Castle Cluggy

NN82SW 1 83977 23401.

(NN 8397 2340) Castle Cluggy (NR)

OS 6" map (1959)

Castle Cluggy is now reduced to a square tower of about 17 by 18ft within walls which are 5 or 6ft thick. In an Ochtertyre charter of 1467 it is called "antiquum fortalicium". Traditionally it belonged to the Red Cumin, Bruce's antagonist. Sir William Murray occupied it c.1650. NSA 1845

Castle Cluggy measures 8.7m N to S by 7.0m E to W externally over walls 1.5m thick. Tusking in the east wall indicates that, at one time, it extended farther east.

Revised at 25" scale.

Visited by OS (RD) 30 December 1966

NN 8397 2340 In July 2001 an archaeological evaluation of the remains of Castle Cluggy (NMRS NN82SW 1), near Crieff, was carried out in advance of the consolidation of the structure. The evaluation involved the hand-excavation of trenches both within the structure and to its E in order to ascertain the nature of deposits within the castle; the relationship between the original walls, and the later, possibly 17th-century E wall; and the original extent of the castle.

The castle consists of a ruinous three-storey stone-built tower, measuring roughly 8.6m N-S by 8.1m E-W. The walls are generally 1.5m thick, with the replaced E wall having a thickness of just 0.95m. The N and S walls obviously continued further E in earlier times, but there were no signs in the grounds surrounding the building of their former course.

The evaluation required the hand-excavation of six small trenches. The interior of the building contained a build-up of roughly 0.9m of deposits. At a depth of 0.7m the possible original floor of the undercroft of the tower was encountered. This thin silt and pebble layer overlay a further old surface, possibly dating to the construction of the original building. Unfortunately there was no dating evidence from these early deposits, although the foundations for the E wall were found to clearly overlie, and post-date, those of the S wall. Remains of the original, now-demolished, walls were only encountered just to the E of the eastern termination of the N wall. A probable robber cut was, however, visible in the trench across the projected line of the E wall and this evidence suggested that the original extent of the castle was not much greater than at present, measuring around 9.3m E-W.

Sponsor: Mr Brian Soutar.

M Roy 2001