Kilchurn Castle

Oblique aerial photographs of Kilchurn Castle, Argyll, taken by John Dewar in 1971.

At the north-eastern end of Loch Awe the impressive ruin of Kilchurn Castle is situated on a small rocky outcrop almost surrounded by the waters of the loch. Loch Awe was clearly an important route in historical times, as probably in the prehistoric period, and there are several castles along it including Fincharn (NM 898043) and Innis Chonnell (NM 976119), but the strategic importance ofKilchurn to the Campbells of Glenorchy with estates both in Loch Awe and Perthshire was considerable. The surviving remains belong to two distinct schemes of construction: a tower-house built in the middle of the 15th century by Sir Colin Campbell of Glenorchy; and the addition of ranges of barracks within a defensive scheme that had corner towers built by John, 1st Earl of Breadalbane in the last decade of the 17th century.

The tower-house, now an empty shell, has five storeys, the lowest of which is a vaulted cellar, with what was doubtless a prison on its south-east side. The main apartment was the first-floor hall, probably entered from a doorway into the courtyard by means of a wooden stair; there is also a narrow stair from the cellar. The separate staircases to the upper floors are within the angles of the walls.

One of the most dramatic features of the castle as it survives today are the dominant circular angle towers on the north and south flanks; these are the main architectural embellishments of the late 17th century barrack ranges. The barracks played their part intermittently in the military politics of the next sixty years, but the castle was struck by lightning in the 1760s and was not subsequently refurbished. The energies of the Earl of Breadalbane were devoted to his castle and estates at Taymouth in Perthshire.

Information from ‘Exploring Scotland’s Heritage: Argyll and the Western Isles’, (1985).

A short programme of trial excavation was completed within the castle, in advance of new drainage within the basements of the two late 17th century barrack blocks. The causes of the present flooding were due initially to the 1690's ranges having been built outside, and consequently with basements below, the natural rocky outcrop which previously defined the fortified circuit. The measures put in places to collect and conduct storm water from the courtyard - a system of downpipes and probably a subfloor drainage channel - are now blocked and broken.

An apparently deliberate gap was left between bedrock and the basement passage wall, in order to trap water seeping beneath the courtyard facing of the barrack block. It is likely that this was linked in some way with the main drain outflow point in the basement beneath the latrines.

Some structural evidence was found of a building lying towards the NW of the 15th-century Towerhouse and which was demolished in advance of the 1690's building programme. It is possible that the section of much robbed walling referred to as the'North Chalmeris'.

Some indication of pre-15th century occupation of the site was found in terms of a mass of fire-reddened and vitrified masonry, some of it recycled as levelling material within the basement. It is therefore possible that some form of drystone rampart existed on the site which has been absorbed by the late 17th-century extensions to the castle on its N and W sides.

G Ewart 1993

Sponsor: Historic Scotland

Kirkdale Archaeology

NN 1329 2760 A watching brief was maintained on 1 October 2008 in the basement of the tower house of the castle during the removal of soft deposits from the floor, ahead of the laying of a concrete skim. There was evidence suggesting that the N door was a later insertion and that the basement was originally accessed via another door, perhaps the SW doorway to the courtyard. Examination of the main build of the exterior NE wall of the tower provided further evidence for the later insertion of the N doorway. There was a clear cut around the inserted doorway and the masonry within it consisted of sub-rounded sandstone blocks spaced with

slivers of schist, which is comparable to the build of the late 17th-century barracks abutting the tower to the NW.

Archive: RCAHMS (intended)

Funder: Historic Scotland

Paul Fox – Kirkdale Archaeology

Information from OASIS ID: kirkdale1-249683

CFA Archaeology Ltd undertook and assessment of the effects on cultural heritage interests of the construction, operation and decommissioning of the Proposed Development, at Balliemeanoch, Argyll & Bute.

All historic environmental features within the development area were identified and the nature of effects on these features discussed.

Funder: Energised Environments Ltd

CFA Archaeology ltd

NN 13284 27615 In June 2017, a desk based assessment and survey were carried out, across the castle grounds and parts of the opposite shore at Portbeg.

Three drystone boulder walls were encountered within the areas of interest during the survey, along with one furrow likely to be a drainage ditch issuing into the loch.

Archive: NRHE

Funder: Historic Environment Scotland

Stephanie Said – Wessex Archaeology

(Source: DES Vol 20)

Wessex Archaeology was commissioned by Historic Environment Scotland (HES) to undertake a desk based assessment and walkover survey to identify cultural heritage constraints in advance of some works to be carried out at Kilchurn Castle. The aim of this assessment is to identify known heritage assets that may be affected by the works to be carried out at Kilchurn Castle and the potential for unknown cultural heritage assets. This will be carried out in accordance with the Chartered Institute for Archaeologists’ Standard and Guidance for Desk-based Assessment (CIfA, 2014).

The Site Boundary consists of three areas; the area around Kilchurn Castle (Plot 2 - smaller Portbeg, and Plot 3 - larger Portbeg). Kilchurn Castle is located on a rocky peninsula, surrounded by marsh land, at the northeastern end of Loch Awe, in Argyll and Bute, Scotland. Portbeg is located along the southern shore of the loch opposite Kilchurn Castle.

NN 13287 27626 Ground penetrating radar survey.

Archive: Rose Geophysical Consultants

Funder: CFA Archaeology on behalf of HES

Susan Ovenden - Rose Geophysics

(Source: DES, Volume 19)

NN 13287 27626 Magnetometry survey.

Archive: Rose Geophysical Consultants

Funder: CFA Archaeology on behalf of HES

Susan Ovenden - Rose Geophysics

(Source: DES, Volume 19)

NN 13287 27626 Resistivity survey.

Archive: Rose Geophysical Consultants

Funder: CFA Archaeology on behalf of HES

Susan Ovenden - Rose Geophysics

(Source: DES, Volume 19)

NN 13287 27626 A programme of geophysical survey was undertaken. 25 February – 1 March 2018, within and around Kilchurn Castle. An area of 0.5 ha within the castle and over the peninsular to the W of the castle was surveyed. A combination of gradiometer, resistance and ground penetrating radar (GPR) surveys were undertaken. Survey to the E and N of the castle was not possible due to a combination of boggy and frozen ground.

Resistance survey within the courtyard of the castle detected numerous anomalies suggesting possible structural remains. Additional anomalies were detected, which may have an archaeological origin, but could equally be due to more modern features such as paths. GPR within the courtyard did not produce particularly clear responses and this is thought to be due to the combination of shallow remains and shallow bedrock, although there is some

correlation with the resistance survey data. Survey of the peninsula to the W of the castle did not identify any anomalies of a clearly archaeological origin. The gradiometer data is dominated by responses from modern debris, while the resistance data appears to be dominated by natural variations associated with shallow bedrock and changes in the loch shoreline.

Archive: Rose Geophysical Consultants

Funder: CFA Archaeology on behalf of HES

Susan Ovenden - Rose Geophysics

(Source: DES, Volume 19)

NN 13287 27626 A walkover assessment was undertaken,

February – March 2018, complemented by historic map

and documentary research, of selected areas of the wooded

landscape around Kilchurn Castle (PIC080), originally a

property of the Earls of Breadalbane. The objective was to

enhance the understanding of the properties relationship

with the diverse wooded landscape around the N end of Loch

Awe, including both economic and aesthetic aspects.

Four distinct areas were assessed: Kilchurn Castle and its

peninsula; Portbeg and the oak woodlands at Kinachreachan;

Ardteatle historic township and environs; and The Pass of

Brander oakwoods.

The wood on the castle peninsula is a semi-natural wet

wood, dominated by willow, with the grown-out remnants of

a hedge on its E side. Loch water levels are lower now than

in the past, and the castle knoll would have been an island

when it was in use. To the E of the castle at Portbeg, on the

E loch shore, historically the castle’s mains farm, there are

several historic plantations with enclosing dykes, including

an attractive loch-side beech knoll of probable 18th-century

origin, and a number of old oak plantations. The latter are

not on Roy’s mid-18th-century map, but are on the 1st Edition

OS 6" map, and therefore originate in the late 18th or early

19th century. LiDAR survey by HES assisted in tracing the

plantation dykes and other archaeological features in areas

where they were hidden within dense modern conifer stands.

The Ardteatle area, further S on the E shore, has many

interesting veteran trees around the ruined settlement

remains, to the E of the Old Military Road, including an

ancient gean probably planted on the yard dyke of a now

ruinous cottage. Nearby, just W of that old road, is a quite

different enclosure in which massive old open-grown oaks,

recently made visible by the felling of the modern conifers

planted into them, indicate the possible location of the Earl’s

17th-century park, mentioned in the estate records as being

established at Ardteatle then. Many of the oaks have massive

fused multiple stems, indicative of graze-damaged coppice

and are an important biocultural survival.

On the W side of the loch, close to the castle, there are

extensive relict wood pastures, including a particularly diverse

one on the steep slopes at Creag a’ Chuil, where the ancient

trees are interspersed with traces of settlement and possible

charcoaling platforms. Among the tree types present are treeform

hazels, like the famous examples at Glen Finglas. A little

further S, at Coille Leitire, above the railway line, there is

extensive old oak coppice, with many more better-preserved

charcoal platforms. These woods would have fed fuel to

Bonawe and the other iron furnaces in the area in the 18th and

19th centuries. The HWA evidence highlights the continued use

and development of the estate’s wooded landscape elements

after the occupation of the castle ceases in the mid-18th century.

Archive: NRHE (intended). Report: Angus HER

Funder: Historic Environment Scotland

Coralie Mills and Peter Quelch – Dendrochronicle for CFA

Archaeology Ltd

(Source: DES, Volume 19)

NN 13287 27626 A programme of geophysical survey was undertaken. 25 February – 1 March 2018, within and around Kilchurn Castle. An area of 0.5 ha within the castle and over the peninsular to the W of the castle was surveyed. A combination of gradiometer, resistance and ground penetrating radar (GPR) surveys were undertaken. Survey to the E and N of the castle was not possible due to a combination of boggy and frozen ground.

Resistance survey within the courtyard of the castle detected numerous anomalies suggesting possible structural remains. Additional anomalies were detected, which may have an archaeological origin, but could equally be due to more modern features such as paths. GPR within the courtyard did not produce particularly clear responses and this is thought to be due to the combination of shallow remains and shallow bedrock, although there is some

correlation with the resistance survey data. Survey of the peninsula to the W of the castle did not identify any anomalies of a clearly archaeological origin. The gradiometer data is dominated by responses from modern debris, while the resistance data appears to be dominated by natural variations associated with shallow bedrock and changes in the loch shoreline.

Archive: Rose Geophysical Consultants

Funder: CFA Archaeology on behalf of HES

Susan Ovenden - Rose Geophysics

(Source: DES, Volume 19)