Campbell seizure of Dunoon Castle 1490

Who Fought

History & Significance

Dunoon Castle is a ruined castle in Dunoon, Argyll and Bute, Scotland. The castle sat upon a cone-shaped hill about 80 feet (24 m) high. Very little remains of the castle's structure today. Castle House, built in 1822, stands a few yards north of the castle ruins.

The remains of the castle, and a surrounding area, are a scheduled monument.

The castle was a royal residence in the 14th century, and in the 17th century fell into ruins.

The castle is first recorded in the thirteenth century. It may have been constructed in the context of the Stewarts increasing authority in Cowal.

In 1333, Dunoon Castle was besieged and taken by Edward Balliol, who surrendered it to Edward III of England. An insurrection ensued, driving Balliol out of Scotland. Robert the Steward, later Robert II of Scotland, arrived in Cowal and, with the help of Colin Campbell of Lochow, retook the castle.

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 keeper of the castle in 1472. By the 15th century it was a royal castle with the Campbells as hereditary keepers.

In 1544, Dunoon Castle was besieged by Matthew Stewart, 4th Earl of Lennox. Having eighteen ships and 800 soldiers provided by Henry VIII of England, Lennox succeeded in taking the Castles of Dunoon and Rothesay. Archibald Campbell, 4th Earl of Argyll, was driven out, sustaining great loss.

Mary, Queen of Scots, stayed at the castle from 27 to 29 July 1563 while visiting her half-sister, Jean Stewart, Countess of Argyll, and granted several charters during her visit. Food consumed during her visit to Dunoon was recorded in her household book. Mary's rebels met up at Dunoon during the Chaseabout Raid. Her brother the Earl of Moray's faction in Argyll included the Duke of Châtelherault, and the Earls of Argyll and Rothes. They left for Ayrshire on 18 August 1565.

In 1646, the Dunoon massacre occurred in which the Campbells slaughtered men, women, children, and infants of Clan Lamont. After the restoration of the episcopacy under Charles II, Dunoon became the residence of the bishops of Argyll for a time.

During World War I and II, military fortifications were established at Dunoon Castle for the defense of the River Clyde and the shipbuilding industry.

The ground they fought on

The site of Campbell seizure of Dunoon Castle 1490 lies on Southern Highland Group, bedrock that formed in the Middle Cambrian. The rock here is pelite.

Frequently Asked Questions

Scheduled Monuments near Campbell seizure of Dunoon Castle 1490

Dunloskin Wood, platforms and charcoal production area

Scheduled monument · ~1.1 mi

Dunloskin Wood is a platforms and charcoal production area located in Argyllshire, Scotland. The site comprises earthwork platforms positioned on bedrock of the Southern Highland Group, comprising psammite and pelite formations dating to the Middle Cambrian period. These metamorphic rocks would h…

Ardnadam, settlement, chapel and enclosure 215m W of The Larches

Scheduled monument · Medieval · ~1.5 mi

Ardnadam is a medieval settlement, chapel and enclosure located in Argyllshire, Scotland, 215 metres west of The Larches. The site sits upon bedrock of the Southern Highland Group, comprising psammite and pelite rocks that formed during the Middle Cambrian period. This geological foundation of me…

Adam's Cave, chambered cairn, Ardnadam

Scheduled monument · Neolithic · ~2 mi

Adam's Cave is a Neolithic chambered cairn situated in Argyllshire, Scotland. This monument represents the monumental burial practices of early farming communities who settled in western Scotland during the Neolithic period, roughly 4000 to 3000 BC. The cairn sits upon bedrock of the Southern Hig…

Kilmun Collegiate Church, tower and burial ground

Scheduled monument · ~3.2 mi

Kilmun Collegiate Church, tower and burial ground is a medieval ecclesiastical monument located in Argyllshire, Scotland, comprising a substantial stone tower and associated burial ground. The site sits upon bedrock of the Southern Highland Group, formed during the Middle Cambrian period and comp…

Knockamillie Castle

Scheduled monument · ~3.8 mi

Knockamillie Castle is a sixteenth-century stronghold located in Argyllshire, Scotland. The castle represents a defensive structure of the early modern period, a time when fortified residences remained important to territorial lords in the Scottish Highlands and Islands. The site survives as a ru…

Larkfield Battery, anti-aircraft battery 175m ESE of 1 Hilltop Road

Scheduled monument · ~4.6 mi

Larkfield Battery is an anti-aircraft battery situated in Renfrewshire, Scotland, 175 metres east-south-east of Hilltop Road. The site occupies ground underlain by sandstone, siltstone and mudstone of the Inverclyde Group, deposits formed in the Osagean period. This substantial bedrock foundation…

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Battles near Campbell seizure of Dunoon Castle 1490

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• Dunoon Castle · Wikipedia
• Dunoon and Castle, pp.121-126 · Random Scottish History