Achanduin Castle, (also known as Achadun Castle and Acha-Dun), is a

castle A castle is a type of fortified structure built during the Middle Ages predominantly by the nobility or royalty and by military orders. Scholars debate the scope of the word ''castle'', but usually consider it to be the private fortified r ...

, now in ruins, located about west of

Achnacroish Achnacroish ( gd, Achadh na Croise) is a hamlet on the Scottish island of Lismore. The harbour serves the ferry between Lismore and Oban. The hamlet has the island's primary school. A heritage centre and a church are within walking distance ...

on the north-western coastline of the island of Lismore, in

Argyll and Bute Argyll and Bute ( sco, Argyll an Buit; gd, Earra-Ghàidheal agus Bòd, ) is one of 32 unitary authority council areas in Scotland and a lieutenancy area. The current lord-lieutenant for Argyll and Bute is Jane Margaret MacLeod (14 July 2020) ...

Scotland Scotland (, ) is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Covering the northern third of the island of Great Britain, mainland Scotland has a border with England to the southeast and is otherwise surrounded by the Atlantic Ocean to the ...

. The castle overlooks

Loch Linnhe Loch Linnhe () is a sea loch on the west coast of Scotland. The part upstream of Corran is known in Gaelic as (the black pool, originally known as Loch Abar), and downstream as (the salty pool). The name ''Linnhe'' is derived from the Gaelic w ...

and

Bernera Island Bernera Island ( gd, Beàrnaraigh) or simply Bernera is a tidal island off Lismore, in Argyll, Scotland. History In the 6th century, Bernera was settled by monks of the Irish Culdee church under the leadership of St. Moluag. St. Columba used ...

. The ruins are thought to date back to the thirteenth century. Achanduin Castle had long been thought to have been built by the

Bishop of Argyll The Bishop of Argyll or Bishop of Lismore was the ecclesiastical head of the Diocese of Argyll, one of Scotland's 13 medieval bishoprics. It was created in 1200, when the western half of the territory of the Bishopric of Dunkeld was formed into t ...

, though recent research has proved this to be unlikely. The castle was likely built by the MacDougalls around 1290 who held it throughout the fourteenth century. The castle was also thought to have been held by the Bishops of Argyll until the mid sixteenth century. It is a

scheduled ancient monument In the United Kingdom, a scheduled monument is a nationally important archaeological site or historic building, given protection against unauthorised change. The various pieces of legislation that legally protect heritage assets from damage and d ...

Description of the ruins

The remains of the castle are seated on the summit of a limestone ridge on the north-western shore of Lismore. The south-west and south-east walls are collapsed though the north-east and a large part of the north-west wall still stand, to a maximum height of 6.7 metres. These curtain walls vary in thickness from to and enclose an area of about metres square. The enclosed area would have contained at least two ranges of buildings on either side of a small courtyard, the south-east range being the more substantial. During excavations of the site in 1970 and 1971, two doorways were found leading from the courtyard into the north-west range.

Archaeological Excavations

The castle was excavated by Dennis Turner, over six seasons between 1970 and 1975. These excavations took place mostly in August of each year and lasted a few weeks. Turner died before he could complete the writing of the excavation report and it was completed by David H Caldwell and Geoffrey P Stell using his notes. They noted that the excavations took place at a time before modern archaeological techniques so the notes were not always the easiest to understand. Caldwell and Stell note that Turner might have excavated a pre-castle structure. Also, that some pieces of worked stone of prehistoric type were found during the excavation, indicating that there may have been some prehistoric occupation on the hilltop.

History

Throughout the thirteenth century the

Diocese of Argyll The Diocese of Argyll was an ecclesiastical territory or diocese of Scotland in the Middle Ages. The Diocese was led by the Bishop of Argyll, and was based at Lismore. During the Scottish Reformation, the majority of the Scottish established ch ...

and the see of Lismore were in virtual poverty. It had once been thought that the

was the builder of Achanduin Castle, though recent research shows that neither the see or the Bishop at any time were wealthy enough to construct a castle. Recent research has points to the MacDougalls. Archaeological excavations show that Achanduin Castle was built about 1290, at a time when the Bishop of Argyll,

Laurence de Ergadia Laurence de Ergadia (d. 1299 × 1300) was a thirteenth-century Scottish bishop. Probably from the MacDougall kindred of Argyll, Laurence had become a Dominican friar and presumably university graduate before being elected Bishop of Argyll, ...

, was himself possibly a MacDougall. The first documentary evidence of the castle appears in a grant of lands dated 1304 at ''Achichendone'', when ''Eugenil de Ergadia'', Lord of Lorn, of ''Menderaloch'' and of ''Lesmor'' granted to Andrew, Bishop of Argyll lands next to the castle. This grant shows that Achanduin Castle was in the hands of a MacDougall at that time. The MacDougalls were forfeit in 1308, and losing most of their lands following the

Battle of the Pass of Brander The Battle of the Pass of Brander in Scotland forms a small part of the wider struggle known as the Wars of Scottish Independence, and a large part of the civil war between the Bruce and Balliol factions, a parallel and overlapping conflict. ...

and the loss of their stronghold of

Dunstaffnage Castle Dunstaffnage Castle ( gd, Caisteal Dhùn Stadhainis) is a partially ruined castle in Argyll and Bute, western Scotland. It lies NNE of Oban, situated on a platform of conglomerate rock on a promontory at the south-west of the entrance to Loc ...

. Of records concerning their redistributed possessions, Lismore is never mentioned. Therefore, it is possible that the MacDougalls were then allowed to retain the island. However, Lismore Isle was the dowry for Juliana MacDougall when she married Alexander MacDonald, who became Lord of the Isles in 1293. The MacDougalls, supported by John Balliol, then King of Scots, refused to turn Lismore over to Alexander MacDonald and in June 1292, he appealed to King Edward I who encouraged such appeals. King Edward agreed with the MacDonalds.Beam, Amanda The Political Ambitions and Influences of the Balliol Dynasty, c. 1210-1364, May 2005. Archaeological evidence suggests that there was little occupation at the castle from c.1400 to relatively modern times. It appears to have been used as a farmstead from the 17th to the 19th centuries. In 1451 John Maol (''John Alani de Lorn nominato Mak Dowil'') was granted Dunolly and other lands from

John Stewart John Stewart may refer to: Business * John Aikman Stewart (1822–1926), American banker * John Killough Stewart (1867–1938), businessman and philanthropist in Queensland, Australia * John K. Stewart (1870–1916), American entrepreneur and inve ...

, Lord of Lorn. Around this time it is believed the MacDougalls left Lismore for the mainland to build

Dunollie Castle Dunollie Castle (Scottish Gaelic: Caisteal Dhùn Ollaigh) is a small ruined castle located on a hill north of the town of Oban, on the west coast of Scotland in Argyll. The site enjoys views over towards the island of Kerrera and a view of the ...

. By 1452 The Bishop of Argyll seems to have had possession of Achanduin Castle and for a short time occupied it. It is suggested that the castle may have been given to the Bishopric at an earlier time, though there was not much use for it. The evidence shows at least that the Bishop of Argyll did not frequently visit Lismore.

Footnotes

{{Authority control Ruined castles in Argyll and Bute Clan MacDougall Lismore, Scotland Scheduled Ancient Monuments in Argyll and Bute