{{Short description|Tower keep in Scotland}} {{redirect|Ardvreck|the boarding school in Perthshire|Ardvreck School}} {{Use dmy dates|date=March 2020}} {{Infobox military installation | name = Ardvreck Castle | native_name = | partof = <!-- for elements within a larger site --> | location = Sutherland | nearest_town = <!-- used in military test site infobox --> | country = {{flag|Scotland}} | image =2011 Ardvreck Castle, Sutherland 2-06-2011 17-53-21.jpg | caption = Present day ruins of the castle | pushpin_map = Scotland Highland#United Kingdom | pushpin_map_caption = Location within Highland | coordinates = {{coord|58.166389|-4.994444|region:GB_type:landmark|display=inline,title}} | type = | code = <!--facility/installation code, applies to US --> | site_area = <!-- area of site m2, km2 square mile etc --> | height = <!-- height of tallest part, not above sea level --> | ownership = <!-- government department such as the MoD or the United States DoD --> | operator = <!-- where different from ownership such as the RAF or the USAF --> | controlledby = <!-- such as RAF Bomber Command or the Eighth Air Force --> | open_to_public = | condition = Ruined | built = {{Start date|1490}} | builder = Clan MacLeod | used = | materials = Stone | fate = Destroyed in 1672 by Clan MacKenzie | battles = | events = | current_commander = <!-- current commander --> | past_commanders = <!-- past notable commander(s) --> | garrison = <!-- such as the 25th Bombardment Group --> | occupants = <!-- squadrons only --> | IATA = | ICAO = | FAA = | TC = | LID = | GPS = | WMO = | r1-number = | r1-length = <!-- {{Convert| |m|0}} --> | r1-surface = | h1-number = | h1-length = <!-- {{Convert| |m|0}} --> | h1-surface = | website = }} '''Ardvreck Castle''' is a castle, now ruinous, standing on a rocky promontory in Loch Assynt, Sutherland, Scotland, UK. The structure dates from about 1490 and is associated with the then landowners, the Macleods of Assynt.
== History of Ardvreck == The castle was built in the 15th century by the MacLeods of Assynt. It replaced Assynt Castle which was {{convert|4|mi|km|0|abbr=off|spell=on}} northwest of Inchnadamph.<ref name="Coventry">{{cite book |last=Coventry |first=Martin |year=2008 |title=Castles of the Clans: The Strongholds and Seats of 750 Scottish Families and Clans |location=Musselburgh |publisher=Goblinshead |pages=391–392 |isbn=978-1-899874-36-1}}</ref>
Ardvreck is notable as the place where the royalist James Graham, 1st Marquess of Montrose was handed over in 1650 to the Covenanter forces by MacLeod, Laird of Assynt after the Battle of Carbisdale.<ref name="Coventry"/> The true history of this event is unclear. One account is that MacLeod, loyal to the Covenanters, arrested the weary, fleeing, Montrose and held him. Another is that he provided comfortable shelter, but betrayed Montrose for a £25,000 reward.<ref>{{cite book |last=Wedgwood |first=C. V |authorlink=Veronica Wedgwood |year=1998 |title=Montrose |page=137 |location=Gloucester |publisher=Sutton Publishing |isbn=0750917539}}</ref><ref>{{cite book |last1=Keay |first1=John |last2=Keay |authorlink1=John Keay |first2=Julia |year=1994 |title=Collins Enclyclopaedia of Scotland |location=Hammersmith, London |publisher=HarperCollins Publisher |page=136 |isbn=0002550822}}</ref>
Clan Mackenzie attacked and captured Ardvreck Castle in 1672,<ref name="Coventry"/> and then took control of the Assynt lands. In 1726 they constructed a more modern manor house nearby, Calda House which takes its name from the Calda burn beside which it stands. A fire destroyed the house in 1737 and both Calda House and Ardvreck Castle stand as ruins today.<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://www.lochinver.bordernet.co.uk/places/ardvreck.html |title=Ardvreck Castle and Calda House, near Lochinver Scotland, Scottish Villages |access-date=15 November 2006 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060508062150/http://www.lochinver.bordernet.co.uk/places/ardvreck.html |archive-date=8 May 2006 |url-status=dead }}</ref> They are designated as scheduled monuments.<ref>{{Historic Environment Scotland|num=SM1895|desc=Ardvreck Castle|access-date=24 February 2019}}</ref><ref>{{Historic Environment Scotland|num=SM6533|desc=Calda House, house 475m SE of Ardvreck Castle, Inchnadamph|access-date=24 February 2019|fewer-links=yes}}</ref><gallery caption="Ardvreck on a misty day in July 2024"> File:Highland - Ardvreck Castle - 20240720211220.jpg|alt= File:Highland - Ardvreck Castle - 20240720210851.jpg File:Highland - Ardvreck Castle - 20240720211450.jpg File:Highland - Ardvreck Castle - 20240720211353.jpg|alt= File:Highland - Ardvreck Castle - 20240720211123.jpg File:Highland - Ardvreck Castle - 20240720211310.jpg </gallery>
== Architecture ==
thumb|Ardvreck Castle
The castle was a simple rectangular keep with a round staircase tower at the south-east angle. It was corbelled out on the upper floors to form square rooms, the small stair turret to these upper rooms being carried on the corbelling. There were three compartments on the ground floor which were all vaulted. There appear to have been four floors, and the first of these is also vaulted with the other floors being simply joisted. The castle also had several gunports.<ref>{{Historic Environment Scotland|cat=PLA |num=4660 |num2=NC22SW 2|desc=Ardvreck Castle|access-date=20 June 2025}}</ref>
==References== {{reflist}}
==External links== *{{Historic Environment Scotland|cat=PLA |num=310349|num2=NC22SW 27|desc=Ardvreck Castle}} *{{Historic Environment Scotland|cat=PLA |num=4661|num2=NC22SW 3|desc=Calda House}} *[https://360castles.com/ardvreck-castle Ardvreck Castle Virtual Tour]
{{Clan MacLeod}}
{{Authority control}}
Category:Buildings and structures in Sutherland Category:Castles in Highland (council area) + Category:Houses in Highland (council area) Category:Listed castles in Scotland Category:Scheduled monuments in Highland Category:Lowland castles