Doune Castle (5)
Viewed from the water meados down beside the River Teith.
With the demise of the Stewarts of Albany, Doune Castle became a royal possession and served as a retreat and hunting lodge for the Scottish kings. It was also used as a dower house by Mary of Guelders (died 1463), Margaret of Denmark (died 1486), and Margaret Tudor (died 1541), the widowed consorts of James II, James III and James IV respectively.
In 1528, Margaret Tudor (sister of King Henry VIII), now Regent of Scotland for her infant son James V, married Henry Stewart, 1st Lord Methven, a descendant of the Duke of Albany. His brother, Sir James Stewart, was made Captain of Doune Castle, and Sir James' son, also James, was created Lord Doune in 1570. Lord Doune's son, yet another James, married Elizabeth Stuart, 2nd Countess of Moray around 1580, becoming Earl of Moray himself. The castle thus came to be the seat of its own keepers, the Earls of Moray, who owned it until the 20th century.
Mary Queen of Scots stayed at Doune on several occasions, occupying the suite of rooms above the kitchen. The castle was then held by forces loyal to Mary during the brief civil war which followed her forced abdication in 1567, but the garrison surrendered to the Regent, Matthew Stewart, 4th Earl of Lennox, in 1570, after a three-day blockade. George Buchanan and Duncan Nairn, Deputy Sherriff of Stirling presided over the torture and interrogation of a messenger, John Moon, at Doune on 4 October 1570. Moon was carrying letters to Queen Mary and to Mary Seton.
King James VI visited Doune on occasion, and in 1581 authorised £300 to be spent on repairs and improvements, the works being carried out by the master mason Michael Ewing, under the supervision of Robert Drummond of Carnock, Master of Work to the Crown of Scotland.
In 1607, the minister, John Munro of Tain, a dissenter against the religious plans of James VI, was imprisoned with a fellow minister at Doune, though he escaped with the contrivance of the then Constable of the Castle, who was subsequently imprisoned for aiding the dissenters. The Royalist James Graham, 1st Marquess of Montrose occupied Doune Castle in 1645, during the Wars of the Three Kingdoms. In 1654, during Glencairn's rising against the occupation of Scotland by Oliver Cromwell, a skirmish took place at Doune between Royalists under Sir Mungo Murray, and Cromwellian troops under Major Tobias Bridge. The castle was garrisoned by government troops during the Jacobite Rising of Bonnie Dundee in 1689, when repairs were ordered, and again during the rising of 1715. During the Jacobite Rising of 1745, Doune Castle was occupied by Charles Edward Stuart, "Bonnie Prince Charlie", and his Highlanders. It was used as a prison for government troops captured at the Battle of Falkirk. Several prisoners, held in the rooms above the kitchen, escaped by knotting together bedsheets and climbing from the window. Escapees included the author John Home, and a minister, John Witherspoon, who later moved to the American colonies and became a signatory of the United States Declaration of Independence.
The castle deteriorated through the 18th century, and by 1800 Doune was a roofless ruin. It remained so until the 1880s, when George Stuart, 14th Earl of Moray, began repair works. The timber roofs were replaced, and the interiors, including the panelling in the Lord's Hall, were installed. The castle is now maintained by Historic Scotland, having been donated to a predecessor organisation by Douglas Stuart, 20th Earl of Moray, in 1984.
Doune Castle (5)
Viewed from the water meados down beside the River Teith.
With the demise of the Stewarts of Albany, Doune Castle became a royal possession and served as a retreat and hunting lodge for the Scottish kings. It was also used as a dower house by Mary of Guelders (died 1463), Margaret of Denmark (died 1486), and Margaret Tudor (died 1541), the widowed consorts of James II, James III and James IV respectively.
In 1528, Margaret Tudor (sister of King Henry VIII), now Regent of Scotland for her infant son James V, married Henry Stewart, 1st Lord Methven, a descendant of the Duke of Albany. His brother, Sir James Stewart, was made Captain of Doune Castle, and Sir James' son, also James, was created Lord Doune in 1570. Lord Doune's son, yet another James, married Elizabeth Stuart, 2nd Countess of Moray around 1580, becoming Earl of Moray himself. The castle thus came to be the seat of its own keepers, the Earls of Moray, who owned it until the 20th century.
Mary Queen of Scots stayed at Doune on several occasions, occupying the suite of rooms above the kitchen. The castle was then held by forces loyal to Mary during the brief civil war which followed her forced abdication in 1567, but the garrison surrendered to the Regent, Matthew Stewart, 4th Earl of Lennox, in 1570, after a three-day blockade. George Buchanan and Duncan Nairn, Deputy Sherriff of Stirling presided over the torture and interrogation of a messenger, John Moon, at Doune on 4 October 1570. Moon was carrying letters to Queen Mary and to Mary Seton.
King James VI visited Doune on occasion, and in 1581 authorised £300 to be spent on repairs and improvements, the works being carried out by the master mason Michael Ewing, under the supervision of Robert Drummond of Carnock, Master of Work to the Crown of Scotland.
In 1607, the minister, John Munro of Tain, a dissenter against the religious plans of James VI, was imprisoned with a fellow minister at Doune, though he escaped with the contrivance of the then Constable of the Castle, who was subsequently imprisoned for aiding the dissenters. The Royalist James Graham, 1st Marquess of Montrose occupied Doune Castle in 1645, during the Wars of the Three Kingdoms. In 1654, during Glencairn's rising against the occupation of Scotland by Oliver Cromwell, a skirmish took place at Doune between Royalists under Sir Mungo Murray, and Cromwellian troops under Major Tobias Bridge. The castle was garrisoned by government troops during the Jacobite Rising of Bonnie Dundee in 1689, when repairs were ordered, and again during the rising of 1715. During the Jacobite Rising of 1745, Doune Castle was occupied by Charles Edward Stuart, "Bonnie Prince Charlie", and his Highlanders. It was used as a prison for government troops captured at the Battle of Falkirk. Several prisoners, held in the rooms above the kitchen, escaped by knotting together bedsheets and climbing from the window. Escapees included the author John Home, and a minister, John Witherspoon, who later moved to the American colonies and became a signatory of the United States Declaration of Independence.
The castle deteriorated through the 18th century, and by 1800 Doune was a roofless ruin. It remained so until the 1880s, when George Stuart, 14th Earl of Moray, began repair works. The timber roofs were replaced, and the interiors, including the panelling in the Lord's Hall, were installed. The castle is now maintained by Historic Scotland, having been donated to a predecessor organisation by Douglas Stuart, 20th Earl of Moray, in 1984.