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Note
Date 5 July 2022
Event ID 1138950
Category Descriptive Accounts
Type Note
Permalink http://canmore.org.uk/event/1138950
The castle was the seat of the Adairs of Kinhilt and the earliest reference to a castle at Dunskey is from 1330. However, the earliest parts of the present building probably date to the first quarter of the 16th century, after its predecessor was burnt by the McCullochs of Myrton and Cardoness. The scale-and-platt stair and the gallery wing may have been part of the alterations and additions traditionally said to be made by Hugh, first Viscount Montgomery of the Great Ardes who was laird of Dunskey from 1608. Symson describes the castle as wholly ruinous in 1684.
Dunskey Castle stands on a sheer-sided coastal promontory jutting into the Irish Sea. The castle, which dates to the late 16th century, appears to contain earlier walling and may occupy the site of predecessor on record in the 14th century. It is separated from the mainland by a substantial rock-cut ditch, perhaps a feature of the early castle, and is approached via a causeway.
The main structure of the castle is an L-plan tower house with an additional block in the re-entrant angle containing the stair from first floor level. It has three principal storeys with ground floor cellarage and a broad scale-and-platt stair to the first floor. This latter stair is a insertion and possibly occupies the site of the original kitchen.
The main block contains the hall at first floor and above there are two chambers each with a fireplace. The wing rises higher than the main block and contains one room on each of the upper floors, each with a fireplace. The upper rooms are accessed by a broad circular stair in the re-entrant angle. Attached to the north flank of the tower is a long and narrow three storey wing, the east wall of which incorporates the earlier courtyard wall and arched gateway of the castle. The first floor of this building appears to have been one long room forming a gallery. There are traces of other buildings along the cliff edge.
J Gifford 1996; D MacGibbon and T Ross 1887; RCAHMS 1912; G Stell 1996
Information from the HES Castle Conservation Register, 5 July 2022
