Ardmaddy Castle

A historical perspective, drawn from the Ordnance Gazetteer of Scotland: A Survey of Scottish Topography, Statistical, Biographical and Historical, edited by Francis H. Groome and originally published in parts by Thomas C. Jack, Grange Publishing Works, Edinburgh between 1882 and 1885.

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A

rdmaddy Castle, a seat of the Earl of Breadalbane in Kilbrandon parish, Argyllshire. It stands on a conically-shaped rising ground, at the head of a fine small bay, opposite Seil island, 2 miles N of Loch Melford and 12 SSW of Oban; commands an extensive prospect of sea and land; is a very old building; belonged to the Macdougals, Lords of Lorn; passed to the Campbells of the House of Argyll; was occupied and enlarged by Lord Neil Campbell, who suffered during the persecution in the time of Charles II., and was put to death in 1685; became the residence of Colin Campbell, the father of the late Marquis of Breadalbane, and was the birthplace of the marquis. Pennant was hospitably entertained at it, and wrote, in the form of a vision in it, his reflections on the social condition of the Highlands. A small cave, in the face of a rock, at a short distance from it, is pointed out as a hiding-place of Lord Neil Campbell in the time of the persecution. A belt of sea, called Clachan Sound, separates the mainland around the castle from Seil island; resembles the Kyles of Bent, but is narrower, more diversified, and more richly-scenic; and is spanned at the narrowest part by a one-arched bridge.

An accompanying 19th C. Ordnance Survey map is available.

Note: This text has been made available using a process of scanning and optical character recognition. Despite manual checking, some typographical errors may remain. Please remember this description dates from the 1880s; names may have changed, administrative divisions will certainly be different and there are known to be occasional errors of fact in the original text, which we have not corrected because we wish to maintain its integrity. This information is provided subject to our standard disclaimer.