|
MEGGERNIE CASTLE
is the principal historic centre of the
beautiful valley of Glen Lyon. This glen is the longest and one of the
grandest in the Western Highlands, extending in a westerly direction from
Fortingall to near Tyndrum, a distance of nearly 35 miles. It derives its
name from the river Lyon, which finds its way from its origin on the south
east side of Ben-a-Chastle, and is often a placid stream, but sometimes
during a winter spate a raging torrent, expanding about midway in its
course into Loch Lyon, and flowing thence until it becomes a tributary of
the Tay, near Taymouth Castle, its entire length being nearly 40 miles.
The narrow limits of the glen prevent the river from ever having a broad
surface, the distance between the precipitous banks being only about 8
feet to 10 feet, and here the Lyon becomes boisterous because of its
confined course. But the scenery in this quarter is of entrancing beauty,
and is thoroughly Highland in character. Where Meggernie Castle stands the
surrounding country is in comparative solitude, and recalls the words of
the poet :—
"Here have I found at last a
place of rest
To hide me from the world."
It is not easy to reach the
Castle from the outside, though the road up Glen Lyon to the Castle is in
fairly good condition, and is carried through the locality right on to
Logierait in the east. Several of the mountains in the neighbourhood of
the glen rise to an altitude of over 3,500 feet, and are familiar to every
devoted Scottish mountain-climber. The village of Fortingall is about 13
miles distant from Meggernie Castle, through a pleasant though wild
district peculiarly typical of the Scottish Highlands.
In very early times the
land on both sides of Glen Lyon as far south as Loch Awe, belonged to the
MacGregor Clan, 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.
While
the historical interest centres in Meggernie
Castle, there is much to engage the attention of the visitor in the
policies, and in the varied trees with which the place is decorated. This
feature is almost entirely due to the devoted labours of James Menzies of
Culdares, one of the most competent arboriculturists of his time. Culdares
has been in the possession of a branch of the Menzies family from 1659;
and it was in 1730-40 that the Laird carried out his great reform of the
district by tree-planting. It is said that he was the first to make the
larch popular. After passing the Bridge of Balgie, the road leads to the
entrance to the policies of Meggernie Castle, which is approached by a
splendid avenue of lime, beech, elm and spruce trees, the interlacing
branches of which form a vernal arch of foliage beside the river Lyon.
This avenue, which is nearly two miles in length, was entirely planted by
Mr. Menzies, and has thriven remarkably. It circles around the Castle,
which stands about 700 feet above sea-level. Authentic measurement of some
of these trees are worth recording. One of the elm trees, measured in
1883, girths 19 feet 2 inches at one foot from the ground, and 16 feet 5
inches at five feet up the stem. The lime trees in the avenue are very
picturesque, and have reached a fair development, one of them girthing 13
feet 3 inches at two feet from the ground. The beeches also a very
satisfactory growth. Other notable trees are the larches and scots firs,
some of these having attained considerable dimensions. All the country
surrounding the Castle has been transformed since the time of James
Menzies by judicious planting, and presents a scene of woodland splendour,
though there are still portions susceptible of improvement.
The extensive estates of
the Campbells of Breadalbane march with the policies of Meggernie, which
have been held and greatly increased during several centuries. It used to
be said that the Earl or Marquess could ride for a hundred miles over his
own patrimonial domains. Meggernie remained in the Menzies family for
centuries, but was acquired in 1884, by the late Mr. John Bullough, father
of the present Sir George Bullough, 1st Baronet, who succeeded his father
in 1891, and now resides at Kinloch Castle, Isle of Rhum, Inverness-shire.
A few years ago Sir George disposed of Meggernie Castle and estate to Sir
Ernest Salter Wills, 3rd Baronet, who succeeded his brother, the 2nd
Baronet, in 1921, and makes Meggernie Castle, Glen Lyon, his Scottish
residence. The Wills family have had a long and honourable connection with
Bristol. |
