View of North Curtain exterior. Detail of sandstone quoins of building, gunloops with blocked window, cross slit and flanking features at first floor level. Garderobe outlet in Keep.

Description View of North Curtain exterior. Detail of sandstone quoins of building, gunloops with blocked window, cross slit and flanking features at first floor level. Garderobe outlet in Keep.

Catalogue Number SC 366594

Category On-line Digital Images

Copy of AG 718

Scope and Content North face of tower-house of Skipness Castle, Knapdale, Argyll The tower-house of Skipness Castle was probably built by the Campbell lairds in the early 16th century. It saw service in 1645 when the MacDonalds, the earlier owners, took advantage of the Wars of the Covenant besiege the castle, albeit unsuccessfully. The lower storeys, up to the crosslet arrow-loop, incorporate the original medieval walls of the castle. The square hole at the base of the projecting north-east latrine tower is a drain. The gate to the right is a later addition. Crosslet, or cross-shaped, arrow-loops were rare in Scottish castles. They first appeared in England in the early 13th century. The horizontal slit was probably intended to give an archer a wider field of vision without exposing him to attackers. Source: RCAHMS contribution to SCRAN.

Permalink http://canmore.org.uk/collection/366594

File Format (TIF) Tagged Image File Format bitmap