Dunninald Castle, Montrose, United Kingdom

Dunninald has a history of at least a thousand years. The name is derived from the gaelic, dun a castle and ard, a high place. A second house was built about 1590, to replace the old tower. This was some four hundred yards inland and was at the foot of the present-day beech avenue, next to the walled garden.

By 1811 the second house was some 230 years old and the new owner, Peter Arkley, commissioned James Gillespie Graham to built a new house. This was designed by the architect James Gillespie Graham in the gothic revival style, building started in 1819 and the house was completed in 1824.

Guided tours of the castle explain the history of the house, the collections of furniture, paintings and displays of fine needlework photographs and memorabilia, examples of fine plasterwork and trompe l'oeil can also be seen. Tours take approximately 40 minutes and start on the hour and half hour.

References:

Dunnidald Castle

Castles and fortifications in United Kingdom

User Reviews

Fidelma Cook (7 months ago)
Great tour of the Castle. Wonderful woodland walk afterwards and the gardens are beautiful. Lots of ideas there for the amateur gardener. And honey available from the hive there.

Mick Ryan (8 months ago)
Visited out of hours and walked the woodland and wall Garden which very well maintained and beautiful

Nick Tonge (2 years ago)
Lovely relaxing wall garden and grounds.

John Smith (2 years ago)
A hidden gem. Delightful woodland walks and walled gardens. Amazing bluebell woods, lots of rhododendrons, promise of lots of summer colour to come. Check website for opening times. £5 entrance but on Gardener's World 2 for 1 deal so remember your card..!

John & Shiona Smith (2 years ago)
A hidden gem. Delightful woodland walks and walled gardens. Amazing bluebell woods, lots of rhododendrons, promise of lots of summer colour to come. Check website for opening times. £5 entrance but on Gardener's World 2 for 1 deal so remember your card..!

Featured Historic Landmarks, Sites & Buildings

Photo from Flickr, copyright Govisity / Tip na Trip / kosice.guide

Historic Site of the week

Spisskà Kapitula

Spišskà Kapitula, a unique fortified ecclesiastical ensemble, began as a small fortified settlement overlooking Spišské Podhradie in the 12th century. It was the site of the residence of the Provost of the castle, in the no longer extant St Martin"s monastery, and later became a capitulary. This was destroyed in by Tatars in 1241-1243, but the pilgrim"s chapel, in rotunda form and dedicated to the Virgin, survived until the 18th century and the monastery until the 15th century.

The complex of buildings there is based on the Cathedral of St Martin, where building began in 1285 as a three-aisled Romanesque basilica with a chancel at the west end and a double spire. It owes its present form to successive remodellings and additions in the Gothic, Renaissance and Baroque styles.

The Provost's residence was completed in 1281 and further religious buildings were added. Frequent raids by marauding Bulgars and others led to its being fortified in the 14th century. The cathedral was rebuilt in the later 14th century. In 1776 it became the residence of the Bishop and four years later a seminary was established. In 1819 the first teacher training centre in Hungary was founded there.

The Bishop's Palace is largely Baroque, with some excellent interior decorations, like many of the religious buildings in the group. The oval ground plan of the centre of the town is due to its having been fortified in the 14th century. The various religious buildings had defensive functions in this early period. New monastery buildings were erected when the provost"s residence was rebuilt and the whole area fortified. The earlier central fortifications were removed in the 18th century.

Spišské Kapitula is part of the UNESCO World Heritage site Levoča, Spiš Castle and the associated cultural monuments.

Do you know an ancient castle or magnificent church near you?

Why not share it with other people interested in history? You can add your own historic sites and attractions to SpottingHistory.com.

It's absolutely free, easy, and doesn't even need registration!

Upload data

Dunninald Castle

Address

Details

More Information

Rating

Interesting Sites Nearby

User Reviews

Featured Historic Landmarks, Sites & Buildings

Hidden Gems of Finnish Archipelago

House of the Dragon Filming Locations

Historic Landmarks of Sicily

Historic Site of the week

Spisskà Kapitula

Looks like you are a history fan!