Scottish Castles: Scotland’s most dramatic castles and strongholds
A handy guide to nearly 140 of Scotland’s most dramatic castles and strongholds, all of which are open to the public.Optimised for colour tablets. The images in this ebook are not suitable for viewing on black and white e-ink devices.Historical background and architectural details for each of the castles, accompanied by a beautiful colour photograph. Includes the major sites of Edinburgh and Stirling, and covers from as far north as Shetland (Muness) to as far south as Dumfries and Galloway (Stranraer), west as far as the Outer Hebrides (Kisimul), and east to Aberdeenshire (Balmoral)Contains an introduction on Scotland's castles – history, description of classification of building type with examples.Includes details on the property’s custodianship, whether cared for by Historic Environment Scotland or the National Trust for Scotland, a description of the gardens where relevant, location, website and phone number.
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HarperCollins Publishers
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First Edition 2017
© HarperCollins Publishers 2017
eBook Edition © June 2017 ISBN 9780008265151
Version: 2017-06-21
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A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library
Author: Chris Tabraham
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Contents
An introduction to Scotlandâs castles and fortified houses
Scotland is a country as rich in castles and fortified houses as any other in Europe. They range in date from the twelfth to the seventeenth centuries, and in size and complexity from the great royal fortresses at Edinburgh and Stirling, to the fortified houses of humble bonnet lairds (distinct from nobles and lairds in that they worked the land themselves, alongside their servants). This book is your guide to some of these structures. Almost 140 castles and fortified houses are included, selected because they have something of interest surviving today, and also because they are publicly accessible.
The castle was introduced into Scotland in the early twelfth century by the sons of Malcolm III. Most were motte castles (or motte-and-bailey castles), built mainly of timber on raised mounds (mottes) of earth.
The thirteenth century was, without doubt, Scotlandâs golden age as far as castles go. Great stone enclosure castles (sometimes called curtain-walled castles because their imposing encircling walls were drawn around the castle complex like a curtain) were built across the land, both by the kings and by the major aristocratic families. These mighty barons had huge households, numbering in excess of 200 people, and required large castles to house them all. Castle Sween, built c.1200 by Sven the Red, founder of the MacSween clan, is the oldest stone castle standing in Scotland today, whilst Bothwell (de Moray family), Caerlaverock (de Maxwell family), and Duart (MacLean family) are just as awesome today as they were way back then.
