Description

The monument comprises the remains of remains of Kilmory Castle, which stand above a steep slope, next to modern farm buildings.

The visible remains consist of one end of the bottom floor of a rectangular, rubble built building. To this has been added a circular corner tower which similarly now stands to only one storey in height. There is no access to the tower from the main block at ground floor level. The rectangular block is aligned NW-SE with the corner tower on its E corner, the S and W corners being absent.

There are two surviving circular gun loops in the tower. The rectangular section of the building was built using clay rather than the lime mortar used in the corner tower.

The castle belonged to the Jamiesons of Kilmory and, according to the New Statistical Account, formerly consisted of several buildings and towers.

The area to be scheduled is defined by the line of the gable of the modern farm building to the SE, a line 2m out from the NE wall of the rectangular block and the curving top of the rocky slope which runs to the west of the walls. The area is irregular in shape, measuring approximately 20m N-S by 10m, and is marked in red on the accompanying map extract.

Source: Historic Environment Scotland

Statement of Scheduling

This monument is of national importance as the remains of a medieval castle. Its position on the top of a steep slope suggests that defence was always an important consideration, even before the addition of the corner tower. It is of particular interest in that the walls of the main block are clay bonded. The remains are of importance to the history of Bute as well as that of medieval building techniques.

Source: Historic Environment Scotland

Sources

Bibliography

RCAHMS records the monument as NS 06 SE 10.

Source: Historic Environment Scotland