Publication Account
Date 1985
Event ID 1018750
Category Descriptive Accounts
Type Publication Account
Permalink http://canmore.org.uk/event/1018750
Kisimul Castle instantly impresses the visitor entering Castle Bay by feny; the fortress rises forbiddingly from its rock in the sea and, even before restoration, was fairly well preserved. It was for four centuries the stronghold of the MacNeils, who held Barra from the Lord of the Isles from the early 15th century.
The oldest part of the building is the tower, which, together with most of the curtain wall, may be ascribed to the early 15th century, and was the primary dwelling, consisting of three storeys: a cellar with living accommodation over, the upper of the two rooms being the hall. Staircases within the thick walls connect these two rooms and the parapet above, the cellar being entered from the courtyard, and entrance to the tower itselfby a bridge from the parapet walk on the curtain wall. The parapet and the two upper rooms are provided with garderobes. The parapet walls of both tower and curtain wall were raised by several feet some time after the original building, and this necessitated the reorganisation of the walks on the tower and the construction of a timber walk on the curtain wall. Other buildings ranged against this wall surround an open courtyard. Opposite the keep is a smaller tower with a curved internal wall; the ground floor was used as a prison and could be entered only by a hatch from the floor above. The hall was probably built at the same time as the curtain wall and small tower, and a building traditionally identified as a chapel. The hall was originally a single-storey building, but in the 17th century it was raised, and a two-storey building was added at the south-west end, covering the well and blocking the postern gate.
Not long after these buildings were completed, others were erected: the kitchen, adjacent to the main tower, the Tanist (or heir's) house, and the Gokman's (watchman's) house. The latter was later enlarged in a way that blocked off the original main gate of the Castle, and a new entrance was created beside the corner of the tower.
At one time there was also a secondary structure outside the tower, beside the boat-landing, but this, together with the Tanist house, the Gokman's house and part of the curtain wall were removed in the 19th century to provide ballast for the herring fleets.
Despite its strong defensive position, the castle is known to have been taken once, during a family disagreement in the 17th century, by twenty men. Major restoration by the late R L MacNeil of Barra was completed in 1970.
Information from ‘Exploring Scotland’s Heritage: Argyll and the Western Isles’, (1985).
