÙN BHEAGAIN

DUN BHEAGAN (Dunvegan Castle), Mingninish, Isle of Skye - property of Clan MacLeod

Dun Bheagan has been the stronghold of the Chiefs of Clan MacLeod for at least 750 years and is still their home to this day. There is no other castle all over Scotland that has been inhabited by the same family for such a long time. Through the centuries, famous men, clansmen and visitors from every land have been made welcome. The Castle has been opened to the public by Sir Reginald MacLeod of MacLeod more than forty years ago.

The name

of Dun Bheagan is probably a celtic name meaning, Dun of Began - Began's Castle. The Castle was certainly already inhabited before ever a Norseman set foot on the Isle of Skye. The Castle grounds were probably already inhabited already in the Neolithic. There is a tradition that originally - before the Norse conquest - it was planned to build the Castle not at its very spot but at Castle Rock where Loch Dunvegan merges into the deep blue sea, not far from Borreraig.

The known story of Dun Bheagan is closely linked to the history of a great Hebridian Clan, descendants of the Kings of Man, the Surdreyar (Hebrides) and even Iceland, the family of Liotr (Norse, in Gaelic, Leod).

The castle

nowadays has the design of Victorian dummy pepperpots and battlements on the whole length of the roofline. These alterations, as a "romantic restoration" were designed for the Norman, 25th Chief between 1840 and 1850 by Robert Brown of Edinburgh at a total cost of £ 8,000. Underneath the now unified outer skin there remains a series of complete buildings, each of a different era ...

In Leod's day, a massive curtain wall enclosed the rock. There was only one access where the Sea Gate is now, heavily defended. The buildings inside presumably were made of wood. The well of course also dates from the earliest period. There was almost certainly an earlier fort on this site, perhaps predating Leod by as much as a whole millennium.

The Keep

(dated 1340-60) was commissioned by Malcolm (3rd Chief) presumably was allied in marriage to the Campbells of Lochow, then in high favour with King David II. Bruce of Scotland. On the building of the Keep royal masons are thought to have been employed. The old kitchen and a service stair can be seen in the basement of this bilding, unchanged since the 14th century.

The Fairy Tower

(c. 1500) stands at the south-east corner of the rock. It has four floors and a circular mural stair still in place rising from the first floor level. Alasdair "Crotach" (8th Chief) added the Tower to the castle. The roof, outer walls and room layout are unchanged since, but later buildings needed access doors through the walls at three levels and on two sides.

Rory Mor's House (1623) was in the centre where now you find the Dining Room at first-floor level; the east wall up to the balustrade remained original. There was a long ridge-roofed building presumably containing living quarters when the great hall in the Keep had become too "spartan".In the early 18th century, the roof of the Keep deteriorated and for nearly 100 years its mighty walls were left to the mercy of wind and rain.

Ian Breac, the 18th Chief had Rory Mor's house rebuilt in 1664 and 1689. The "Piper's Gallery" survives as it was in 1664; the South Wing was built between 1684-90, replacing a family chapel; the new building had a ridge roof, in 1790 it was again changed and raised to its today's height. Ian Breac's wing burned to the walls of the keep in 1938 but was restored just before the building restrictions due to World War II. From all over Skye people came to help deal with the fire. All the furniture, pictures etc. were taken away by them and - imagine this today - all returned to the Chief when ready to store them again in the castle.

Changes

It is not known whether there was a service door on the east wall of the Castle. In 1748 the first landward Front Door was made. James Boswell recorded this in 1773 on his Journey to the Hebrides together with Dr. Johnson. A long flight of steps was needed to reach the entrance until the "moat" or ditch had been filled.

The 23rd Chief, Norman wanted his ancestral home to become a comfortable house for his young second wife and his family. To his opinion the castle should be enlarged in order to accommodate recruits to the regiment raised from among his own people at that time. His architect, Walter Boak, achieved this (at a total cost of £ 3,941. 11s. 11d.) re-roofing the Keep, breaking out windows for the Drawing-room and running the ridge of Rory Mor's House up to the wall of the Keep, forming a doorway in the south side at first-floor level. Then he designed the tall Barrack block to the north. In 1819 the Castle had twin towers and collonaded portico, approached by a stone breastwork and ornamental drawbridge, added (1814-15) by the General's son, John Norman, completing and harmonising the whole structure. The General's approach had been by the stone bridge over the burn, built ni 1801.The door was set in a small rectangular, battlemented extension and later incorporated into the front hall block. The Victorian re-construction has finally preserved the whole structure as one unit for posterity.

RORY MOR'S HORN

Among the things that can be seen are the Fairy Flag and Rory Mor's horn, a large horn, containing two litres of claret which every chief since was exspected to drink down in one draught to prove his manhood. To this horn there are told three versions of how and when the Clan got it. As a young man when his brother William was chief of the clan Rory Mor is said to have been watching some agricultural operations when Macdonalds landed. He thence jumped on a bull and commanded the other clansmen to do so and rush the herd towards Dun Bheagan. They joined William's forces and routed the enemy. The bull that had carried him was never slain but on his natural death from one of it's horns was made Rory Mor's horn, still to this day exhibited. Two other versions connect the horn with Malcolm MacLeod when he saved a Campbell clansman who had been sentenced to be crushed to death by a great bull. It was probably Gillespie MacCalein Campbell who entertained Malcolm and had promised him the man's life if he could save it from the bull and so MacLeod took the bull by it's horns and to cries of "Hold Fast" defeated it. In another version he slew a bull with bare hands in Glenelg after having visited the wife of Clan Fraser's chief. When she heard of the news she immediately left her husband for Malcolm thus starting a lengthy clan feud between Fraser and Macleod. From one of these adventures he is said to have brought the famous horn.

THE DUNVEGAN CUP

The Dunvegan Cup is believed to have been made in Ireland a very long time ago.The inscription around the brim says that it had in 1493 been made for Katherine, daughter of King Neil and wife of Macguire, Prince of Fermanagh. But inside the silver cover there is the still far older oaken cup. Traditionally it belonged to Niall Glun Dubh (Neill of the black knees) King of Ulster in the 10th century, an ancestor of Katherine's. After Rory Mor had supported the O'Neills against Queen Elisabeth I of England with 500 of his warriors the O'Neills visited him and presented a cup to him, probably this was the aforementioned cup of Niall Glun Dubh thenceforth known as the famous Dunvegan Cup.
Another tradition has it that this cup was taken from the Sithe by a MacLeod who had been taken to their mound but knowing he should not drink or eat the fairy food ran away with the cup. His mother protected him with a spell but unfortunately forgot to protect the cup. So the Sithe put a spell on the cup and a clansman slew its owner being anxious to gain the fine artefact. He was confined and the cup - now having lost its spell - given to MacLeod of MacLeod.

In the basement there is also a really interesting collection of items, photographs and stories of St. Kilda, a very remote archipelago belonging to the fief of Clan MacLeod.

THE CUCKOO'S CRY

It is said that on a chief's death the cuckoos from Dun Bheagan always flew to St Kilda to convey the sad news. Thus on one occasion, when a ship went to St Kilda to tell of the sad news the crew found the population already mourning. Traditionally the cuckoos never come to St. Kilda except on a chief's death. So as I learn from the press they must have flown to St. Kilda once again on 12th february 2007 mourning for John MacLeod of MacLeod the 29rd chief.

Castles I visited

Edinburgh	Eilean Donan	Duntulm	Dun Bheagan	Dunrobin	Cawdor	Blair Atholl	Braemar	Kirkwall	Strome	Knock	Moil

Armadale	Mey	Stirling	Tantallon	Thurso	Birsay	Kirkwall	Balmoral	Stuart	Corgarff	Stalker	Ackergill Tower

Inverness	Balvenie	Loch Lomond	Dun Sciath	Kilravock Castle	Elgin	old Keiss	new Keiss	Girnigoe	Sinclair	Urquhart	Old Wick

Carbisdale	Tongue	Kilberry	Tarbert	Stonefield	Sadell	Torisdale	Skipness	Carnasserie	Dunadd	Dunstaffnage	Barcaldine

Brodick	Lochranza	Dunaverty	Inveraray	Kilchurn				Ruthven Barracks	Fort William	Fort Augustus	Fort George