Dunluce Castle

“ The erection of Dunluce Castle has been assigned to De Courcy, Earl of Ulster, and the castle was in the hands of the English in the fifteenth century. In 1580, or thereabouts, Colonel M’Donald, the founder of the family of MacDonnells of Antrim, came to Ireland to assist Tyrconnel against the O’Neill, a powerful chieftain, and was hospitably entertained by M’Quillan, the Lord of Dunluce,{225} whom he assisted in subduing his savage neighbours. ”

“ A little N. of the point is the romantic vale of Glenariff, containing red sandstone, porphyry intermixed with veins of jasper, and a curious breccia or pudding-stone; but, to the sentimental traveller it is even more interesting; for here he may conceive himself in the genuine country of Ossian, as nearly every romantic object in the vicinity bears a name connected with that hero.
Dunluce Castle, 5 m. W. of Bushmills.—The most striking ruin on the coast; on an isolated, abrupt rock, perforated by the waves which have formed under it a very spacious cavern. ”

“ On his return to Ireland, Antrim found his castle of Dunluce so dilapidated that he built a new residence for himself at Ballymagarry House, not far from the castle. He was a great lover of field-sports, and the remainder of his life is traditionally said to have been devoted to hunting and hawking. ”

“ Dunluce must have been built before the invention of what is now known as artillery. It is not possible to tell by the style of its architecture in what century it was built, for there was practically no change in the architecture of Irish castles for nearly four centuries. The art of castle-building was just as well understood in the twelfth century as in the fourteenth. Those who pretend to be able to tell within a century of the time when a castle was built, by examining its masonry and architecture, draw greatly on their imaginations. ”

“ Some are chained at the bottoms of the lakes, others buried under ground, others confined in mountain gorges; some hang on the sides of precipices, others are transfixed on the tree-tops, while others haunt the homes of their ancestors, all waiting till the penance has been endured and the hour of release arrives. The Castle of Dunseverick, in Antrim, is believed to be still inhabited by the spirit of a chief, who there atones for a horrid crime, while the castles of Dunluce, of Magrath, and many others are similarly peopled by the wicked dead. ”

“ To him who is familiar with its history, Dunnottar speaks with an audible voice; every cave has a record—every turret a tongue; his ear is struck with "wandering voices," and words that never die seem at every step to arrest his attention.
The Castle of Dunnottar—now the stately and magnificent ruin thus feebly sketched—stands on an isolated rock two hundred feet perpendicular, washed on three sides by the sea, and on the other separated from the adjacent land by a wide and deep chasm, from which by a gate in the wall, nearly forty feet high, there is an entrance to the fortress. ”

“ Its diamond-paned windows look into a wonderful courtyard, where you expect to see monks walking, or perhaps cavaliers; and on the hill above the garden, there are earthworks thrown up by Oliver Cromwell's army during the siege of Dunster Castle—the "Alnwick of the West." To-morrow, we are to be allowed, as a special favour, to see the inside of the Castle which towers up so grandly against the sky. It isn't open to the public; but Sir Lionel knows some relatives of the owners, so we are to be shown round. ”

“ A short distance from Navan, close to the village of Donoghmore, and standing on an eminence near the road leading to Slieve, is a round tower adorned with sculptures of the Crucifixion over the doorway. It is not in very good preservation; and the ancient Ch. attached to it is totally in ruins. Dunmore Castle is a building of very early date, but almost new built as a castellated house at the close of the 17th century, and now presenting a curious specimen of those turbulent times in its lofty towers and heavy walls, diversified only by a few windows close to the battlements. ”

“ To tell the truth, however, the scenery had to be taken very much for granted. One or two picturesque bits of [51] rocky coast were all that could be seen. ‘M‘Leod’s Maidens’ were ‘children of the Mist.’ Dunvegan Castle was nowhere. ”

“ We pass on the one shore the ruins of Strome Castle, and on the other the handsome residence of Duncraig, and the fishing [56] village of Plockton—a collection of weatherbeaten huts, but prettily situated on an outstanding promontory. As we emerge from the Loch, we have a very grand view of the Coolins, with the ‘Dunottar Castle’ lying under their shadow, and of the islands of Scalpa and Raasay—the latter crowned with a curious little table-mountain over which the Old Man of Storr is distinctly visible. ”

“ For the English King, Edward III., thought it no shame to war with bairns, and since he had been joined by that false loon, Edward Baliol, he had succeeded in taking many of our Scottish fortresses, including Edinburgh Castle, and in planting an English army in our midst.
Now the Castle of Dunbar, as all folk know, is a strong Castle, standing as it doth well out to sea, on a mass of solid rock, and connected with the mainland only by one narrow strip of land, which is defended by a drawbridge and portcullis, and walls of solid masonry. ”

“ These had enclosed a courtyard, of which the keep probably formed one side, the entrance being by a very steep ascent from the land side, which had formerly been cut across by a deep moat, and defended doubtless by outworks and a drawbridge. Beneath the castle stands the modern house of Dunolly,—a decent mansion, suited to the reduced state of the MacDougalls of Lorn, who, from being Barons powerful enough to give battle to and defeat Robert Bruce, are now declined into private gentlemen of moderate fortune. ”

“ We also saw the duke's private pier extending towards the open sea, and from this point we had a fine view of Dunrobin Castle, the duke's residence, which was the finest building we had seen, and not at all like the other gloomy-looking castles, being more like a palace. It is a happy blending of the German Schloss, the French château, and Scottish baronial architecture, with a fine display of oriel windows, battlements, turrets, and steeples, the great tower rising to a height of 135 feet above the garden terrace below. ”

“ Yet, beautiful in its wild original way though it may have been in those days, when the castle was a sea-fortress and the little town of Dunster something in the nature of a port, Dunster Castle in our own times, and on some evening of late summer, when the sun sets gloriously over the hills and irradiates the burnt-up grass to a golden tinge, affords a picture of surpassing beauty, viewed from the road to Minehead, across those level pastures. ”

“ One of the most shameful events in connexion with the story of the Castle is that of King John’s submission there to Pandulph, the Pope’s legate. Three years after this event, in the spring of 1216, Louis VIII of France, who had come over convoyed and supported by a powerful fleet under the command of Eustace the Monk, was before Dover Castle to besiege it after having landed at Stonor and captured Hastings and Rye. ”

“ The contemplation of Dunstanbrough Castle, like that of many similar edifices, the ruins of which still frown upon the promontories and headlands of our coast, cannot but awaken feelings little favourable to what are frequently called the "good old times." If we may compare what our ancestors have left with what the present generation is exerting itself to accomplish, antiquity has little to boast of. ”

“ After this, however, William Wallace returned to the siege of Dundee Castle, and brought that place under his sway; and, finding there much treasure of the King of England, he generously distributed it among his companions in arms. Thereupon so great fear and trembling fell upon the enemy, that some of the wardens of castles left their castles and fled from the fortified places, while others, after sacking the castles, demolished the strongest towers and withdrew to their own country. ”

“ Bring them here, I say, and let them try to batter down these walls, for in no other way wilt thou ever set foot in Dunbar Castle."
A subdued murmur, as if of applause, ran through the ranks of the armed men, who stood drawn up in a body behind the English Earl. For men love bravery wherever they chance to meet it, and I trow we must have seemed to them but a feeble company to take upon us the defence of the Castle, and to throw defiance in the teeth of their lord. ”

“ The road from here to Dunster is delightful, and as you approach the quaint old town—for it is a town, difficult as it is to believe it—the castle stands high up on the left embosomed in trees, a real fairy-tale sort of fortress it appears, with a watch-tower perched up on another wooded hill to balance it. The Luttrells have lived here for centuries, and during the Civil War it was for long a Royalist stronghold, held by Colonel Wyndham, the governor. ”

“ I can distinctly see from here one deeply cut, "Help—God or man," which tells its own story.
In this donjon—except the floors—there is nothing which could be consumed by fire. Its walls are nine feet in thickness at their base and six at the summit. The interior shows a deep well which communicated by subterranean passages with all the feudal châteaux in the neighbourhood, and was used to re-victual the Castle in times of siege. That this great tower was the royal residence in feudal days can be seen by the divisions on the walls. ”

“ Notwithstanding which it is now demolished, and all this glory lyeth in the dust, buried in its own ruins; there being nothing standing but a few broken walls, which seem to mourn their own approaching funerals." The walls are formed of slate, and appear to be rapidly decaying. The grounds round the castle consist of steep eminences, covered with oak and other trees. Even in the court, and remains of the fortress itself, trees of nearly a century's growth are flourishing in luxuriance, and compose, with the shrubs thickly scattered within the area, a scene highly beautiful. ”

“ The castle of Dunbar was one of the strongest and most important fortresses of Scotland. Patrick, Earl of Dunbar, was at this time fighting against his countrymen in the English army; but his countess, who held the castle, and whose hatred of the English was intense, entered into a treaty with the Scottish leaders to deliver it up to them. The offer was speedily taken advantage of, and the Earls of Ross, Atholl, and Monteith, with other powerful chiefs, and a body of thirty-one knights, and a number of foot, took possession of the castle. ”

“ The roof itself consists of overhanging pillars; and every time that the waves come in with a roaring sound, the roof, the caverns and the thousand pillars return the sound increased tenfold, and the effect is imposing.
Before we left Oban we saw Dunolly Castle, now all in ruins, about which Sir W. Scott says, that "a more delightful and romantic spot can scarcely be conceived;" as well as the ruins of the Dunstaffnage castle, situated on a bold rock, about three or four miles from Oban, which is said to have been the seat of the Scottish monarchy until the overthrow of the Picts. ”

“ The principal buildings are the parish church, well-placed on a hill overlooking the pier, convalescent homes, Cottage and Victoria fever hospitals, and the town house. On a conical hill above the pier stand the remains of Dunoon Castle, the hereditary keepership of which was conferred by Robert Bruce on the family of Sir Colin Campbell of Loch Awe, an ancestor of the duke of Argyll. It was visited by Queen Mary in 1563, and in 1643 was the scene of the massacre of the Lamonts by the Campbells. The grounds have been laid out as a recreation garden. Near the hill stands the modern castle. ”

“ At Adare, Lord Dunraven entertained Lord Spencer and 438 the vice-regal court in state, and subsequently received Lord Londonderry and Lord Houghton.
Dunraven Castle, in Glamorganshire, is built on the edge of a cliff, and overlooks the Bristol Channel. The coast is very dangerous, and many a ship has struck and gone to pieces on the treacherous rocks in sight of the castle. There is no safe anchorage anywhere near, so Lord Dunraven is in the peculiar position of having a home by the sea, but is unable to approach it in his yacht. ”

“ I often wonder at my want of prudence in ascending from Capel Curig, that glorious old Alpine height, on a cold, dank, and misty autumnal morning, without a guide or a friendly hand to point the way. Alone I accomplished the journey, without experiencing much difficulty, or meeting a single mishap. The story of Dunraven Castle is founded on a historical fact. It is one of the most painful of the many painful incidents of those terrible times. Parson Jones is not an ideal but a real character painted from life. His fame as a charmer, a conjuror, and magician, was celebrated far and wide. ”

“ He takes strange attitudes like dogs in pictures by old masters; and you feel he can't be real. He must have stepped stealthily out from a dim tapestry hanging on one of the thick stone walls, and he will have to go back to his place beside the sleeping tapestry knight, as soon as he has finished running after the doves, who have left their dovecote and are balancing with their coral feet on the battlements, or walking in the courtyard. Seeing this castle of the Princess's makes me quite envy you having Dunelin. I should like to live in a castle. ”