Inveraray Castle – A Beautiful Scottish Castle

Inveraray Castle is the ancestral home of the Duke of Argyll, Chief of the Clan Campbell and is an iconic, must-see visitor attraction on the West Coast of Scotland. We are proud that Hall of Names prints are available to the castle’s visitors. Many thousands of whom travel to Inveraray from all around the world.

History

A castle has been standing on the shores of Loch Fyne since the 1400s. However,  the impressive castle we know today was inspired by a sketch by Vanbrugh. He was the architect of Blenheim Palace and Castle Howard in the 1700s.

Vanbrugh died soon afterwards, but the great architect’s germ of an idea became the base of the house which the 2nd Duke was eventually to build.

The foundation stone was laid in 1746 and what followed was the construction – to a design by the architects Roger Morris and William Adam – of a truly modern, baroque, Palladian and Gothic-style castle, architecturally before its time.

Both Morris and Adam died before Inveraray Castle was finished and Adam’s sons, John and Robert, brought the castle to completion 43 years after the first stone was laid.

The Famous Fire

The Inveraray Castle we know today was the result of a fire in 1877. This resulted in the addition of the third floor and conical roofs on the corner towers. Boasting an illustrious catalogue of guests dating back to the 16th Century. The Argyll Estates themselves cover an area in excess of 50,000 acres. This offers some of the finest hill and woodland stalking available in Scotland.

In 1562, Mary Queen of Scots visited the Estate as a guest of Archibald, 5th Earl of Argyll and shot deer in Glen Shira. The Duke of Argyll explains what the family seat means to him. “History is often lost through the years. But here at Inveraray we have, over the decades, chronicled the past in order to share it with future generations. We have taken great pride in our achievements, yet are conscious of our mistakes. And of course, this reflects in our family motto ‘Ne Obliviscaris’”.

To find out more, you can of course call the Inveraray Castle direct on 01499 302203 or visit the website here, or the castle’s facebook page here. To discover more about our Scottish Clan histories, click here.

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