Achallader Castle (

Scottish Gaelic Scottish Gaelic ( gd, Gàidhlig ), also known as Scots Gaelic and Gaelic, is a Goidelic language (in the Celtic branch of the Indo-European language family) native to the Gaels of Scotland. As a Goidelic language, Scottish Gaelic, as well as ...

: ''Caisteal Achaladair'') is a ruined 16th-century tower house under the shadow of

Beinn Achaladair Beinn Achaladair is a Scottish mountain situated six kilometres north east of the hamlet of Bridge of Orchy. The mountain stands on the border of the Perth and Kinross and Argyll and Bute council areas. Overview Beinn Achaladair is a disti ...

, about 3.5 miles north of Bridge of Orchy,

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 ...

History

Achallader Castle was built near the northern end of Loch Tulla, close to the Bridge of Orchy, sometime in the 16th century and added to over the decades by various Clans; mainly the McHoughtons, of which Jimmy McHoughton is the youngest generation. It is accepted that the Fletcher's, known then as Macinleister "were the first to 'raise smoke and boil water' on the Braes of Glenorchy" although the MacGregors were also a ruling Clan of the area in the 15th century. Sir Duncan Campbell of Glen Orchy acquired the castle and surrounding lands through his treachery and betrayal of the Chief of the Mcinleisters in 1587. It is said that when the Fletchers owned Achallader, Sir Duncan Campbell - known as Black Duncan - ordered an English servant (or soldier) to pasture his horse in the Fletchers' corn. When warned off by the Fletchers - in Gaelic - he did not understand; when he did not remove his horse they shot him. Black Duncan, affecting concern that the Fletcher laird would be hanged for the killing, advised him to flee to France. Before he fled he passed the property to Black Duncan, supposedly until his return, to prevent it being forfeited to the Crown. The Fletchers never recovered the property. The

MacGregors Clan Gregor, also known as Clan MacGregor, () is a Highland Scottish clan that claims an origin in the early 9th century. The clan's most famous member is Rob Roy MacGregor of the late 17th and early 18th centuries. The Clan is also known to hav ...

burnt the castle in 1603. In the summer of 1683 a Commission for the settlement of the Highlands, led by Sir William Drummond of

Cromlix Cromlix House is a Victorian mansion near Kinbuck, Perthshire. A house was built on the site in 1874 as a family residence in the time of Captain Arthur Drummond Hay, but was destroyed by fire in 1878. It was replaced in 1880 by the house which ...

stayed at the castle, welcoming, among others McIain, a future victim, with his clan, of the massacre of Glencoe. In 1689, with

William III William III or William the Third may refer to: Kings * William III of Sicily (c. 1186–c. 1198) * William III of England and Ireland or William III of Orange or William II of Scotland (1650–1702) * William III of the Netherlands and Luxembourg ...

and

Mary II Mary II (30 April 166228 December 1694) was Queen of England, Scotland, and Ireland, co-reigning with her husband, William III & II, from 1689 until her death in 1694. Mary was the eldest daughter of James, Duke of York, and his first wife ...

now reigning, the McIain's returning from their victory at

Killiecrankie Killiecrankie (; ( gd, Coille Chreithnich, meaning aspen wood) is a village in Perth and Kinross, Scotland on the River Garry. It lies at the Pass of Killiecrankie, by the A9 road which has been bypassed since 1986. The village is home to a ...

and repulse at Dunkeld, pulled down what they could of the castle. It was never restored. In June 1691 John, Earl of Breadalbane, empowered by King William to treat with the clans, conferred with the highland chiefs in the ruin of the castle. By a mixture of threats, promises of bribes, and duplicity, he persuaded most of the clans - but not the McIains - to enter a treaty. This included secret provisions, which he later denied, including the right of the chiefs to request relief from their oaths of allegiance from the exiled

James VII and II James VII and II (14 October 1633 16 September 1701) was King of England and King of Ireland as James II, and King of Scotland as James VII from the death of his elder brother, Charles II, on 6 February 1685. He was deposed in the Glorious Re ...

. The promised bribes did not materialise.

Description

The castle formerly rose to three storeys and a garret, well defended by shot-holes. Now only two walls, one with a trace of

corbel In architecture, a corbel is a structural piece of stone, wood or metal jutting from a wall to carry a superincumbent weight, a type of bracket. A corbel is a solid piece of material in the wall, whereas a console is a piece applied to the s ...

ling, remain, sheltering the farm buildings of Achallader Farm. It is protected as a

scheduled 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 ...

References

{{reflist Ruined castles in Argyll and Bute Scheduled Ancient Monuments in Argyll and Bute