Scotland · Still standing
Barcaldine Castle
Barcaldine Castle is an early 17th-century stone tower house built around 1601. The building presents as a tall, compact tower block with corbelled round angle turrets and prominent chimney stacks set in managed lawns beside a low stone boundary wall.
First raised
1601
Its prime
1601
Today
Still standing
As it stood in 1601
What Barcaldine Castle looked like in its prime.
A tall rectangular tower house of roughly coursed grey stone with two corbelled round turrets capped by conical slate roofs, a steep slate main roof and several tall square chimneys. The principal façades show small, vertical windows with metal bars and a mix of exposed masonry and harled (rendered) wall surfaces. The castle stands on a lawned setting with a low drystone wall in the foreground and distant water and hills on the skyline; the structure is complete and roofed.
Its story
The story of Barcaldine Castle.
Barcaldine Castle, the Black Castle, was built by Duncan Campbell of Glenorchy between 1601 and 1609, a compact tower house nine miles north of Oban with corbelled round angle turrets, a bottle dungeon and two hidden passageways, looking out over Loch Creran to the Glen Coe mountains.
It fell into disrepair in the later 19th century, when Barcaldine House became the principal residence of the family. The castle survives intact, its tall tower block and prominent chimney stacks set in managed lawns behind a low stone boundary wall, and has been owned since November 2009 by David Whitehead.
Step inside
7 places to explore in 1601.
The record describes 7 distinct spots at Barcaldine Castle, including the full exterior approach. Create your own photoreal reconstruction and explore every one, more scenes means more rooms, more angles, and more of the place to stand in.
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Recreate Barcaldine Castle with AI to explore it.
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Clans who held Barcaldine Castle.
The families that held Barcaldine Castle for a decade or more across its history, follow a name to its clan.
Built by Duncan Campbell of Glenorchy, 1601–1609; the family's seat until Barcaldine House superseded it in the 19th century.
From the archive
Barcaldine Castle on paper: the measured plan and period views.
The survey plan and photographs below are the ground truth this page's reconstructions are checked against, drawn and photographed while the castle was still a working garrison. Every image is public-domain or openly licensed, with its source named.
Fig. 571. — Barcaldine Castle. Plan of First Floor.
1889 · MacGibbon & Ross, vol. 3 (1889)
Public domain
Fig. 572. — Barcaldine Castle. View from South-East.
1889 · MacGibbon & Ross, vol. 3 (1889)
Public domain
Fig. 573. — Barcaldine Castle. Arms over Doorway.
1889 · MacGibbon & Ross, vol. 3 (1889)
Public domain
