caithness-1911/05_032

Transcription

xxx -- HISTORICAL MONUMENTS (SCOTLAND) COMMISSION.

the upper floor. So similar are these two castles in character and
plan that it may safely be assumed that no long interval separates
the dates of their erection. Both properties belonged in the 14th
century to Rannald Cheyne, who died in 1350, and from him they
passed by marriage into the hands of the Sutherlands. Similar
in type, but less primitive, is the Castle of Braal (No. 95). In
its massive walls are a staircase and apartments, while its window
embrasures, furnished with stone seats, form in themselves small
rooms. The earliest record of Braal Castle is 1373. The many
inconveniences experienced by the occupants of the small rectangular
towers, with their scanty accommodation, led to a development of
their plan by the addition of a wing projecting at right-angles to
the main building, thus forming an L plan, and also by the erection
of outbuildings against the inner wall of the barmkyn, or court.
Though the L plan continued to be used as long as purely defensive
castles were erected, the courtyard, with its surrounding buildings, is
particularly characteristic of the period from 1400 to 1542. Of
castles built between these dates in Caithness, of which there are
now any substantial remains, we have Bucholie and Girnigoe
(Nos. 32 and 497), both with courtyards attached, and Ackergill
Tower (No. 494), retaining the simple rectangular form. Of these
Bucholie is probably the earliest. The keep is small and rude in its
masonry, while the passage leading through it to the courtyard beyond
is characteristic of the 15th century. Girnigoe probably owes its
origin to the first or second Sinclair, Earl of Caithness, and thus
dates from the second half of the 15th century. It has originally
been on an L plan, modified at a later date by the addition of a second
wing. Like Bucholie, access is gained by a passage directly through
the tower. Its complicated system of defence and singular situation
must in early times have rendered it almost impregnable, and now
distinguish it as one of the most remarkable castles in the North of
Scotland. The erection of Castle Sinclair in its outer ward early
in the 17th century must have added greatly to its importance.
The Tower of Ackergill, which probably dates from the end of
the 15th or beginning of the 16th century, though erected on the
rectangular plan, is on such a scale that the inconveniences of the
earlier structures of like form have been obviated. In its original
state it was no doubt surrounded by a moat, now filled in. Of castles
dating from the latter half of the 16th century there are Brims (No.
424), Dounreay (No. 343), Keiss (No. 498), and Barrogill (No. 31).
The two former present no features of particular interest. Keiss
stands on the edge of a cliff in a picturesque situation. In the
treatment of the corbelling round the base of its turret it shows the
modification of structural features to purely decorative detail, which
came into vogue towards the end of the 16th century. The defensive
character of the structure is less pronounced than in the earlier
examples, and the more purely domestic aspect is coming into
prominence. Barrogill, which is on a Z plan, show a still further
departure from the purely defensive type, and though the keep is
still maintained, a large mansion with spacious rooms indicating an
advanced degree of refinement has been added. This type of castle
is peculiar to a period of about fifty years at the end of the 16th
and commencement of the 17th century. One other castle remains