Pricing Change
New pricing for orders of material from this site will come into place shortly. Charges for supply of digital images, digitisation on demand, prints and licensing will be altered.
Upcoming Maintenance
Please be advised that this website will undergo scheduled maintenance on the following dates:
Thursday, 9 January: 11:00 AM - 3:00 PM
Thursday, 23 January: 11:00 AM - 3:00 PM
Thursday, 30 January: 11:00 AM - 3:00 PM
During these times, some functionality such as image purchasing may be temporarily unavailable. We apologise for any inconvenience this may cause.
Castle, Rarey
Castle (Medieval)(Possible), Earthwork (Period Unassigned)
Site Name Castle, Rarey
Classification Castle (Medieval)(Possible), Earthwork (Period Unassigned)
Alternative Name(s) Raera Castle
Canmore ID 22974
Site Number NM82SW 18
NGR NM 8315 2065
Datum OSGB36 - NGR
Permalink http://canmore.org.uk/site/22974
- Council Argyll And Bute
- Parish Kilninver And Kilmelford
- Former Region Strathclyde
- Former District Argyll And Bute
- Former County Argyll
NM82SW 18 8315 2065.
(NM 8315 2065) Castle (NR) (Site of)
OS 1:10,000 map, (1976)
About 120m NE of the 18th century laird's house at Rarey (Raera - 1), is a small earthwork, reputedly the site of a former castle of the MacDougalls (Ordnance Survey Name Book - ONB 1871). To the east, the ground falls steeply to the rocky gorge of the River Euchar, 28m below, but to the NW, an artificial ditch separates the natural promontory from the level ground beyond. The summit area is irregular, measuring about 30 by 22 metres and the ditch has an average width of about 11m and a depth of about 1.8m. The turf-covered foundations of a dry-stone wall can be traced for a distance of about 14 metres in the SE sector. It does not, however, conform to the edge of the summit and its date and purpose are uncertain.
Excavation at the site in 1957 failed to identify the position of any structures, though a thick deposit of charcoal was thought to indicate the former existence of a timber building that had been destroyed by fire. A small quantity of glazed pottery and a copper belt-buckle both probably 16th or 17th century date, were among the finds.
The origins and early history of the site are obscure, but Rarey was included in a grant of lands by Robert I to Dugall Campbell of Lochaw in 1313 and it is not known when the MacDougalls regained possession of the estate (OPS 1854). Rarey is shown as an unfortified dwelling on the Pont-Gordon map of the second quarter of the 17th century.
Orig Paroch Scot 1854; Name Book 1871; RCAHMS 1975, visited June 1970.
As described. The farmer's son at Rarey has in his possession a coin of William and Mary and a bluish bead found at the site.
Surveyed at 1:2500 scale.
Visited by OS (R D) 14 September 1971.
Field Visit (June 1970)
NM 831 206. A small earthwork is situated some 120 m NE of the 18th-century laird’s house at Rarey (No. 333). A natural promontory, which falls steeply on the E to the rocky gorge of the River Euchar 28 m below, is separated from level ground on the NW by an artificial ditch. The summit-area is irregular, measuring about 30 m by 22 m, and the ditch itself has an average width of about I I m and a depth of about 1·8 m (Fig. 211). The turf-covered foundations of a drystone wall can be traced for a distance of about 14 m in the SE sector' this wall does not conform to the edge of the summit, and its date and purpose are uncertain.
Small-scale excavations conducted at this site in 1957 failed to identify the position of any structures; a thick deposit of charcoal was found and was thought to indicate the former existence of timber buildings that had been destroyed by fire. Finds included a small quantity of glazed pottery, and a copper belt-buckle, all of which are probably of 16th- or 17th-century date (The Commission are indebted to Captain J D Inglis for information concerning the excavation, and for access to the finds). Local tradition, as recorded in the 19th century, named this site ‘Tom a Chaisteil', or the Castle Hill, and identified it as 'the mansion of the ancient and brave McDougall's of Raray' (Name Book, No. 53, p.50; NSA, vii (Argyll), 65). The excavated finds afford evidence of occupation during the period when this family were important landowners in Nether Lorn (cf.p. 251), but Rarey is shown as an unfortified dwelling on the Pont-Gordon map of the second quarter of the 17th century (Blaeu’s Atlas (Lorn)), in contrast to Ardmaddy Castle (No. 31?),which was probably the principal residence of the family at this period. The origins and early history of the site are obscure. Rarey was included in a grant of lands by Robert I to Dugall Campbell of Lochaw in 1313, and it is not known when the MacDougalls regained possession of the estate (Origines Parochiales, ii, part I, 106).
RCAHMS 1975, visited June 1970.
Measured Survey (June 1971)
A plane-table survey of the fortified dwelling on Loch a' Phearsain was undertaken in 1971. The pencil drawing (AGD 771/2) was redrawn in ink (AGD 771/1) and published at a reduced scale (RCAHMS 1975, fig. 210).
