Castle Sween

On the east side of Loch Sween, this castle guards the mouth of the Loch, looking past nearby islands and down the Sound of Jura towards Ireland. It is one of the earliest stone castles in western Scotland, having been built towards the end of the 1100s.

 

Castle Sween, now ruinous, was probably built in the mid-12th century, the main structure, a quadrangular enclosing wall is 6 - 7 feet thick. Three main ranges of timber buildings were originally disposed round a small court. The castle is Norman in appearance.

 

The annexe to the W and its round tower - Macmillan's Tower - were probably added in the early 14th century, while the rectangular keep was probably added to the NE corner in the 16th century. There is also a well, doubtless original, in the NE angle of the courtyard.
The castle was beseiged by Robert the Bruce, and was finally destroyed by Sir Alexander Macdonald in 1647.

 

Two small-scale excavations within the east half of the courtyard of this castle revealed a sequence of domestic and service ranges, culminating in an elaborate industrial complex, all of which broadly echoed the succession of families associated with the site.

 

The original simple enclosure castle as occupied by the MacSweens until the mid 13th century may have featured some form of tower-like structure in the NE corner of the enclosure. The site was then extensively remodelled under the Stewart Earls of Menteith, who built two towers outside the W wall of the primary enclosure, and a stone-built N range inside (c.1262 to 1362).

 

When the site was later occupied by the MacNeills of Gigha on behalf of the Lords of the Isles, a substantial E range with first floor hall, was built within the courtyard, to compliment the new NE or 'Macmillans Tower' during the 15th century. Finally, with the discovery of a series of kiln-like structures and ancillary sheds and compounds, it was evident that up to the end of its active life, under the Earls of Argyll c.1650, the E courtyard was largely cleared of major buildings and the area given over to industrial usage, probably metal working.

 

Rating: 3/5

 

How to get there: Remains are near Tayvallich & Achnamara, Knapdale.

 

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