Meggernie Castle
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Situated in the heart of Perth and Kinross, in central Scotland, Meggernie Castle is located halfway up Glenlyon, where the river Lyon flows through on its way to join Loch Tay.
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[edit] History of Meggernie Castle
In very early times the land on both sides of Glen Lyon as far south as Loch Awe, belonged to the Clan MacGregor, and there is every likelihood that the clansmen had a keep of some kind on the site of Meggernie Castle, as this would command the whole district. The MacGregors claimed to be descended from Alpin, King of Scots, and were sometimes known by the cognomen of Clan Alpin or Mac Alpin. Their motto to this day asserts a lofty origin, as the Gaelic S’rioghal Mo Dhream signifies, "My Race is Royal." The statement has been made that a MacGregor chief built the Castle of Coalchuirn (sometimes spelled Kilchurn) on Loch Awe, but this is not well founded. The clan suffered misfortune at the hands of their two neighbours, the Campbells of Argyll and the Stewarts of Cardney. The MacGregors had been vassals of the Earl of Ross in the time of Alexander II., who reigned from 1214 till 1249, and the Earl bestowed upon them the lands of Glenorchay, at the head of Loch Awe which they had chosen as a residence, and which became their headquarters. The clan became a powerful one, and took a prominent share in the Battle of Bannockburn. But David II, the son of Robert Bruce, forgot his obligation to the Clan Gregor, and deprived them of Glenorchay, which he gave to the branch of the Campbells that had settled at Loch Awe, and the dispossessed clansmen had to retire to the Muir of Rannoch. The policy of the Campbells had long been one of lawless acquisition, and they drove the MacGregors out of Glen Lyon and seized upon their property.
The Stewart Kings were equally unjust to this harassed clan, for Robert II., who ruled from 1370 to 1390, confiscated the Keep at Meggernie, which the MacGregors had built and inhabited, and conferred it upon his illegitimate son, Sir John Stewart of Cardney. Thus, with the Campbells on the south of the glen and the Stewarts on the north, the poor clansmen were between two fires, and lost all their possessions in the district. The clan was dispersed and the clansmen became "broken men," dispersed through Perthshire, and long without an acknowledged chief. It is not necessary to pursue the history of this clan further, since it is here shown how they were driven out of Meggernie.
Though the exact date of the erection of the oldest existing part of Meggernie Castle has not been ascertained, there is a Charter in the "Register of the Great Seal," dated 4th March 1603, whereby James VI. confers upon Duncan Campbell of Glen Lyon, certain lands which were united to make up the Barony of Glen Lyon, the chief house of the baron being named as "the Tower called Meggernie." The previous Keep seems to have been thatched, but Sir Duncan Campbell put slates on his tower, and it was finished much in the style it now shows. Additions have, of course, been made as the years went on, and there is now a fine modem mansion added to the old building and quite in keeping with it. The walls of the old Castle are five feet in thickness, and have evidently been erected for defensive purposes. There are four square towers, one at each corner, bracketed out from the walls, which give a quaint and ancient appearance to the structure, that is emphasised by the dormer windows with triangular tympanies. As was customary at the time of its erection, there are few windows in the walls, and some of these are only a little larger than old-fashioned arrow-slits. The Castle is five storeys in height.
Before leaving Sir Duncan Campbell of Glen Lyon, it may be as well to explain that he was not the first to evict the MacGregors, but he certainly carried on the heartless policy of his predecessors, and left it as a legacy to his descendants. So early as October 1488, the then "Duncane Campbell of Glenurchquha," entered into a contract with Robert Menzies, Laird of Weem, near Aberfeldy, by which they mutually bound themselves to protect and support each other against the MacGregors; and this arrangement was often renewed. Even so late as 1665, when Alexander Menzies of Castle Menzies, son of Duncan Menzies of Weem, was made first baronet, he was married to Margaret, eldest daughter of Sir John Campbell of Glenorchy; and afterwards there were several marriages which linked the two families together. With such strong adversaries against them, it is no wonder that the ancient clan was dispersed and ruined.
"Glenorchay’s proud mountains, Coalchuirn and her towers, Glenstrae and Glen Lyon no longer are ours; We’re landless, landless, landless, Gregarach."
In 1564, the Earl of Argyll obtained a Commission of Fire and Sword which was aimed at the extermination of the disbanded clan; and long after that date the intermarriages of the Campbells of Argyll and the Meazies family kept alive the vendetta against the MacGregors. Then Captain Robert Campbell of Glen Lyon in 1695, having coveted the possession of Glencoe, then in the hands of a sept of the MacDonald Clan, put in execution that horrible incident known as the Massacre of Glencoe, which has branded his name with perpetual infamy. No doubt it was at Meggernie Castle—then called Glen Lyon—that he planned and carried through this execrable crime. The details of Campbell’s treachery are well-known——how he was entertained by the Chief of the MacDonalds for a fortnight and fell upon the clansmen and slaughtered them:—
"The hand that mingled in the meal, At midnight drew the felon steel, And gave the host’s kind breast to feel Meed for his hospitality! The friendly heart which warmed that hand, At midnight armed it with a brand, That bade destruction’s flames expand Their red and fearful blazonry."
In Thomas Talfourd’s remarkable drama, "Glencoe; or The Fate of the MacDonalds," the following lines occur in the speech of Lady MacDonald, reproaching Glen Lyon for his treachery:—
"Glen Lyon, I pray you may have life stretched out beyond The common span of mortals, to endure The curse of Glencoe cleaving to your soul."
Glen Lyon survived, and did not expiate the fearful crime he had committed, for he was defended and even thanked by William III. for his deed of blackest treachery and ingratitude.
From the 1920s until the 1950s, the castle was owned by Sir Ernest Wills, 3rd Baronet.
[edit] Architecture
Prior to the construction of Meggernie Castle, there is evidence that a thatched keep of some sort was erected on the site. The exact date of the erection of the oldest existing part of Meggernie Castle has not been determined, although some sources claim that it was John Campbell of Glenlyon who built it around 1585. However, there is a document known as the "Register of the Great Seal," in which King James VI grants to the Campbell family the ownership of land in the area to form the Barony of Glenlyon. The chief of this Barony is said to reside in "the Tower named Meggernie" and since this bequest is dated March 4th 1603, this evidence ties in loosely with the construction date of 1585. The thatched keep had a slated roof added to it initially and as has been mentioned additions were also made in later years. The walls of the Castle are around five feet in thickness in keeping with its role as a defensive structure and in total the castle is five storeys tall. Each corner of the castle possesses a square tower which is bracketed out from the main body of building. The original castle had few windows and those that do exist are narrow slits in the wall. This style is entirely in keeping with the fashion of the day and can be seen in numerous other fortified castles and keeps constructed around the same time. The original castle keep has also had a more modern mansion house attached to it since its construction, although the style of this is still in keeping with that of the original building. Many architectural details of Meggernie can be clearly seen in photographs of the building, including the four small square towers at the corners of the keep, and the long, low mansion house which extends from one side of the keep.
[edit] The Haunting of Meggernie Castle
Several ghost stories surround Meggernie Castle, the best-known dating from the time that the house was occupied by the clan Menzies. The Chief of the clan had married a very beautiful woman much younger than himself. However, her youth and attractiveness led him to become jealous of her and he is said to have murdered her in a fit of rage. After concealing her body in a locked chest in one of the castle towers, he absented himself for some time and after his return spread the story of how his wife had tragically met her death by drowning whilst the two of them had been travelling in Europe. Although the locals believed the story, Menzies still felt anxious and fearful and decided to dispose of the body in the nearby churchyard. Having cut the body in two, he managed to bury the lower half in the graveyard one night, leaving the upper part still in the chest. However, before he was able to bury the upper half, he met with foul play and the next morning his body was found at the entrance to the tower where the upper part of his wife's body still lay. Although Menzies had clearly been murdered, nobody was ever tried for the crime and his death remains a mystery.
Most ghost sightings have involved guests staying at the castle who claim to have seen the upper part of a woman's body floating through the air. One visitor to the castle claims to have been awakened one night by the feeling of a red hot kiss on his cheek. When he sat up in bed he saw the ghostly form of a woman's torso moving away from his bed towards the wall, before passing through into the next room.
During restoration work at the castle in the mid 19th century, workmen are said to have unearthed skeletal remains of the upper half of a woman's body. These were removed for burial, but sightings of her ghost were reporteded after this occurred. Claims have also been made that the buried lower half of the body haunts the nearby churchyard.
[edit] References
- Glencoe and the End of the Highland War, Paul Hopkins, John Donald Publishers Ltd
- Fifty Great Ghost Stories, edt. John Canning, Souvenir Press Ltd
- Scottish Hauntings, Grant Campbell, Piccolo Ltd.
