Red Castle
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
- For the castle in Ross and Cromarty, see Red Castle, Highland.
Red Castle of Lunan is a ruined fortified house on the coast of Angus, Scotland. It is about 4 miles (6.4 kilometres) south-southwest of Montrose.
It was built for King William I ("the Lion") in the late twelfth century to repel Viking invasions to Lunan Bay. Evidence shows however that William took up residence there on several occasions whilst on hunting expeditions.
In 1194, William conferred the castle and the land surrounding the village of Inverkeilor to Walter de Berkely, the Royal Chamberlain. In 1328 Robert the Bruce gave the castle to the Earl of Ross. By this time it had been officially called rubeum castrum (Red Castle) in deeds of 1286, referring to its burnished red sandstone, typical of this area.
In 1579 James, son of Lord Gray, married Lady Elizabeth Beaton, who owned the castle, and fell in love with her daughter. After Lady Beaton threw him out, Gray (with his brother Andrew of Dunninald) laid siege to the castle for two years, ultimately burning the inhabitants out.
From then on the castle slipped into decline, and, although it remained partially roofed until 1770 it was never again a residence of nobility. Its last inhabitant was the minister of Inverkeilor, one James Rait.
Today only a part of the (fifteenth century) rectangular tower and the six-feet-thick east curtain wall remain, but the castle remains an eye-catching ruin in the sun (clearly viewable from the A92 road). The tower in particular is however in precipitous condition, being perched almost on the edge of the hill overlooking Lunan Bay.
