Dunnottar Castle

For the ship, see RMS Dunottar Castle.

Dunnottar Castle
Dùn Fhoithear
Near Stonehaven, Aberdeenshire, Scotland
Dunnottar Castle
Shown within Scotland
Type	L-Plan
Coordinates	56°56′N 2°11′W / 56.94°N 2.19°W / 56.94; -2.19Coordinates: 56°56′N 2°11′W / 56.94°N 2.19°W / 56.94; -2.19
Built	c.1200-1600
In use	Until 1718
Current condition	Ruined
Current owner	Dunecht Estates
Open to the public	Yes

Dunnottar Castle (from Scottish Gaelic Dùn Fhoithear, "fort on the shelving slope"^[1]) is a ruined medieval fortress located upon a rocky headland on the north-east coast of Scotland, about two miles (3 km) south of Stonehaven. The surviving buildings are largely of the 15th–16th centuries, but the site is believed to have been an early fortress of the Dark Ages. Dunnottar played a strategic role in the history of Scotland from the Middle Ages through to the Enlightenment, because of the location: it overlooked the shipping lanes to northern Scotland; and is situated on a narrow coastal terrace that controlled land access to the coastal south via Portlethen Moss to Aberdeen during the medieval period.^[2] The site, owned by private interests, is open to the public, visited annually by hundreds of thousands of tourists.

The ruins of the castle are spread over 3 acres (1.2 ha), surrounded with steep cliffs that drop to the North Sea 50 metres (160 ft) below. The L plan castle is accessed via a narrow strip of land, joining the mainland to a steep path leading up to the gatehouse. The cliff and headland formations, which extend to the north and south, is a notable bird sanctuary to pelagic birds.

Site

Dunnottar has eleven buildings built between the 13th and 17th centuries. The dominant building, viewed from the land approach, is the 14th century keep or tower house, which shows damage from Cromwell's cannon bombardment. The other principal buildings are the 17th century chapel; a quadrangle structure on the east side; and the "Whigs Vault", shaped in a barrel vault design, which was the setting of a 17th century mass imprisonment.

There are two entrances for the castle. The first is through the well-defended main gate set in a cleft in the rock, where attackers would have been assaulted by defenders. The second access is through a rocky cove, the aperture to a marine cave on the north side of the Dunnottar cliffs. From here a steep path leads to the cliff top, which is the well fortified postern gate.

Middle Ages

Possibly the earliest written reference to the site is to be found in the Annals of Ulster which records a siege of Dún Fother in 681. Dunnottar is also mentioned as a site for a battle between King Donald II and the Danish Vikings in 900 AD. A raid into Scotland via land and sea by King Aethelstan of Wessex in 934 included an attack on Dunnottar. William the Lion used Dunnottar as an administrative complex. King Domnall II was the first man to have been called rí Alban (i.e. King of Alba), when he died at Dunnottar in 900 AD. All his predecessors styled themselves as either King of the Picts or King of Fortriu. Such an apparent innovation in the Gaelic chronicles is construed by some^[who?] to spell the birth of Scotland.

William Wallace is said to have led the Scots to victory over the English at Dunnottar in 1296. The outcome was completed by Wallace's imprisonment and incineration of the defeated English soldiers in the castle church.

By 1336 the resources of Edward III of England ordered Willam Sinclair, 8th Baron of Roslin to sail eight ships to the partially ruined Dunnottar for the purpose of rebuilding and fortifying to use as a forward resupply base for the northern campaign. Sinclair took with him 160 soldiers, horses, and a corps of masons and carpenters.^[3] The English efforts were undone the same year when the Scottish Regent Sir Andrew Moray led a Scottish force that captured and again destroyed the defences of Dunnottar. By the close of the 14th century, Dunnottar was firmly under Scottish control, under the Clan Keith, whose chiefs were hereditary Earls Marischal of Scotland. The castle was rebuilt and augmented over generations by the Earls Marischal, including a large scale reconstruction under George Keith, 5th Earl Marischal (d. 1623), founder of Marischal College, Aberdeen (1593).

16th and 17th centuries

The castle, viewed from below

Early in the 16th century the Keiths added a new block to the east of the keep. Mary, Queen of Scots, visited Dunnottar in 1562 and again in 1564. In 1575 a stone gatehouse was constructed, which serves as the present day visitor's entrance. James VI was in residence for a portion 1580. From 1580 to 1650 the Earl Marischals converted a medieval style fortress into a decorative castle, constructing ranges of edifices around a quadrangle on the northeast. These resulted in luxurious living quarters. Between 1582 and 1584 a west wing to the fortress was erected. Also, during the 16th century, a new chapel was introduced. Then, early in the 17th century two other wings to the chapel were added.

In 1639 the owner of Dunnottar was William Keith, 7th Earl Marischal, who that year joined the Covenanters, in opposition to the established Episcopal Church and consequently to Charles I himself. James Graham, 1st Marquess of Montrose, an ally of Marischal, attempted to return him to the Royalists. Unsuccessful in his attempt, Montrose attacked the fortress, and set fire to the fields. Nonetheless, Marischal held the fortress which sustained structural damage. Simultaneously the Covenanters met at a conference in nearby Muchalls Castle. Events at Dunnotar and Muchalls Castles were important during the English Civil War, and played a role in the reconciliation between the monarchy and the Covenanters.

King Charles II was received in a visit to Earl Marischal in 1650; however, in 1651 the English General Overton began a siege of Dunnottar seeking the prize of Scotland's Regalia, the royal crown, sword and sceptre used in the coronation of Charles II at Scone Palace. The Dunnottar fortress was defended by a small garrison of approximately 70 men. The small garrison held out against the beseiging army for 8 months until heavy cannon were brought up. After 10 days of bombardment Governor Sir George Ogilvy of Barras surrendered to Overton's predecessor, General Morgan; however, the English were denied the Regalia, smuggled away during the siege by Anne Lindsay, related to Ogilvy by marriage.^[4] The Honours of Scotland being hidden below the floor of Kineff Parish Church where they remained for 11 years.^[5]

In 1685, during the rebellion of Argyll and Monmouth, 122 men and 45 women were herded into the dungeon known as the "Whigs Vault" in Dunnottar fortress. They were detained there because of their refusal to acknowledge the king's supremacy in spiritual matters. 25 of the prisoners escaped, however 2 fell from the cliffs to their deaths doing so and a further 15 were recaptured. 37 also capitulated and after taking oaths of allegiance they were released. It is known that a further 5 perished in the prison, although accounts of those numbers vary greatly. The survivors were transported to the West Indies, although it is believed that approximately 70 of them died of fever either during the voyage or shortly after arrival.^[6]

Jacobite era

Both the Jacobites and Hanoverians used Dunnottar Fortress. In 1689 during Viscount Dundee's campaign, fourteen suspected Jacobites from Aberdeen were held in the fortress for approximately a year, including George Liddel, professor of mathematics. In 1715 the Dunnotar cannons were utilized by the Jacobites; following this uprising all the possessions of the Earl Mariscal were forfeit, and the fortress was dismantled three years later.

Sir Patrick Keith-Murray

The castle of Dunottar, was sold by Sir Patrick Keith-Murray, Bart., in July 1873, to Major Innes, of Cowie and Raemoir, for about £80,000. ^[7])

Cowdray family

After the seizure of Dunnottar from the Earl Marischals, the castle was neglected until it was purchased by the Cowdray family in 1925. The 1st Viscountess Cowdray embarked on a programme of repair. Since that time the Castle has remained in the Cowdray (Pearson) family, and has been open to visitors.

The Hon Charles Anthony Pearson, the younger son of the Third Viscount Cowdray, currently owns and runs Dunnottar Castle which is part of the larger Dunecht Estates. Dunecht Estates extends to 53,000 acres (210 km²) and comprises seven different Estates – Dunecht Estate, Ramoir and Campfield Estate, Dunnottar Castle, Forest of Birse, Edinglassie Estate, West Durris Estate and Bucharn Estate.

Access and local setting

There are two access trails to Dunnottar. The first is an 800 metres (2,600 ft) steep footpath with modern staircases connecting the castle to a car park along the coastal road (that connects to the A92). The second is a 3 kilometres (1.9 mi) path from a street behind Stonehaven Harbour going south along the cliff top to the castle. This path is narrow and steep in places, but offers marine views. The castle is open to the public on a daily basis.

Media coverage

Portions of the 1990 film Hamlet starring Mel Gibson and Glenn Close were shot there. An episode of The US Television show The Amazing Race featured Dunnottar Castle.

In summer 2009, a landscape photograph of the castle was chosen as one of the desktop wallpaper images included in the 'United Kingdom' desktop theme in Microsoft operating system Windows 7, thus bringing an image of the castle to millions of desktop PCs.

On November 30th 2010, a photo of the castle was the featured on the Bing (search engine) homepage.

See also

• Allardice Castle
• Cowie Castle
• Stonehaven Tolbooth
• Christian Fletcher
• Charles Anthony Pearson
• Dunecht Estates
• Dunnottar Parish Church

References

1. ^ The Edinburgh Companion to the Gaelic Language, Edinburgh University Press, 2010, p 8
2. ^ C.Michael Hogan, History of Muchalls Castle, Lumina Press, Aberdeen (2005)
3. ^ Sumption, Jonathan, The Hundred Years War, University of Pennsylvania Press (1991)
4. ^ Nigel Tranter, The Fortified House in Scotland
5. ^ http://www.dunnottarcastle.co.uk
6. ^ [1]
7. ^ Epitaphs & inscriptions from burial grounds & old buildings in the north-east of Scotland, with historical, biographical, genealogical, and antiquarian notes, also, an appendix of illustrative papers,EDINBURGH: EDMONSTON AND DOUGLAS. 1875.

External links

• Dunnottar Castle Photosynth
• Dunnottar Castle homepage
• Dunecht Estates homepage
• Dunnottar Castle at Undiscovered Scotland
• Ghosts, History, Photographs and Paintings of Dunnottar Castle from Aboutaberdeen.com