Scotland · Ruin
Dunoon Castle
Dunoon Castle sits on a cone-shaped hill above the town of Dunoon on the Firth of Clyde in Argyll and Bute, Scotland. Very little of the structure remains today; it was a royal residence in the later medieval period and had fallen into ruin by the 17th century. The site and its surrounding area are a scheduled monument.
Its prime
1563
Today
Ruin
As it stood in 1563
The shape it held in its prime.
Perched on a steep, cone-shaped hill about 80 feet (24 m) high, the castle occupies the summit as a compact masonry stronghold with a surrounding curtain and a central stone keep rising above the tree line. From the water it reads as a fortified mound directly above the shoreline, with complete rooflines and battlements at prime, and the town of Dunoon spread below along the Firth of Clyde. The hill gives the castle a commanding seaward silhouette.
Its story
The story of Dunoon Castle.
Dunoon Castle sat on a cone-shaped hill some eighty feet high above the Firth of Clyde, and was a royal residence in the 14th century. James III undertook to repay his Master of Household, Colin Campbell, 1st Earl of Argyll, for repairs to the castle in 1468, and made him its keeper in 1472.
In 1544 the castle was besieged by Matthew Stewart, 4th Earl of Lennox, and Archibald Campbell, 4th Earl of Argyll, was driven out, sustaining great loss. Mary, Queen of Scots stayed here from 27 to 29 July 1563, visiting her half-sister Jean Stewart, Countess of Argyll, and granted several charters during her visit.
In 1646 came the Dunoon massacre, in which the Campbells slaughtered men, women, children and infants of Clan Lamont. After the restoration of the episcopacy under Charles II, Dunoon became for a time the residence of the bishops of Argyll; the castle fell into ruins in the 17th century, and very little of the structure remains, with Castle House of 1822 standing a few yards north of the ruins.
Step inside
5 places to explore in 1563.
The record describes 5 distinct spots at Dunoon Castle — including 1 interior: summit courtyard and central keep. Create your own photoreal reconstruction and walk through every one — more scenes means more photos, more angles and more rooms of the immersive experience.
Create History
Recreate Dunoon Castle with AI to explore it.
The artist rebuilds it as it stood in 1563 — a photoreal walk that belongs to you alone. Pay with coins, no subscription needed.
Recreate Castle to Explore →Whose castle
Clans who held Dunoon Castle.
The families that held Dunoon Castle for a decade or more across its history — follow a name to its clan.
The Campbell Earls of Argyll were keepers of the royal castle from 1472, when James III appointed Colin Campbell, 1st Earl of Argyll.
