Proc. Soc. Ant. Scot.] [VOL. LXXII. RETAINERS H LORDS HALLo First Floor. Doune Castle: Plans Basement. W. DOUGLAS SIMPSON. PLATE III. faceo [T page. 73 CORRIGENDA, "north-westr PagFo , lin, e73 e14 " read "north-east." Page 80, line 20. For "neighbours" read "neighbourhood." Page 82, note 1. For "xx" read "xxi." 3 7 DOUNE CASTLE. I. DOUNE CASTLE. BY W. DOUGLAS SIMPSON, M.A., D.LiTT., F.S.A.Scc-T. Doune Castle, built withi e earthworkth n r e o earlie th n f du o rs fort which gave the site its name,1 occupies a lofty and commanding position, overlookin e Rive e th sharg th r pn i Teith angld an ,e which that "arrowy" stream, makes wit s brisit h k tributary e Ardocth , h Water. The castle was built, towards the end of the fourteenth century, y Roberb t Stewart, Duk f Albanyo e , Regen f Scotlano t e reigth nn di of Robert III and James I.2 l saval en I minor alteration d additionan s unifore wora son f o km building effort, the castle (see plans, Plate III) forms an irregular pentagon in plan e habitablth , e building se nort beinth d north-wes n an ho g t sides, while the remainder of the enclosure is screened by a high and massive curtain wal . l Thes2) (figs , 1 e. domestic buildings divide themselves into three great blocks donjothe : tower-housor n the at e north-west corner hale th ;l block extending westward fro e donjonmth ; and the kitchen wing, or tower, which occupies the south-west corner. The donjon—called "the grait tour 158n i " 1 3—contain e entranceth s , covere powerfua y db l round tower formd an , completsa segregated ean d residence for the lord, his family and their personal staff. The long vaulted trance is strongly defended by a portcullis, worked from a window- bay in the hall above, by wooden folding doors, and by a massive two- leaved iron "yett. eithen O "r sid vaultee ear d guardrooms, cellarsd an , a prison. From the guardrooms the trance is commanded by loopholes suitably disposed. On the first floor is a spacious and well-lit, vaulted hall; there is a solar above, with a neatly fitted up little oratory in a window bay; and over all were garret bedrooms. At the north-east cornee donjo e stouth th f o rs ni t round tower whic alreads h(a y stated) flank e entranceth ss vaultei t I . d from botto mtopo t , containinga Most probably prehistoric, thoug cannoe hw t exclud e possibilitth e e y th tha e b t they yma 1 remain earln a f yo s Norman castle t InvernochtA . Aberdeenshirn yi e Celtith e c word "Doune" is applied to such an earthwork. e historTh °' f Dounyo e Castl s fullei r t WilliafortySi se n hi m Bookd Fraser Re f Menteith, o e Th , vol. i. pp. 471-96. It is architecturally described, with a full series of measured drawings, by D. Macgibbon and T. Boss, The Castellated and Domestic Architecture of Scotland, vol. i. pp. 418-29. plane Th s accompanyin presene gth t pape basee rar thosn do Macgibbof eo Rossd nan , with certain additions and corrections. 3 B. S. Mylne, The Master Masons to the Crown of Scotland, p. 60. 74 PROCEEDING E SOCIETYTH F O S , JANUAR , 1938Y10 . well-room in the basement and a succession of private chambers above. e Oinneth n e rdonjo th sida shallo f s o ei n w square projecting tower (fig. 2) affording a look-out over the court. The donjon hal enteres i l d fro exteriorn e coura m th y b t stone stair, whic s defende irohn wa a ne footy b dgatth t , ea whil e dooeth r above was secured with a drawbar. There is no communication, other than Pig . Doun1 . e Castle: View from north-east before Restoration. [From Macbeanphotothe in Jacobite Collection, Aberdeen University Library.] trap-doora y b , wit storage e basementhth goo th o n tw ei d t spirabu , l stairs lead to the floors above. The great double-arched fireplace in e halnotabla th s i l e feature. Originall ydireco n ther s t ewa acces f o s y kinan d froe tower-housmth e halth l o bloct e k adjoining—the on e door which now leads through, on the first floor, being a modern insertion. The hall block contains the great or common hall of the castle, as distinct fro e lord'mth e tower-houses th hal n i l s enterei n a t I y . db external stair, like that which serve lord'e significanth s i t si hallt bu ; t that this common hal lt securestaiwayy no an s i r , n di eithe r belof wo above. The hall had a central hearth, with a louvre overhead. Under the hall are vaulted cellars, with the usual service stairs—again in contras e absencth o t f sucto e h communicatio e tower-houseth n i n . 76 PROCEEDING E SOCIETYTH F O S , JANUAR , 1938Y10 . Above the hall there is nothing to correspond with the solar in the tower-house, as the hall block was only two storeys in height. It had n open-timbea r roof whose enriched corbels still remains wesit t t A . end wer screensethe , wit hminstrel'a s gallery above. The kitchen tower is connected with the hall by a cleverly managed servic es cellare basement roomth ha n t i sI kitchee . th ; n itself, lofty d vaultedan , wito enormoutw h s service-hatches, adjoin e halth sl on the same level; and above is accommodation for guests—namely, one larg d well-equippean e d room oveo storeye kitchentw th r d s an , of smaller chambers over the service room. These are reached by a sixteenth-century turret stair which must replac a predecessore , perhap f timbero s notablA . e feature completth s i e e severancf o e these guest rooms from the tower-house, which was evidently strictly reservee e lord'kitchen useth Th r ow .s fo dn communicaten a y b s outside stair wit ha postern , covere a bol y db d machicolation. With the exception of the main entrance and this postern, there is no opening sorty t eveoan f no , nloopholea lowee th n ri oute,e parth f ro t walls. e Tusksoutth n he kitchei s th wal f o l n tower sho ws in -thawa t i t tende carro dt y further buildings roun courtyarde dth foundatione Th . s which still remaine sout th d eas n han to , sides e paltr ar ,d see yan m e largth e t late b windowbu o ;e t soutth n hi s wall—the eastmost being pointed—show tha n importana t t buildino havt s e wa gstoo d here. Very likely this was the chapel, which in this position would be oriented. In 1587 there is a record of two chapels of St Fillan, one within and the other without the castle. As the former can hardly be the tiny oratory in a window arch of the donjon solar, it seems probable tha chapea t actualld ha l y been built agains soute th t h curtaine th n I . centre of the courtyard is a second draw-well. An allure' walk between front and rear parapets goes all round the curtain d alon an e wall-head, th g e residentiath f o s l buildingsn O . the tower-hous e halth l d blocs carriei an e t ki d ove e high-pitcheth r d roof y stepse curtainb s Th . s have open n turrete anglei th d t an a s the centre of each face. These seem to be additions of the sixteenth century d weran , e 1581n probabli n o , t whe ypu e "allering nth e th f "o castle was renewed.1 Midway in the north front (fig. 2) is a small, solid, half-round bastion tower, carryin n opea g n turre t -tha t e wall- walk level. In general, the castle exhibits the rugged and unadorned, gloomy grandeur that characterises most Scottish secular architecture during this period. The masonry is coursed rubble, with dressed stone- work at the quoins and voids, and the moulded detail is of the heavy Mylne1 , Master Masons, p. 60. DOUNE CASTLE. 77 kind usua Scotlann i l d about 1400. Aroun e wholdth e castle wan a s outer breastwork, scrap whicf so h still remain. lons ha g t beeI n recognised that Doune Castle exhibits close affinities with the great French Chateau de Pierrefonds, erected by the Due d'Orleans about 1390—1400. At Pierrefonds, as at Doune, we find tha) (figs4 , t3 .wha calles i t e donjodth n form greaa s t composite mass of building, containin e accommodatio th n itseli g l al f n requirea n i d seignorial residence of the first rank. As Viollet le Due says: 1 " Le donjon du chateau pent etre completement isole des autres defenses. donjonLe . etait I'habitation specialement reserves au seigneur et comprenant tons les services necessaires : caves, cuisines, offices, chambres, garderobes, salons, et salles du reception." As at Doune, the donjon contains the entrance, covered by a special drum tower. Aroun t Dounea e courtyard s th da e samy ,th wa en i , are ample halls and other accommodation for the general household and for guests, but kept wholly apart from the lord's establishment e donjon th e separat n i Th .