
Red Castle of Lunan is a ruined
fortified house
A fortified house or fortified mansion is a type of building which developed in Europe during the Middle Ages, generally with significant fortifications added. During the earlier Roman Empire, Roman period it was common for wealthy landowner ...
on the coast of
Angus, Scotland
Angus (; ) is one of the 32 Local government in Scotland, local government council areas of Scotland, and a Lieutenancy areas of Scotland, lieutenancy area. The council area borders Aberdeenshire, Dundee City (council area), Dundee City and Per ...
. It is about south-southwest of
Montrose.
History
The earliest structure on the site was built for King
William the Lion
William the Lion (), sometimes styled William I (; ) and also known by the nickname ; e.g. Annals of Ulster, s.a. 1214.6; Annals of Loch Cé, s.a. 1213.10. ( 1142 – 4 December 1214), reigned as King of Alba from 1165 to 1214. His almost 49 ...
in the late twelfth century to repel
Viking
Vikings were seafaring people originally from Scandinavia (present-day Denmark, Norway, and Sweden),
who from the late 8th to the late 11th centuries raided, pirated, traded, and settled throughout parts of Europe.Roesdahl, pp. 9� ...
invasions to Lunan Bay. Evidence shows, however, that William took up residence there on several occasions whilst on
hunting
Hunting is the Human activity, human practice of seeking, pursuing, capturing, and killing wildlife or feral animals. The most common reasons for humans to hunt are to obtain the animal's body for meat and useful animal products (fur/hide (sk ...
expeditions. In 1194, William conferred the castle, and land surrounding the village of
Inverkeilor
Inverkeilor is a village and parish in Angus, Scotland. It lies near the North Sea coast, midway between Arbroath and Montrose, Angus, Montrose. The A92 road now bypasses the village.
The population of Inverkeilor parish in the United Kingdom Cen ...
, east of the castle, to
Walter de Berkeley, the
Great Chamberlain. On his death, his lands of Inverkeilor, with the castle, passed to
Ingram de Balliol who had married the heiress of Walter. He rebuilt the castle and the property remained in that family for two generations. When his grandson, Ingram, who flourished between 1280 and 1284, died childless about 1305 the property passed to the son of Constance de Baliol, Henry de Fishburn.
The property was forfeit during the reallocation by
Robert the Bruce
Robert I (11 July 1274 – 7 June 1329), popularly known as Robert the Bruce (), was King of Scots from 1306 until his death in 1329. Robert led Kingdom of Scotland, Scotland during the First War of Scottish Independence against Kingdom of Eng ...
who in 1328 gave the castle to the
Earl of Ross
The Earl or Mormaer of Ross was the ruler of the province of Ross in northern Scotland, as well as chief of Clan Ross.
Origins and transfers
In the early Middle Ages, Ross was part of the vast earldom of Moray. It seems to have been made ...
. The castle is referred to as ''rubeum castrum'' (Latin for Red Castle) in deeds of 1286, referring to its burnished red
sandstone
Sandstone is a Clastic rock#Sedimentary clastic rocks, clastic sedimentary rock composed mainly of grain size, sand-sized (0.0625 to 2 mm) silicate mineral, silicate grains, Cementation (geology), cemented together by another mineral. Sand ...
, typical of this area.
In 1579, James, son of
Patrick Gray, 4th Lord Gray, married Lady
Elizabeth Beaton, who owned the castle, and fell in love with her daughter. After Lady Beaton threw him out, Gray (with his brother Andrew of Dunninald and John Ogilvy of Kynnody) laid siege to the castle for two years, ultimately burning the inhabitants out.
James VI
James may refer to:
People
* James (given name)
* James (surname)
* James (musician), aka Faruq Mahfuz Anam James, (born 1964), Bollywood musician
* James, brother of Jesus
* King James (disambiguation), various kings named James
* Prince Ja ...
ordered
John Erskine of Dun and his son Robert to bring siege engines and eject Gray, with the help of the townspeople of Dundee. On 28 February, a royal messenger was sent from
Stirling Castle
Stirling Castle, located in Stirling, is one of the largest and most historically and architecturally important castles in Scotland. The castle sits atop an Intrusive rock, intrusive Crag and tail, crag, which forms part of the Stirling Sill ge ...
to make a proclamation at the
mercat cross
A mercat cross is the Scots language, Scots name for the market cross found frequently in Scotland, Scottish cities, towns and villages where historically the right to hold a regular market or fair was granted by the monarch, a bishop or ...
es of Dundee, Forfar, Montrose, and Arbroath ordering:
all our sovereign lord's lieges between sixty and sixteen years ldto pass forward in warlike manner to the relief of the siege of the "hous of the Reidcastell", and to charge James Gray and John Ogilvie of Kynnody to leave the siege of the said house under the pain of treason.
John Erskine was asked to make an inventory of the goods in the castle and give safe conduct for Elizabeth Beaton's son, the poet
John Stewart of Baldynneis to the king's presence. In March 1582 Andrew Gray was forgiven for setting fire to the castle and its yards, and other crimes.
In 1590 it was reported that 12,000 gold crowns had been landed in the creek near the castle to aid the Catholic cause in Scotland. The castle slipped into decline, and, although it remained partially roofed until 1770, it was never again a residence of nobility. Its last inhabitant was the
minister of Inverkeilor, one James Rait.
Description
Red Castle stands on high ground overlooking Lunan Bay, on the
North Sea
The North Sea lies between Great Britain, Denmark, Norway, Germany, the Netherlands, Belgium, and France. A sea on the European continental shelf, it connects to the Atlantic Ocean through the English Channel in the south and the Norwegian Se ...
coast. Immediately to the north of Red Castle is the mouth of the
Lunan Water, with the hamlet of
Lunan beyond. Only a part of the fifteenth century rectangular tower, and the thick east
curtain wall remain. The tower in particular is in precipitous condition, being perched on the edge of the hill above Lunan Bay, and was described as being "in imminent danger of collapse" in 1999.
[
The castle is clearly visible from the ]A92 road
The A92 is a major road that runs through Fife, Dundee, Angus, Aberdeenshire, and Aberdeen City in Scotland. From south to north, it runs from Dunfermline to Blackdog, just north of Aberdeen.
History
The A92's original route in southern Fif ...
and the Edinburgh to Aberdeen line
Edinburgh is the capital city of Scotland and one of its 32 Council areas of Scotland, council areas. The city is located in southeast Scotland and is bounded to the north by the Firth of Forth and to the south by the Pentland Hills. Edinburgh ...
. The remains are those of the 15th-century keep
A keep is a type of fortified tower built within castles during the Middle Ages by European nobility. Scholars have debated the scope of the word ''keep'', but usually consider it to refer to large towers in castles that were fortified residen ...
, and the surrounding wall, or enceinte, which may date from the 13th century. A midden
A midden is an old dump for domestic waste. It may consist of animal bones, human excrement, botanical material, mollusc shells, potsherds, lithics (especially debitage), and other artifacts and ecofacts associated with past human oc ...
below the castle is continually eroding, yielding a number of artefacts now in the Montrose Museum
Montrose Museum opened in 1842 in Montrose, Angus, Scotland. The museum came into being when in 1841 the Montrose Natural History and Antiquarian Society started a fund to expand its space; in order to house its curiosities and wonders ranging f ...
.[ The castle is protected as ]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, visu ...
.
References
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External links
Red Castle 360° Virtual Tour
Castles in Angus, Scotland
Listed castles in Scotland
Ruins in Angus, Scotland
Scheduled monuments in Angus
House of Balliol