‘If walls could talk…’ Investigations at Castle Roy, Nethy Bridge
Lynn Fraser of AOC Archaeology reports on archaeological investigations at Castle Roy, a foursided 13th-century stronghold that has remained largely unchanged over the centuries
The highlands of Scotland, so long a region of disorder and unrest, have a rich heritage of medieval castles. Many of the early castles in the north were royal or baronial, their histories intertwined with the attempts of the Scottish kings to establish their authority in the area. They were generally ‘castles of enclosure’, a strong curtain wall enclosing a space supporting wooden buildings. Castle Roy, built in the late-12th to early-13th century for the Comyn family, is one of the oldest surviving of the smaller castles of this type. Situated on a small glacial mound to the north of the modern village of Nethy Bridge in Strathspey, it is a simple, irregular four-sided stronghold that has, uniquely, remained largely unaltered over the centuries. Purchased from the Revack Estate by the Castle Roy Trust in 1998, a comprehensive programme of consolidation works required to save the building has revealed some tantalising hints about the history of the castle.
A BRIEF HISTORY
Scotland in 1100 was a divided country, inhabited by competing kingdoms with regular power struggles between them. Following the Norman conquest of Britain, the Scots kings offered the Norman knights positions of influence, land and power in return for their connections, military service and fortress building skills.The Comyn family were descended from Norman knights that settled in Scotland during this period.They were succesful in ‘pacifying’ the north through the period of unrest and, as a result, were offered the lordship of Badenoch, Moray and
Lochaber by Alexander II – making them a very powerful family by the 13th century.
The family lineage comes from Robert de Comines who was slain at Durham in January 1069-70 attempting to take possession of lands granted to him by William the Conqueror. His descendant, William Comyn, was appointed to the prestigious office of justiciar of Scotia in 1205, the most senior royal office in the kingdom, a role he held until 1233. During this tenure, he made his fortune in the service of King William I of Scotland fighting the Meic Uilleims in the north. Upon finally overcoming the Meic Uilleims in 1229,William Comyn was given the lordship of Badenoch, and the lands it controlled, by Alexander II. Through a programme of castle building, the Comyns had been undertaking the defence of their increasing land wealth to display their power. Over half a century, the Comyns were responsible for the construction of a string of castles across Scotland, including Lochindorb Castle to guard the pass from Strath Spey to Nairn and Loch an Eilein, dominating the centre of the Strath; Ruthven Castle to guard the entrance to Badenoch at the north of Drumochter Pass; Inverlochy Castle to guard the southern end of the Great Glen; Balvenie Castle to guard the pass to Buchan; and Blair Castle to guard the southern entrance to the Drumochter Pass.
The Comyns continued their hold on power throughout the 13th century. Joining forces with Clan MacDougall, they overpowered the Norse kings who controlled the Western Isles, a move that would eventually unify Scotland. In 1286, Alexander III of Scotland died without an heir, leading to a battle between the Comyns and the Bruces for the throne. Bruce, using treachery, would eventually win the battle, and it has been suggested that some of the damage to Castle Roy was part of the ongoing hostilities at the time. In 1371, the lordship of Badenoch was bestowed by Robert II on his son, Alexander, the ‘Wolf of Badenoch’, although Abernethy, with its stronghold Castle Roy, was retained until finally resigned by
John Comyn in 1381.
Unfortunately, little is known about Castle Roy’s origins, due to the loss of the local historical records maintained by the priests, when the Wolf of Badenoch razed Elgin Cathedral in 1390.The castle is named in the charter of the earldom of Moray in 1548 and may, therefore, have still been occupied at that time. It is not known when it fell out of use.
THE CASTLE
The concept behind 13thcentury castles tends to be that of a large fortified enclosure. The plan is usually quadrilateral, with the final shape dependent upon the site’s topographical features. Castle Roy is one of the simplest of such 13th-century fortresses.When MacGibbon and Ross (Scottish architects known for their surveys of Scotland’s architectural heritage) visited in the late 19th century, they described it as being ‘simply a large enclosing wall of great height, and no doubt well defended from the parapet, for the purposes of sheltering vassals and property’.
At Castle Roy, the curtain walls are about 2.5m thick and stand up to 9.0m high with a large entrance gateway with an inner pointed arch, that would have supported a substantial set of double wooden doors. The curtain walls would have had parapets with embrasures for defence, and rampart walks across the wallheads would have connected to the tower in the north angle.Timber buildings would also have been found within the enclosure with roofs leaning against the curtain walls.
The northwest wall also contains the remains of a passage, also with a pointed arch, which would likely have been the day-to-day entrance for the castle occupants. In the west wall, two passages were contained within the upper part of the wall, which led to a double latrine chute in the garderobe. The south angle of the castle has fallen away and there are a number of theories for this loss – weathering from the prevailing wind; slighting by a rival clan; an insertion point for another tower to be added – but there is no clear evidence for any of these.
THE CASTLE ROYTRUST
Fast forward to the end of the 20th century when the castle was taken into the ownership of the Castle Roy Trust, headed by husband and wife team Richard and Patricia Eccles.The aim of the Trust is to preserve the castle, as it stands, for future generations and to create a free, accessible visitor attraction and venue for the outdoor performing arts and events.
Since buying the property, the Trust has received grants from a number of funding agencies, including Historic Environment Scotland (HES) and its predeccessor Historic Scotland, the Scottish Rural Development Programme, LEADER, the Pilgrim Trust and the Cairngorms Trust, with almost £50,000 raised locally over the years. These monies have enabled the Trust to undertake a programme of works over the past ten years.With the support and guidance of HES, volunteers have worked alongside experts to consolidate walls and make them safe; clear and level the courtyard; create a viewing platform at the breach in the south angle; and construct a first floor timber platform using the existing ledges inside the tower.
THE ARCHAEOLOGICAL EVIDENCE
As part of the Trust’s programme of works, several phases of archaeological survey, investigation and monitoring have been carried out since 2011.Works carried out by FAS Heritage, Highland Archaeology Services and AOC Archaeology have given an insight into the structure of the castle and improved its interpretation.
Initial works confirmed that the mound upon which the castle sits is formed of glacial material of rock, gravel and sand rather than a manmade construction. The foundations of the curtain wall are fairly shallow, although varying in depth, and are often built on a soil horizon rather than being founded on alluvial gravel. In addition to varying in depth, the construction techniques of the foundations also vary: the northwest and southeast curtain walls consist of a foundation of a single course of unbonded stonework projecting beyond the wall, in contrast to the northeast wall’s foundation of three fairly rough courses of unbonded stonework splaying to form a chamber.While it has been mentioned that these differences may represent a chronological sequence in the development of the castle, subsequent work by Mark Thacker as part of his Scottish Medieval Castles and Chapels C-14 Project (SMCCCP) suggests that the castle was built in a single phase, so it may simply have been a result of the relative importance of the northeast wall being the principal face of the castle containing a substantial and fairly impressive door opening.
During the consolidation work, various structural features were revealed – giving evidence to the form, and possible function, of the now vanished internal buildings of the castle. A two-storey internal building may have existed along the west wall of the castle. Evidence of a timber building with a possible solid lime mortar floor was recorded during excavation: a small remnant floor surface was recorded close to the west corner of the castle along with a square posthole. A stone plinth and mortar remains were recorded in nearby deposits, suggesting that the building ran along the northwest of the castle interior.
As MacGibbon and Ross noted, there is a recess in the west angle that was most likely used as latrines.The archaeological work revealed a short length of vaulting projecting from the
external elevation of the northwest curtain wall in this recess, next to which were the remains of a garderobe chute issuing from the level above.The presence of a first floor level in this corner of the castle was also recorded during archaeological investigations. This work revealed intramural stone steps, a cobbled surface at first floor level within the northwest wall leading to the garderobe chute and the remains of a window opening in the southwest wall. These features suggest that this corner of the castle contained a two-storey building lit at first floor level by at least one window and served by a garderobe chamber on each floor.
The vaulting projecting out of the castle strongly suggests that the mural garderobe chambers would have formed a buttress projecting from the ground elevation of the curtain wall. The presence of the large arched passage opening at the east end of the northwest curtain wall indicates that this putative two-storey internal building did not extend along the full length of the curtain wall.The height of the arched passage suggests that there were no internal buildings in this area but there may have been a hall with a two-storey solar range to the southwest. The three storey tower at the north corner of the castle would have been accessed either at ground-floor level or, for defensive purposes, a second storey entrance accessed by wooden steps.
The tower in the north angle still stands to second floor height and contains an interior ledges, which now support a timber viewing platform. It also contains the only remaining first floor window opening.
The southeast curtain wall survives to a greater height than the opposing long wall of the castle. This elevation does include a badly decayed window opening and a substantial horizontal recess set at a fairly high level. Although this recess had been infilled, suggesting a later phase of adaptation, the stone and mortar fill has partially collapsed out to reveal the original feature. It appears that the recess is too substantial to represent a roof scar, and has been interpreted as a wall plate recess, representing a fairly high first-floor level within an internal building running the full length of the curtain wall. At the base of this wall, the archaeological excavation revealed the remains of stone settings and post-holes providing evidence of a timber frame. Geophysical survey insides the walls also suggested the presence of building foundations along this wall. The evidence implies that this building may have been a service range and/or stables with storage above.
Material recovered from the castle’s interior during excavation consisted of an assemblage of animal bone which, while small, represented a diverse range of species of domesticated and wild animals. Cattle, sheep/goat, horse and rabbit dominated the assemblage, but single finds of pig, dog, red deer, domestic fowl and a cockle shell were also recorded. Such a diverse variety is a trait of high status assemblages, providing a glimpse of the wealth, and the ability to procure luxury foods, enjoyed by the inhabitants of the castle.
Running parallel to the archaeological and consolidation works was an historic landscape, buildings and material study of the castle conducted by Dr Mark Thacker. Part of his study included the radiocarbon analysis of relict limekiln fuel from an assemblage of mortar fragments gathered from various locations around the castle walls, which confirmed that the castle was constructed in the late12th to early-13th century.
Under the indefatigable leadership of Richard and Patricia Eccles, the Castle Roy Trust has spearheaded a multidisciplinary approach to the investigation and preservation of Castle Roy. They have brought together various strands of archaeological, historical and scientific research over a decade of dedication to this important site. Now, the colourful story of when and how Castle Roy was built and occupied can be heard, giving voice to the silent stones and breathing life into the walls for generations to come.