Dundarg Castle (12 of 12)
The Treaty of Northampton ended the 1st War of Scottish Independence and also seemed to end forever the hopes of the Disinherited, but two things were to change this situation. Firstly, the death of King Robert Bruce in 1329, followed in 1330 by a palace coup in England, which saw the overthrow and execution of Roger Mortimer and the assumption of full powers by King Edward III. In Scotland, Robert's infant son, David II was king, bringing the inevitable tensions that follow from a royal minority. Edward, for the time being at least, maintained the peace with Scotland, but he was known to share the views of many of his countrymen that Northampton was a "turpis pax" - a shameful peace.
Edward III wrote to the young King David II requesting restoration of the lands of the 'Earl of Buchan' and the 'Lord of Liddesdale', but Edward must have realised that there was little chance of the Scots accepting Beaumont and Wake into their midst, and sure enough, King David's guardian Thomas Randolph, Earl of Moray, ignored the request. Beaumont now began to seek restitution by other means.
Following a visit to King Edward, Henry Beaumont obtained an important concession. Edward would not allow the Disinherited to cross the border in open breach of the Treaty of Northampton, but he would not stop them sailing from English ports. By the summer of 1332 all was ready and a small army of archers and men-at-arms sailed from various ports in Yorkshire, landing on the coast of Fife in August.
Soon after landing, the army, under the skillful command of Beaumont, confronted and defeated a much larger Scottish force at the Battle of Dupplin Moor in August 1332, using an effective, and murderous, combination of infantry and archers. Building on this victory, the army advanced on Scone, where Edward Balliol was crowned King of Scots on September 24th.
It quickly became clear that in the absence of any widespread support from sympathetic Scots, the adventure could only prosper with the open support of King Edward. As bait Balliol wrote to him offering to cede all of south-east Scotland to England. This proposal was carried south by Henry Beaumont and David de Strathbogie, who came to attend the meeting of Parliament at York. Before they could return Balliol and what was left of his army was surprised by a party of Bruce loyalists at Annan and chased out of the country. All of the expense and effort of the past years had come to nothing.
In January 1333 King Edward finally dropped the pretence of neutrality. Edward Balliol was formally recognised as King of Scots and was promised military aid. Subsidies were now paid to Beaumont and the others, to help prepare a fresh invasion and in July this army destroyed a fresh Scots army at the Battle of Halidon Hill, using the same battle tactics as used at Dupplin Moor. Once again the disinherited advanced into Scotland and this time, Henry Beaumont was able to reach Buchan where, according to Andrew Wyntoun:
"he repaired the old Comyn stronghold of Dundarg on the Aberdeenshire coast in 1333/4, which had been destroyed by Robert Bruce in 1308."
Taking back their estates was one thing, but holding them was entirely another. By September 1334 Edward Balliol, faced with a full-scale revolt, sent urgent appeals to England for yet more assistance. To make matters worse his followers, who had been brought together by greed for land, were driven apart by the very same thing. In a dispute over the estates of Alexander de Mowbray, killed at Annan in 1332, Balliol was unwise enough to quarrel with Beaumont who withdrew from Court in a fit of picque, to Dundarg. Balliol's regime now collapsed for the second time and he fled across the border.
Henry Beaumont, in the meantime, found himself besieged in Dundarg by Sir Andrew de Moray of Avoch and Bothwell, the new Guardian of Scotland. It is not known how much work Beaumont had been able to do to strengthen and prepare the castle in the time he had available, but probably not as much as he needed, assuming that no repair work had been done since Bruce slighted it in 1308. Archaeological excavations suggest the curtain wall at the front of the 'outwork' was not particularly thick, which may well have become a significant problem, as Andrew Moray is believed to have employed a siege gun or 'bombard cannon", the first documented use of an artillery piece in Scotland. The records refer to the use of a gyne, however this word refers to an 'engine' rather than a gun specifically, although the engine may have been a gun!
Under continual attack, and running short of supplies, including water, Andrew Murray having found and cut the water pipes that led into the castle, Henry Beaumont was compelled to surrender on 23 December 1334. After a brief imprisonment he was ransomed and returned to England in time for the summer campaign of 1335. While he certainly campaigned in Scotland again, it is uncertain if he ever saw Buchan again. He died in March 1340, his long struggle incomplete. His son John never claimed the lost earldom of Buchan and when Beaumont's wife, Alice de Comyn, died in 1349 the Comyn line of Buchan, which stretched back to the early thirteenth century, finally came to an end.
The upper part of the inner gatehouse was rebuilt about the middle of the sixteenth century, probably following the Coastal Defence Commission of 1550, and there is some evidence that it was provided with gunloops at this time. The only activity here since then has been the construction of the house in the early 20th century and periodic archaeological digs!
Dundarg Castle (12 of 12)
The Treaty of Northampton ended the 1st War of Scottish Independence and also seemed to end forever the hopes of the Disinherited, but two things were to change this situation. Firstly, the death of King Robert Bruce in 1329, followed in 1330 by a palace coup in England, which saw the overthrow and execution of Roger Mortimer and the assumption of full powers by King Edward III. In Scotland, Robert's infant son, David II was king, bringing the inevitable tensions that follow from a royal minority. Edward, for the time being at least, maintained the peace with Scotland, but he was known to share the views of many of his countrymen that Northampton was a "turpis pax" - a shameful peace.
Edward III wrote to the young King David II requesting restoration of the lands of the 'Earl of Buchan' and the 'Lord of Liddesdale', but Edward must have realised that there was little chance of the Scots accepting Beaumont and Wake into their midst, and sure enough, King David's guardian Thomas Randolph, Earl of Moray, ignored the request. Beaumont now began to seek restitution by other means.
Following a visit to King Edward, Henry Beaumont obtained an important concession. Edward would not allow the Disinherited to cross the border in open breach of the Treaty of Northampton, but he would not stop them sailing from English ports. By the summer of 1332 all was ready and a small army of archers and men-at-arms sailed from various ports in Yorkshire, landing on the coast of Fife in August.
Soon after landing, the army, under the skillful command of Beaumont, confronted and defeated a much larger Scottish force at the Battle of Dupplin Moor in August 1332, using an effective, and murderous, combination of infantry and archers. Building on this victory, the army advanced on Scone, where Edward Balliol was crowned King of Scots on September 24th.
It quickly became clear that in the absence of any widespread support from sympathetic Scots, the adventure could only prosper with the open support of King Edward. As bait Balliol wrote to him offering to cede all of south-east Scotland to England. This proposal was carried south by Henry Beaumont and David de Strathbogie, who came to attend the meeting of Parliament at York. Before they could return Balliol and what was left of his army was surprised by a party of Bruce loyalists at Annan and chased out of the country. All of the expense and effort of the past years had come to nothing.
In January 1333 King Edward finally dropped the pretence of neutrality. Edward Balliol was formally recognised as King of Scots and was promised military aid. Subsidies were now paid to Beaumont and the others, to help prepare a fresh invasion and in July this army destroyed a fresh Scots army at the Battle of Halidon Hill, using the same battle tactics as used at Dupplin Moor. Once again the disinherited advanced into Scotland and this time, Henry Beaumont was able to reach Buchan where, according to Andrew Wyntoun:
"he repaired the old Comyn stronghold of Dundarg on the Aberdeenshire coast in 1333/4, which had been destroyed by Robert Bruce in 1308."
Taking back their estates was one thing, but holding them was entirely another. By September 1334 Edward Balliol, faced with a full-scale revolt, sent urgent appeals to England for yet more assistance. To make matters worse his followers, who had been brought together by greed for land, were driven apart by the very same thing. In a dispute over the estates of Alexander de Mowbray, killed at Annan in 1332, Balliol was unwise enough to quarrel with Beaumont who withdrew from Court in a fit of picque, to Dundarg. Balliol's regime now collapsed for the second time and he fled across the border.
Henry Beaumont, in the meantime, found himself besieged in Dundarg by Sir Andrew de Moray of Avoch and Bothwell, the new Guardian of Scotland. It is not known how much work Beaumont had been able to do to strengthen and prepare the castle in the time he had available, but probably not as much as he needed, assuming that no repair work had been done since Bruce slighted it in 1308. Archaeological excavations suggest the curtain wall at the front of the 'outwork' was not particularly thick, which may well have become a significant problem, as Andrew Moray is believed to have employed a siege gun or 'bombard cannon", the first documented use of an artillery piece in Scotland. The records refer to the use of a gyne, however this word refers to an 'engine' rather than a gun specifically, although the engine may have been a gun!
Under continual attack, and running short of supplies, including water, Andrew Murray having found and cut the water pipes that led into the castle, Henry Beaumont was compelled to surrender on 23 December 1334. After a brief imprisonment he was ransomed and returned to England in time for the summer campaign of 1335. While he certainly campaigned in Scotland again, it is uncertain if he ever saw Buchan again. He died in March 1340, his long struggle incomplete. His son John never claimed the lost earldom of Buchan and when Beaumont's wife, Alice de Comyn, died in 1349 the Comyn line of Buchan, which stretched back to the early thirteenth century, finally came to an end.
The upper part of the inner gatehouse was rebuilt about the middle of the sixteenth century, probably following the Coastal Defence Commission of 1550, and there is some evidence that it was provided with gunloops at this time. The only activity here since then has been the construction of the house in the early 20th century and periodic archaeological digs!