Eilean Donan Castle At Night

Title

Eilean Donan Castle At Night

Artist

John Frid

Medium

Photograph - Photograph

Description

Eilean Donan means the island of Donan, Eilean being the Gaelic word for island. Bishop Donan was the first known settler on the island and he set up a religious cell sometime during the 7th century. However, the first castle wasn’t built until sometime later in the 13th century. The original structure was a protection against the Vikings who settled, raided and controlled much of the area.

Over the years the castle evolved, expanding and contracting at various times. In 1719 the castle was to suffer a terrible blow. At this time the castle was occupied by 46 Spanish soldiers who were The Bridge to Eilean Donan Castlesupporting the Jacobite uprising. This unrest led the Royal Navy to send ships to the area. Early on the morning of Sunday 10 May, HMS Worcester, HMS Flamborough and HMS Enterprise, anchored off Eilean Donan. When a boat was sent ashore under a flag of truce, it was fired upon from the castle. The boat was recalled and all three ships opened fire on the castle in a bombardment that lasted over an hour. The next day a further cascade reigned down on the castle while a landing party was prepared. That evening, under the cover of an intense volley or fire, a detachment went ashore and captured the castle against little resistance. The naval force spent the next two days using 27 barrels of gunpowder (which was part of a magazine of 343 barrels stored at the castle) to demolish the castle.

Following the demolition of the castle it laid virtually untouched for almost 200 years. In 1911 Lt Colonel John Macrae-Gilstrap bought the island, and along with his Clerk of Works, Farquar Macrae, he spent the next 20 years reconstructing and restoring the castle to her former glory. The castle was rebuilt according to the surviving ground plan of earlier phases and was formally completed in the July of 1932.

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July 17th, 2017

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